Matthew 13:24-43 has its main parable "The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares" and its explanation framing two other parables (on the mustard seed and the yeast) and a saying about the mystery hidden from the foundation of the world. This latter saying, quoted from Psalm 78:2 is in itself worth reflecting on because of its relationship to the mission of Jesus. For the moment however it is worth noting because of its relationship to verses 11-13. Jesus' proclamation of the mystery reveals those who are his and those who are not. His parables create a krisis, a "division" that brings out who are his and who are not. The parable of the wheat and the tares brings this out.
The Wheat and the Tares
The main parable in verses 24-30 is about a farmer who sows "good seed" (note the use of "good soil" in the preceding section). But someone else began to sow tares in the farmer's field such that when it was discovered, the plants were already growing up. In Palestine, tares looks like wheat at a particular stage of growth. The farmers' servants found it out and were informed that an enemy has stealthily planted bad seed among the good. The farmer's solution might be surprising: he tells the servants to leave the plants grow together and wait for the harvest when the wheat grows golden and the tares becomes distinguishable, because it won't have grain. When harvest comes, the servants can do their job of gathering the wheat into the barn and throwing away the tares.
The allegorical explanation in verses 36-43 actually satisfies the question of those who seeing how the Church should be, wonder about the reality of members who live as if the gospel has not been proclaimed to them. The answer given is the activity of the evil one ("the devil", RSV) and the seeds he sows. This emphasis on the demonic should be taken in the light of what other New Testament writers say about the need to resist the wiles of the evil one (cf. Eph. 4:27; 6:11; 1 Peter 5:8, James 4:7; Rev. 12:9; Wisdom 2:23-24). The explanation also makes an implicit suggestion about the attitude of those who work on the field as the owner's servants, namely, that they should be patient about the situation. The servants are to wait until the harvest when the bad and the good are separated. With this allussion to the judgment of the last days, the parable is linked to the one on the net in verses 47-50.
The suggestion for the servants to be patient until the time for separation comes allows Christian preachers to see here an implicit call to conversion and perseverance. Augustine typifies this in his Sermon 73A 1
Listen dearest grains of Christ; listen Christ's precious ears of wheat; listen, Christ's dearest corn. Take a look at yourselves ... And if you discover that you are good grain, let the thought occur to you "Whoever perseveres to the end will be saved (Mt. 10:22)". Any of you who on shaking up their consciences find themselves among the weeds must not be afraid to change. The command hasn't been given to cut, it isn't the harvest yet; don't be today what you were yesterday, or at least don't be tomorrow what you are today.
What is the good of your saying you'll change some time? God has promised you pardon once you have changed, he hasn't promised you tomorrow. Whatever sort of person you are as you depart from the body, that's the sort you will be as you come to the harvest. Some people or other died, they were weeds; have they a chance of becoming a wheat over there? Here in the field wheat can be made out of weeds, or weeds out of wheat, here that is possible. But elsewhere, that is after this life, is the time for receiving the consequences of what you have done, not for doing what you haven't done. (p. 296)
We already noted the citation from Psalm 78:2, a psalm that narrates a particular aspect of the history of Israel. The citation belongs to that part of the psalm where the psalmist invites the people to listen to his proclamation about a mystery. While the psalm proclaims the great acts of Yahweh on behalf of his people, it becomes clear that what the psalmist wants to be considered are those moments when God transfers a privilege to another. The main point of the psalm is found in vv. 59-72 where Judah and David are highlighted as the new carriers of Yahweh's benefice for Israel. That this Psalm is quoted by Jesus and relates it to his mission as the one who restores the people of God (cf. Matthew 9:36; 10:6), is a signal that what he is talking about in his parables is the Church, the first fruit of the Kingdom that he sows with the gospel. The mixture of unfruitful and fruitful soil on the one hand and wheat and the tares, on the other, call to mind the present reality of the Church as of both sinners and saints. The Church as the carrier of germs and enzymes that work from within the world and transforms it is the topic of the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast.
The Mustard Seed and the Yeast
The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast highlight the way the kingdom that is proclaimed operates. It isn't imposed but works gradually from within, like the mustard seed that grows into a shrub that becomes a home for animals on the hand, and on the other, the yeast, once kneaded into the dough makes it expand.
As narrated, the parables about the seed and the yeast are similar to the previous parables. The seed the sower sows bear fruit in good soil. The good seed that the farmer sows grow into wheat for the harvest, its golden grain symbolizing the righteous who willl shine like the sun. There is a difference however in that the yeast expands the dough where it is "planted" and the mustard seed grows into a large shrub that becomes beneficial to animals and birds. In other words, the kingdom exerts ts influence where it is planted, affecting the "environment" where it grows.
A similar idea is found in Jesus' sayings about the salt, the lamp and the city built on a hill (Mt. 5:13-16 )
"You are the salt of the earth; but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trodden under foot by men.
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp and put it under a bushel, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (RSV)
It takes several grains of salt to take their effect. The salt has to disappear before it can work: whether it is to add taste to the cooking or preserve meat from becoming stale. Houses that are lighted from within by lamps that are well-placed when seen from afar are like so many bonfires that act as a beacon for those who are lost and wandering in the dark. It these houses are in a city built on a hill, then for the wanderer who is hungry, tired and cold, it becomes a consolation. It is good news.
The parables of the kingdom at this point reveal different aspects about the work of Jesus. His proclamation of the kingdom is like a seed that bears abundant fruit for the harvest. But while it grows, it is like wheat or mustard seed that transforms the reality in which it is planted. The two explanations given by Jesus about the types of soil that receive the seeds and the wheat and the tares discloses a tension between the present reality of fruit-bearing and a future harvest. The present is characterized by the difficulties of bearing fruit because of "environmental conditions" affecting the soil and the work of the sower. The future expected is that of a harvest where those who suffer now but continue to grow and bear fruits of the kingdom are vindicated. But until that future time, the seed that is sown like the leaven that quietly works from within must grow into a tree that becomes a place where all are at-home.
- 1. TWSA, III/3, 295-298
