Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field

Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Therefore the tares are gathered 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 gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

- Matthew 13:36-43

Over the course of the past week, Matthew's gospel has introduced us to Jesus' use of parables in His preaching. We began last week on Tuesday's reading, with the parable of the Sower. Then, in the next reading, Jesus' disciples asked Him why He preached to the multitudes in parables. In Thursday's reading, Jesus explained to His disciples the meaning of the parable of the Sower. On Friday, we read of Jesus' teaching of another parable, the parable of the Wheat and the Tares. Finally, in Saturday's reading, Jesus gave us two more parables -- that of the Mustard Seed and the parable of the Leaven. The reading taught that Jesus spoke to the multitudes only in parables, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world." See The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed.

Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." In today's reading, Jesus explains the parable of the Wheat and the Tares, which we read in Friday's reading. In our commentary on Friday, we discussed the parable in depth. Today we receive Jesus' words about it to His disciples. We note first that Matthew is careful to say that Jesus first sent the multitude away and then went into the house. So, we have a picture again that this is in private; explanations are only for the disciples and not for the crowds.

He answered and said to them: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels." Aside from the fact that this is Jesus' careful explanation of the parable, we note something new that we didn't speak of in the previous commentary on Friday. Jesus is clearly laying out a plan for the age, and for the end of the age. He is speaking about Judgment. Up until now, we have had a clear sense first in His temptation in the wilderness, then in His healings and signs, and in His teachings, that He is bringing His kingdom into this world, which is ruled "by the prince of this world." But here He is making a clear statement that the Son of Man has come to lay claim to this world, and that He is Lord over it. When He chastised the Pharisees for their hard-heartedness, He taught that the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. But now, He is expanding that claim for His disciples.

"Therefore the tares are gathered 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 gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." This is here a decisive claim about the end of the age, and the aims of the Son of Man. So strong will be His final claim to this world, that those who cannot abide by the values of the kingdom, who cannot in effect accept His teachings for themselves, will be "cast into the furnace of fire," like the tares. He is here to change the system, to claim ownership, to uproot the seed of the enemy. But this will happen through a time of growth together, and not until the end of the age. It will also happen through freedom; all are free to choose, all are free to act throughout the age.

"Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" When the kingdom is finally claimed and realized, the righteous will shine forth as the sun in their Father's kingdom. This is a dazzling kind of a hint at new life, a new world. We don't really know what is to come after this age and in the next. But Jesus gives us a hint here of light. It is a time of understanding, and enlightenment, and clarity. But this we are not given much knowledge about. Justice and righteousness will be revelatory. When Jesus teaches, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" it is another hint at the importance of mystery, that we have a responsibility for our own receptivity and understanding. In the life of the world now, it is a time when all grow together, and He's out to reveal those with ears to hear and to search them out, and to reveal mystery to them through His parables.

Often we approach the stories of Jesus -- especially in the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke -- as if these are cautionary tales, told so that we understand what is happening. But in Jesus' words, I hear more than that. Jesus is teaching us about mystery, and the nature of the kingdom. His very use of parables is so that we are invited in, to come to understand, and to let us know that there is much, much more to be invited in to hear, and to be revealed. He hints here of the end of the age, and the dazzling light like the sun that all the Father's children will clearly bear. In these words, and in the nature of the parables, Jesus is hinting about so much more that can be revealed, into which we can become initiated. But we must have ears to hear! His disciples are not just there to be fed with His explanations, but they, too, must have ears to hear. They, too, must be challenged, even by His explanation, and move forward in light, in their own spiritual growth, as disciples. So let us pose the questions to ourselves. Do we think we have all the answers? Or do the parables -- and the explanations -- simply invite us in? Are we ready to receive more? How can our own light grow, so that we may "shine forth as the sun?" Remember that Jesus has already taught that His disciples are to be the salt of the earth, and the light of the world. One day this light will be clearly revealed to all -- but until that day, we are to work at bearing and increasing that light in the world, and the spiritual fruits that come from discipleship. It is up to us to have ears to hear, so that we bear His light now, within us, in the present age -- and in the age to come.