He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. 32 It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.” 33 He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.” 34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, 35 to fulfill what had been said through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation [of the world].” 36 Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, 38 the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 Just as weeds are collected and burned [up] with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.
The parables about the mustard seed and the yeast explain that the kingdom of heaven will grow and spread through the power of God (the yeast) from a very small beginning (the mustard seed) to a large, magnificent, universal kingdom providing shelter and sustenance for many disparate kinds of people; Jews and Gentiles, men and women. God’s plan will quietly work to bring about His will even though the fullness of the kingdom will not be realized in this life. Even though the kingdom of heaven cannot be fully seen in the words and works of Jesus, God’s presence and the growth of the kingdom will be seen by all who believe in and follow Jesus while they remain invisible to non-believers. Jesus spoke in parables to fulfill what was foretold in the OT (Ps. 78:2).
The disciples ask Jesus for an explanation of the parable of the weeds (Mt. 13:24-30). The seven items Jesus used in the parable are identified (vv. 37-39). The world (the field) is comprised of good and evil and the Church, the children of the kingdom, will be under attack by the children of the evil one (the devil) until the end of the age, the final judgment. The harvest is to be reaped by the angels from the kingdom of the Son of Man (the Church) which resides in the world. Some of the weeds have infiltrated the Church and they will be dealt with at the final judgment. Persecution by the enemy will not last forever. Everyone will be summoned to judgment but the righteous, the true disciples who act on the words of Jesus (Mt. 7:21-27), will shine like the sun in the kingdom of God (v. 43).
Almighty God, we humbly ask that you grant us understanding of
not only the teaching of your Son but of everything contained in the Bible that
will lead us to salvation. Help us not
to cling to beliefs driven by our own human efforts, but to rely on the
understanding placed in our hearts by the Holy Spirit regardless of the source. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Upper Saddle River, NJ, United States, Prentice Hall, 1990.
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