In Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus tells the parable of a man who plants a wheat field with good seed, but his enemy comes at night and plants weeds in his field.
The parable calls these weeds "tares" also known as “darnel,” a weed that looks similar to the wheat crop it infests. When harvested along with the wheat, it can have toxic side effects for those who eat it. (source)
Why would anyone harvest and eat this poisonous weed? Because it looks like wheat.
In Matthew 13:36-43, Jesus explains that this parable is talking about God's kingdom. God sows only good seed, but Satan sows bad seed among the wheat. In fact, he sows it so close that pulling it up would damage the wheat (Matthew 13:28-29).
Jesus is warning us that some people may look like Christians on the surface. But their purpose is to compromise true believers through criticism, rejection, slander, temptation, false teachings, and half-truths. Or they may live a secret life of immorality, tarnishing the reputation of genuine Christians.
The only way we can keep these weeds from choking out our faith is to make sure our roots are deep in the soil of God's Word (Colossians 2:6-8).
Let's depend on God's Word for discernment and wisdom in all of our relationships.
Matthew 13:24-30: Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
"'An enemy did this,' he replied. The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
"'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn...'"
Verses 36-43: Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
To read some other details about these weeds, see the 1-minute devotion "Weeds in the Church."
What an insightful and challenging lesson. Its easy to get tangled or trapped by the weeds. Satan is the master of deception doing his best to draw us back to what we were before trusting Christ and keeping people who don't know Jesus disappointed by the fleshly failures of believers.
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