The Parable of the Weeds: God’s Final Judgment — Matthew 13

The tares in the Bible are toxic plants distinct from wheat. Through this, Jesus taught about the distinction between true and false believers in the kingdom of God, and the final judgment by fire. Just as a farmer uproots and burns the tares at harvest time, God will clearly distinguish between them at the last judgment.

Pulling Up the Tares 26

In the Bible, tares refer to a plant of the rye family known as darnel, which grows in rough ground or wheat fields (tares, botanical name: Lolium temulentum). It is an annual weed that in its early stages of growth is difficult to distinguish from wheat in appearance. However, once it matures and the ears emerge, it grows much taller than wheat, its color darkens (while wheat turns golden when ripe, tares turn black), and its shape at the time of fruiting differs as well (wheat grains hang heavily and cause the stalk to bow, whereas tares have few grains and stand upright), making identification easier (Matt 13:25).

Pulling Up the Tares (to pick up the weeds)

The fruit of the tares is so toxic that it can cause severe vomiting, diarrhea, and dizziness, rendering it of no practical use. For this reason, when harvest time came and the tares were clearly distinguishable from the wheat, farmers would pull them up by the roots, bind them into bundles, and burn them. By doing so, they were able to prevent the tares from spreading again the following year.

Through the parable of the tares, Jesus taught about the coming of the kingdom of God and the final judgment by fire to come at the end (in the earthly church, it is not easy to distinguish true believers from false believers by outward appearance. However, at the last judgment, before the eyes of God who is the harvester, they will be clearly separated — true believers will be brought into the kingdom of heaven, while false believers will be cast into the burning fires of hell) (Matt 13:24-30).

Source: Dictionary of Biblical Cultural Background

Originally published in Korean at bible2u.com