NOTES for Mat 13:24-30
Anyone who has had even a small plot of land knows that Jesus is saying something utterly impossible. How can one refrain from weeding the ground? If the weeds are left to grow until the harvest, as the owner of the field did, only weeds will grow, choking the useful plants. The Lord offers an explanation: “lest, while gathering the weeds, you uproot the wheat with them.” But He has just said that the crop appeared and έφάνη, ephanē, the weeds became visible. They have already shown themselves, so how can they be mistaken for wheat? And why leave them if they are destined to be burned anyway?
Let us listen to the original. The Lord says: “let both άμφότερα, amphotera, grow together.” In modern language, “amphoterism” denotes the capacity to display opposite properties. Such is the mystery of the Almighty's mercy: we are given freedom to grow. And this freedom implies the possibility of choosing between good and evil. The weeds are given an opportunity to become wheat.
The Almighty is long-suffering. He bears with us for a long time, giving us not only freedom but also the opportunity to return to His truth, His light, and His life. First, this parable answers the question once asked by Job: “Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?” (Job 21:7 ff.). Why do scoundrels prosper? So that the wheat should not be uprooted along with them.
If you dislike this parable and the property of the Kingdom of Heaven it describes, if it seems unjust, this most likely means that you consider yourself wheat. Then the question arises: “Why does the master of the house tolerate all sorts of weeds beside someone as wonderful as me?” In that case it is useful to ask yourself another question: should I really be identified with the wheat? Do I bear much fruit for God? Since all of us are, in essence, weeds that bring nothing to the Creator, His long-suffering is not someone else's hope but precisely our only hope, our only chance to become wheat before the hour of your harvest comes.