Matthew 13:29 NKJV
“But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.'”
Among the many truths revealed in Jesus’ parable of the wheat and the tares (Mat 13), one that stands out remarkably is His confidence—as the One who sows the good seed—in the safety of that seed and the certainty of the harvest. A brief on Christ’s interpretation of the parable: “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” (Mat 13:38-39 NKJV). Traditional knowledge had and still has it that weeds (the tares) must be removed at the earliest occasion to avoid stressing the crop (the wheat) from yielding well, as was brought up by the servants of the Owner (Mat 13:28).
Surprisingly, the Owner (Christ) of the field answered and said, “No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them”, as in our text of reference. Think about that for a moment! ‘Master, are you not bothered that the tares will compete with and even stress the wheat, ultimately affecting its yield?’ ‘Why not deal away with the tares now, regardless of the cost, than wait to have a bigger harvest loss later?’ These may have been some of the questions that ran through the minds of the servants. Well, from the Owner’s response, the presence of the tares was not too crucial a factor to tremble about. In any case, to start with, He had sown “GOOD seed in HIS [own] field” (Mat 13:24 NKJV). Hallelujah!
Yes, as sure as the good seed (born-again children of God’s Kingdom) are planted in the Master’s own field, the interference by the devil may come, but shall not prevail! Again, the devil does not own the field (this world), but Christ does! Secondly, to the Owner, preserving the sons of the Kingdom to the end (the second coming of Christ) is more important than ‘tampering’ with them along with the devil now, even though they have to persevere through the temporary afflictions of the enemy. After all, at the end, “…the righteous will SHINE forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Mat 13:43 NKJV)! Oh, blessed be God that “Our light affliction, which lasts but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of GLORY” (2 Cor 4:17 MEV)!
Pst. Emmanuel