36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him saying, “Explain [clearly] to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and [as for] the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.

40 So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend [those things by which people are led into sin], and all who practice evil [leading others into sin], 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping [over sorrow and pain] and grinding of teeth [over distress and anger]. 43 Then the righteous [those who seek the will of God] will shine forth [radiating the new life] like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears [to hear], let him hear and heed My words. 

Matthew 13:36-43 (AMP)

Back at the ranch

So Jesus finished teaching the crowds (using parables) then went into the house with His disciples. They want to zero in on the parable of the wheat and weeds so they ask Jesus for an explanation. 

Wheat and weeds explained

We’ve already gone through the explanation. We looked at what the main point of the parable is. Jesus tells us clearly: it’s about the future judgment, the separation of the wheat and weeds, righteous and evil. In His explanation, He gives more concrete details of that day. In the telling, He only says they will be separated – one to burn and the other stored in the sower’s barn. Here, He goes into more detail. 

The wheat, the wicked, will be burned in a place of torment (weeping and grinding of teeth). “The tares represent false believers in the world, the sons of the wicked one, who (like tares among wheat) may superficially look like God’s true people…Ultimately it is not the job of the church to weed out those who appear to be Christians but actually are not; that is God’s job at the end of this age.” (enduringword.com) 

Righteous ones, those who seek and do the will of God, will shine brilliantly like the sun in the kingdom of God. I like how the AMP version adds, “radiating the new life” indicating that the righteous are born again (John 3:3). And this new life, filled with the Spirit of God, radiates light as per what Jesus said in Matthew 5:16 – “Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven”.

RЯeflection

• Again we ask, Are you wheat or weeds? If weeds, do you sense the working of the Spirit of God in you? Is He convicting you of sin and calling you to confess it and repent? God wants to restore the relationship with you that was broken by your sin so you can be with Him for eternity in His Kingdom. Click here to find out more.