Matthew 13:40Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

In other passages, Christ states that the harvest is already upon us; for instance, when He refers to the Samaritans, saying, “Lift up your eyes and see the fields, for the harvest is at hand” (John 4:35). Additionally, He remarks, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few” (Luke 10:2). Why does He say in one instance that the harvest has come, while in another, He indicates it is yet to arrive? This is because the term harvest can have varying implications. Furthermore, when He states elsewhere, “And in is he that soweth, and in is he that reapeth” (John 4:37), why then does He assert here that the Sower is Himself? Because in that context, addressed to the Jews and Samaritans, He differentiates the apostles not from Himself, but from the prophets, through whom He also sowed. Similarly, He sometimes uses the terms reaping and sowing interchangeably, employing them in different senses. When He refers to the readiness and willingness of His followers, He labels it as reaping, indicating the completion of His labor. When He anticipates only the results of listening, He designates it as sowing, with the conclusion being reaping. It is stated elsewhere that the righteous will be the first to be taken up (1 Thess. 4:16). Indeed, they will be the first to ascend at the return of Christ. Yet initially, the wicked will face judgment, followed by the righteous transitioning into the heavenly realm. The righteous are destined for heaven while the Lord descends to earth to judge humanity and declare His verdict. Then, like a certain king accompanied by His companions, He will usher them into the joyous inheritance. Do you recognize that the punishment will be intense: they will burn and find themselves estranged from glory? But why, ultimately, after the crowd has departed, does Christ converse with the apostles in parables? So they might comprehend these teachings, having been prepared by prior instruction. This is why, following the parables, when He questioned them, “Do you understand all these things?” they affirmed, “Yes, Lord” (Matthew 13:51)! Thus, among other outcomes, the parable also enabled the apostles to attain insight.

The term "those who sleep" refers to the teachers within the Church; the servants of the householder must be interpreted as angels, who continuously behold the face of the Father. The devil is labeled as the adversary of humanity, having ceased to be aligned with God, as highlighted in the Ninth Psalm with the plea, ‘Arise, O Lord, lest man be strengthened.’ Thus, the leader of the Church must remain vigilant, ensuring that negligence does not allow the human foe to sow weeds, meaning errant doctrines. The phrase, ‘Lest, when you gather the weeds, you somehow pluck up the wheat along with them,’ serves to provide sinners a chance for repentance and cautions against the hasty condemnation of a brother, so that one who currently may be led astray can later regain clarity and stand up for the truth.

However, the directive to ‘Let both grow together until the harvest’ seems to conflict with the subsequent instruction to ‘Remove evil from your midst;’ and the admonition to avoid communion with those whom we call brethren but who are actually immoral. If the elimination of the wicked is prohibited, and leniency is allowed until harvest, how can we remove those present among us? Between the wheat and the weed known as ‘cucolus,’ there appears a significant resemblance, and there may be no indicators to differentiate between the two, or any distinguishing marks may be very subtle. Therefore, the Lord counsels us not to rush to judgment in uncertain situations, but to reserve final judgment for Him, ensuring that on the day of reckoning, He will expel not merely those suspected of wrongdoing but the clear offenders. His declaration that the bundles of weeds will be thrown into the fire, while the wheat will be gathered into the barn, aptly illustrates that those who are heretical and hypocritical in their faith will face the flames of Gehenna, while the saints, referred to as wheat, will be welcomed into the barns, which signify heavenly abodes.

Tares, deemed unfit, are bound into bundles and burned at harvest, while the wheat is stored in the barn. Likewise, at the end of the age, the unrighteous shall be gathered, bound like tares, and cast into eternal fire, comprising those who engage in sexual immorality, deceitful acts, theft, and slander, as well as hypocrites who appear righteous outwardly but are corrupt within. These and others who live outside the law will be cast away, unfruitful to their Lord, into everlasting flames. In contrast, the righteous, holy, and good—those who yield the fruit of God’s word with patience and bear fruit a hundredfold, sixtyfold, and thirtyfold—will be received into the heavenly kingdom as wheat is brought into the barn. “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the evil one. The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned, so it will be at the end of this age: the Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from His kingdom all that causes sin and all who do evil and throw them into the fiery furnace; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:37-43). Let us, sinners, repent! May we not be consumed like tares in eternal fire, but instead yield worthy fruits of repentance. By God’s grace, let us be the wheat gathered into the heavenly barn. “O God of Power! Restore us, and shine Your face upon us, that we may be saved” (Psalm 79:4).