Parable of the Tares

Text and Content

The parable appears in Matthew 13:24-30, followed in 13:36-43 by an explanation that Jesus himself gave to his disciples. The parable does not appear in the other Gospels.

A man sowed good seed in his field. While men slept, an enemy came, sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. When the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, the tares appeared as well. The servants asked whether they should gather up the tares, but the owner stopped them, warning that in gathering the tares they might root up the wheat with them. Instead, he told them to let both grow together until the harvest, when he would have the tares gathered and burned and the wheat gathered into his barn.

According to Jesus' interpretation, the one who sows the seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed are the children of the kingdom, the tares are the children of the wicked one, and the enemy is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels.

Background

The Greek word zizanion (plural zizania), translated "tares," is commonly identified as a type of darnel. Darnel is known to resemble wheat closely as it grows, making the two difficult to distinguish before the heads form. This fits the parable, in which the servants recognized the tares only after the plants had headed out. Scholars differ somewhat, however, on exactly which plant is meant.

Significance in Scripture as a Whole

Matthew 13 is a collection of parables of the kingdom of God, including the Parable of the Sower, the Parable of the Mustard Seed, the Parable of the Leaven, and the Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl. The Parable of the Net in the same chapter (Matthew 13:47-50) forms a pair with this parable, since both describe the separation of the righteous from the wicked at the end of the age. The proclamation of John the Baptist about separating the wheat from the chaff (Matthew 3:12) and the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats share the same theme, and so this parable is read in the context of the Last Judgment and eschatology.

Interpretation and Issues

• The field: the world or the church? The explanation in the text states that "the field is the world" (Matthew 13:38). Nevertheless, interpreters throughout church history have frequently applied this parable to the condition of the church. Augustine is known to have cited it in the Donatist controversy to argue that the church on earth contains a mixture of true and false believers.
• The parable and church discipline: The Reformed tradition, including John Calvin, acknowledged that the church is a mixed community while maintaining that this parable does not mean the church should abandon church discipline. By contrast, the Anabaptists and traditions that emphasize a believers' church stress the explanation that the field is the world. In their view, the church itself should be a pure community of the regenerate.
• Religious toleration: The parable has also been cited as grounds for opposing the use of force to punish heretics.
• What the text does not say: Preachers commonly apply the parable by suggesting that tares can repent and become wheat. This, however, is not found in the parable itself but is an application drawn from other biblical teaching. Many interpreters also urge caution about using the parable to label particular people as "tares," since the owner in the parable told his servants not to root out the tares.

In the Korean Church

The expression "wheat and tares" is widely used in the preaching and prayers of the Korean church. It is frequently cited, especially in Thanksgiving sermons and sermons on the end times, as an exhortation to examine the genuineness of one's faith.