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that not all will be the same. It should be noted that the variation here is in
the disciples’ “productivity,” not in their heavenly reward—indeed 20:1–15
does not allow us to extrapolate the imagery in that way.
In accordance with English idiom I have used the term “crop” in relation to grain
(vv. 8, 22, 23), but the hearer of Matthew’s gospel in Greek would not have
failed to notice that the Greek term karpos is the same which has been translated
“fruit” in 3:8, 10; 7:16–20; 12:33, and will be so translated again in 21:19, 34,
41, 43. It is an important Matthean image for the practical outworking of a
commitment to God’s service, and it is the mark of genuineness (see on 7:16–
20). A fruitless hearer of the message (and the first three types of soil all proved
fruitless in the end) is of no more use than a fruitless fig-tree (21:19).
5. Three Further Parables of Growth (13:24–33)
²⁴He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven can be compared
to¹ a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while people were asleep his
enemy came and made a further sowing² of weeds in among the wheat and went
away. ² When the plants sprouted and produced a crop, then the weeds became
visible as well. ²⁷The slaves of the master of the house came to him and said,
‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? So where have the weeds come
from?’ ²⁸He replied, ‘It is an enemy who has done this.’ The slaves said to him,
‘So do you want us to go and pull out the weeds?’ ² ‘No,’ he said, ‘in case while
you are pulling up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.
³ Leave them both to grow together until harvest, and at harvest time I will tell
the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and tie them in bundles to burn them up;
but collect the wheat into my barn”.’ ”
³¹He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard
seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. ³²It is smaller than all other seeds,
but when it grows it is bigger than the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the
birds of the sky can come and roost³ in its branches.”
³³He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven,⁴ which a
woman took and hid in three large measures⁵ of flour until the dough had all
risen.”
The audience for vv. 10–23 was the disciples, in distinction from the crowds. No
change of audience is indicated here, but in v. 34 it will become clear that these
three parables too have been told to the crowds, and another change of audience
will need to be stated in v. 36 for a return to private teaching for the disciples.
We must therefore assume that at this point the public teaching which was
broken off in v. 10 is resumed.
This group of parables⁷ continues the theme of growth, two of them, like the
parable of the sower, concerning seed, the third leaven which causes the growth
of the dough. All are explicitly about “the kingdom of heaven,” and describe
different aspects of the new reality which has come into being through Jesus’
ministry. All three include, though they do not necessarily focus on, the patience
which is needed before God’s purpose is fulfilled in all its glory. The parables of
the mustard seed and the leaven form a natural pair which speak encouragingly
of spectacular growth from insignificant beginnings, and they will be
commented on together. But the parable of the weeds stands apart from them in
that it, like the sower, draws attention to problems and division as well as to the
ultimate harvest. It is also distinctive in that it, like the sower, will receive a
detailed explanation in vv. 37–43, while the mustard seed and the leaven remain
uninterpreted. I am therefore commenting on this group of parables into two
sections.
a. The Parable of the Weeds (13:24–30)
As with the parable of the sower, it will be appropriate to defer discussion of the
meaning of the parable until we have Matthew’s own input on the subject in vv.
37–43. At this point comment will be restricted to the story itself. This parable is
recounted by Matthew alone.⁸ It is a straightforward and possibly familiar
account of agricultural sabotage: Roman law dealt specifically with the crime of
sowing darnel in a wheat-field as an act of revenge.¹ The story is simply told at
this point, with the wording little affected by the intended application;¹¹ even the
tying up and burning of the darnel is a natural method of disposal, though it is
certainly unusual for this to be done before the wheat has been safely stored.
What is surprising is the extent of dialogue reported between the farmer and his
slaves, suggesting an interest in the policy of “leaving them to grow together”
which will not be taken up directly in the explanation in vv. 37–43, though it is
implicit in the focus there on a drastic separation only in the final judgment (see
comments on vv. 36–43).
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