Jesus preached the gospel of the kingdom and taught the truth through various parables. Among them, the Parable of the Wheat and Weeds contains a prophecy about the gospel work of Christ, which is compared to spiritual farming. In this parable, we can also find the way to distinguish the true church from numerous false churches in the world.
Parable of the Wheat and Weeds
The Parable of the Wheat and Weeds that Jesus taught us is as follows.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First, collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ” Mt 13:24–30
The owner sowed good seed first. Afterwards, the enemy sowed weeds among the wheat to disturb the owner’s farming. Weeds are very similar in appearance to the wheat, and it is difficult to distinguish weeds from the wheat. Weeds are highly prolific, so if we let the weeds grow together with the wheat without pulling them out, the field will soon be covered with weeds.
The Meaning of the Parable of the Wheat and Weeds, and the Fulfillment of the Prophecy
Jesus also explained the Parable of the Wheat and Weeds.
“The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. . . . they will weed out . . . all who do evil [those who commit lawlessness, NASB]. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” Mt 13:36–42
He said that the one who sowed the good seed was the Son of Man, Jesus, and that the harvest was the end of the age. Therefore, the Parable of the Wheat and Weeds is a prophecy about what will happen in the New Testament times from the time of Jesus to the end of the world. In the parable, He said that the weeds are collected and tied in bundles to be burned, and about this, He explained: “They will weed all who do evil and throw them into the fiery furnace.” Here, the weeds refer to those who commit lawlessness.
The enemy who sowed weeds was the devil. The enemy sowed weeds in the field where the owner had sown good seed. This means that the devil would spread lawlessness in the world to hinder the gospel work of Christ. Like this parable, after Jesus’ ascension, Satan who violates God’s law appeared and began to spread his power. The churches advocated lawlessness instead of the truth of the New Covenant that Jesus taught and set examples, and false doctrines that originated from Gentile religions such as Sunday worship took their place. In AD 325, the Passover was abolished, which is the core of the truth of the New Covenant.
Since then, over 1,600 years have passed, and today there are many churches in the world that insist on different doctrines, but they are all keeping doctrines that are not found in the Bible, such as Sunday worship and Christmas. There is no church that fully keeps the truth of the New Covenant. Just as the fields become covered with weeds if they are not pulled out, there are so many churches that practice lawlessness. However, those who practice lawlessness can never enter the Kingdom of Heaven just as the farmer is not pleased with the weeds, no matter how prosperous they are.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers [YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS, NASB]!’ ” Mt 7:21–23
Even though they call Jesus ‘Lord, Lord’ and look like Christians, those who practice lawlessness can never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. It is the same that the weeds, which look like wheat, cannot enter the barn but are thrown into the furnace.
How to Distinguish the Wheat From the Weeds
In order to receive salvation and enter Heaven, we must become wheat, not weeds. For this, the Bible teaches us to return to the faith before the weeds were sown.
[B]uilt on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. Eph 2:20
It is said that we should have faith on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. It means that we should follow the faith and truth of the early Church, which was practiced by Jesus and the apostles who were taught directly by Him. The truths that Jesus taught and set as examples are the Sabbath (Lk 4:16; Ac 17:2), the Passover (Mt 26:17–28), the regulation of the veil (1 Co 11:1–6), the Pentecost (Ac 2:1–4), the Feast of Tabernacles (Jn 7:2, 37–39), and more. The apostles and the saints of the early Church kept these laws of the New Covenant and followed them. The church that keeps this pure truth before the weeds were sown is the wheat in the parable.
Through the Parable of the Wheat and Weeds, Jesus prophesied that lawlessness would prevail in the world and that the truth of the New Covenant would disappear after His ascension. Consequently, He said that He would not find faith on the earth when He came again (Lk 18:8). The Bible prophesied that Christ would appear a second time for the salvation of all humanity in the world where the true faith could not be found (Heb 9:28). It is only the Second Coming Christ who will bring back the lost truth of the New Covenant and open the way to salvation. When we correctly receive Christ who comes again as prophesied in the Bible and keep the laws of the New Covenant according to His teachings, we can become the wheat that pleases God.
