WHEAT, TARES & WEEDS!

Wheat, Tares & Weeds

Matthew 13:24 NKJV

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. So the servants of the owner came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares? He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Do you want us then to go and gather them up? But he said, No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

There is quite a teaching here in this parable, but our focus is going to be upon the difference between wheat, tares and weeds. To those of us who are not farmers, we would not readily be able to determine the difference, but there is a significant difference between “wheat, tares, and weeds.”

We must realize that the wheat and tares is symbolic of wheat being a believer and follower of Christ whereas the tares are those who have not come to faith in Christ. One reason, the wheat and tares grow together is that Jesus would have believers to influence unbelievers that all would come to the knowledge of the truth.

Now, even in the Church, it is sometimes difficult to see the difference between wheat and tares. Some have the form of godliness, but deny the power thereof (2 Timothy 3:5). They may appear to be a born-again believer, when in actuality, they are not.

Now, back to the difference between wheat, tares, and weeds. The wheat is longer, bigger, and stronger. This is a believer in Christ who even when in trials, he demonstrates a strength and confidence in Jesus that carries him through the toughest of storms.

The tare is shorter, medium sized, and weaker. And the weed is the shortest, smallest, and the weakest. The weed DOES NOT PRODUCE ANY SEED. The wheat produces the biggest seeds.

Remember as believers, we are to be fruit-bearers.

Harvest time is when the imposters are readily seen. When the wheat is ready to be harvested, it bends down almost in a bowing position because it’s full of seed. It bends according to the wind blowing against it. This is symbolic of the believer and disciple of Christ, filled with the Spirit of the Lord. Humility is the sign of a believer, bowing to the one they love. These are the ones who spend time with the Lord, walking devoted to Him.

The tare on the other hand is readily seen by the farmer as straight up in form. They do not bow as the wheat. They are not filled with an abundance of seed, symbolic of the unbeliever who is only full of themselves. They are stubborn and prideful. Something I learned from a site about tares, even though they produce “some” seed, and act like wheat, if eaten, it causes one to become severely ill. This is symbolic of those even in our Churches who we sit beside weekly. Be careful who you let minister to you. The tare’s job is to choke the life out of the wheat!


Now remember the weeds produce nothing. They are the shortest, smallest, and the weakest. They are just ugly to look at. We all know what a weed looks like and the minute we see the weed we are anxious to get rid of it because we know the damage weeds can do to our produce. A weed can also be in our Churches. As wheat, believers in Christ, we should influence the weeds (unbelievers and troublemakers) instead of allowing them to influence us. Instead of looking down on the weeds, we must have compassion for them, remembering that we too were weeds before we became wheat. We must consider that every weed can become wheat if only we will allow Christ to be revealed to them through our daily lives.

At the harvest, the weeds will be uprooted and thrown away. Oh what a sad day that will be. We must pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send us out into the harvest field because the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few (Matthew 9:38). This does not mean we have to go to Africa to win the lost. They are all around us!

We must be vigiliant to continue right standing before the Lord as well as being compassionate and concerned about those who have yet to hear the Good News that God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).