The passage
      v24. Speaking with "them" (the crowds), Jesus proclaims that the coming of the kingdom of heaven can be compared to the situation of a farmer who has completed his planting and now awaits the harvest.
      v25-26. An enemy plants bearded darnel (botanically close to wheat). As the heads of grain appear on the wheat, the servants can identify the weeds, now intertwined with the wheat.
      v27-30. The farmer ("master") tells his workers to leave both weeds and wheat together. At the harvest, separate the two, burning the weeds.
      v36. Jesus leaves the mystery with the crowd and withdraws. The disciples, who are also mystified, gain the truth by persistent seeking.
      v37-39. Jesus now explains the parable to his disciples. The Son of Man, taking to himself divine attributes, sows the seed and directs the harvest. This takes place in the "field", which is the "world". From the Early Church Fathers, through Augustine, and up to the Reformers, the "field" was seen as the church. Yet, Jesus is quite clear, the kingdom is made up of the "sons of the kingdom" in a "world" dissipated by the "sons of the evil one." The visible organization of the church is not the kingdom, although it is an imperfect expression of it, or at least we might say, the kingdom resides somewhere in it (sometimes!). Note that in the parable of the Sower the seed is the word of God (the gospel, the kingdom parable). In the parable of the weeds and wheat, the good seeds are the "sons of the kingdom". Context always dictates meaning.
      v40-42. Jesus, having identified the actors, now describes the action. The focus is on the present reign of Jesus and his role as the eschatological judge who both condemns and blesses. So, "he who has ears, let him hear," i.e. "repent or perish." Using Zephaniah 1:3, Jesus identifies those who face judgement as the ones who cause offence (are "stumbling-blocks") and who are lawless (ie. without Christ). In "the world" they have much in common with the "wheat", but they are children of darkness. In the present epoch of Christ's reign they coexist with believers, but the day is coming when they will be weeded out and cast into the fiery furnace, Jer:29:22, Dan.3:6, Rev.20:15. This is a place of "tears and bitter regret."
      v43. Those who are blessed are the "righteous" ones (obviously righteous as a gift of grace through faith, and certainly not a law-righteousness). Once they were the "light of the world", but now they shine in the kingdom. In Christ they display God's glory. Note the kingdom is both Christ's and the Father's.

Repent and believe
      Carson, in his commentary on Matthew, says that the truth of this parable concerns "eschatological expectation, not ecclesiological deterioration." Is he right? What is Jesus teaching in this parable?
      The Bible scholar C.H. Dodd stressed the truth that Jesus' parables proclaim the arrival of the kingdom of God; "Jesus is asserting that the time has come when the blessings of the Reign of God are available to all men." The kingdom has burst in upon us and its effects are here and now. His realized eschatology has a powerful ring of truth to it, although an inaugurated eschatology is probably a better way of describing a kingdom that "is at hand." The kingdom is indeed now, although its authentic presence is diluted by powers of darkness which seek to confuse. Confuse they may, but the coming day of judgement will sort all things out. Will we stand in that day?
      The "ecclesiological deterioration" approach interprets the parable in terms of pseudo Christians infiltrating the church. The kingdom of God, as we experience it in the world today, is made of up of "wheat and weeds", true believers and frauds. The frauds should not be removed, as God will deal with them in the day of judgment. This is possibly true, but it is not the point of the parable. The parable does not address the church situation at all, rather, it proclaims the present reign of Christ over a coexistent lawless and righteous humanity that is facing imminent judgement.
      This parable reminds us that "the fields are white for harvest. Already the reaper is taking his pay and gathering a crop for eternal life", John 4:35-36. The harvest is upon us; the day when there will be winners and losers "is at hand". So, it is obviously time to "repent and believe". The parable of the Weeds and the Wheat, like all kingdom parables, confronts us with the gospel of the coming kingdom.

v24
      wJmoiwqh (oJmoiow) "is like" - may be compared to, is like the case of. "Maybe compared", Wymouth
      kalon adj. "good [seed]" - good, beautiful. Carefully selected

v25
      de "but" - Here taking adversative force
      epespeiren (epispeirw) aor. "sowed" - sowed again, sowed more.
      zizania (on) "weeds" - Bearded Darnel [Illoium, or Cephalaria syriaca]. A poisonous weed which, in the early stages of growth, looks like wheat.

v26
      oJ cortoV (oV) "wheat" - grass, fodder. Actually meaning "enclosed place for feeding", but in the NT takes the sense, "fodder". "When the plants grew", TEV.

v27
      tou oikodespotou (hV ou) "the owner's" - of the owner, master of the house, householder.
      ouci .... espeiraV "didn't you sow ... ?" - did you not sow ... ? Forming a question expecting an affirmative answer.

v28
      ecqroV anqrwpoV "an enemy" - a hostile man. "Some blackguard has done this", Phillips
      sullexwmen (sullegw) aor. subj. "pull them up" - gather them up, collect them. Deliberative subjunctive, "shall we?"

v29
      mhpote + subj. "because" - lest, perhaps. Conveying purpose, "in order that you may not ...."
      ekrizwshte (ekrizw) aor. subj. "may root up" - may pull up by the roots

v30
      afete (afihmi) aor. imp. "let" - allow, permit
      dhsate (dew) "tie" - bind together
      sunagagete (sunagw) aor. imp. "gather" - gather together. "Gather the corn to store in my granary", Barclay

v36
      diasafhson (diasafew) aor. imp. "explain" - to make clear through an explanation. Jesus draws aside from the crowd and explains the mystery to his disciples, the seekers.

v37
      apokriqeiV eipen "he answered" - he answered and said. A typical Semitic formula common to the gospels. "So he replied", Moffatt.
      de "-" but, and. Here, and in the following verses, used to establish a list of items which Jesus now explains. "And ..... and ......"
      oJ speirwn (speirw) part. "the one who sowed" - Participle as a substantive, as NIV. The present tense may indicate a continuation of the sowing.

v38
      oJ kosmoV "the world" - Those who want to argue that this parable is about genuine and non genuine believers in the church must face Jesus' direct explanation that the "field" is the inhabited earth, not some particular organization. "Whole world", Phillips.
      oiJ uiJoi thV basileiaV "the sons of the kingdom" - A genitive of association, so "kingdom sons" = "kingdom members." Seed often represents "the word", but certainly not here. The adjective "good / fine / beautiful / blessed" designates the particular use here.
      oiJ uiJoi tou ponhrou "the sons of the evil one" - the sons of the wicked / evil. "The followers of the wicked one", Williams; "those who belong to the evil one", CEV.

v39
      oJ diaboloV "the devil" - The principal supernatural evil being, Devil, Satan*, the deceiver, the liar.
      sunteleia aiwnoV "end of the age" - The consummation / completion of the present scheme of things, obviously the final day of judgment. "The end of the world as we know it", Barclay; "the end time", REB. Note that both nouns in v40 take an article, so serving as an example of the Canon of Apollonius where two nouns that depend on each other either both have an article or both lack an article.
      aggeloi (oV) "angels" - God's messengers. The angels are often associated with the judgment in the last day (Rev.14:15-19), as are we, which may mean that "messengers" here refers to believers (eg. ref. where "messenger" may = "believer", Matt.16:27, 24:31, 25:31), although in this parable it is unlikely.

v40
      wJsper ..... ouJtwV "as ...... so [it will be]" - as, just as ...... thus, so, in this way. Establishing a comparison, the protasis "as the weeds were pulled up and burned at the end of the harvest", the apodosis "so it will be for the followers of darkness at the end time."

v41
      apostelei (apostellw) fut. "[The Son of Man] will send" - Expressing Jesus' authority over the angels and his administration of the day of judgment.
      ek thV basileiaV autou "out of his kingdom" - from the kingdom. The field was the world, but now the weeds are collected out of his kingdom. It is this verse which has prompted the view that Jesus is speaking about true and false believers residing side by side in the church. This seems unlikely. Dodd simply dismisses verses 36-43 as a later ecclesiastical interpretation of the parable. Davies and Allison note two possible solutions, namely: "the kingdom of the Son of man encompasses the entire world, to the extent it is proclaimed everywhere", Schweizer; "when the Son of Man has come, then the kingdom also will have come. Hence at that future date the tares can be said to be gathered out of His Kingdom", Allen. Both suggestions are a bit ho-hum. Hagner proposes a more sensible solution. Since the kingdom is now in the world, the righteous are alongside the lawless, but only for a time.
      ta skandala "everything that causes sin" - a trap, something that causes a trip or fall. Here possibly referring to persons rather than things, although neuter. Those who lead believers away from the free grace of God. "All who draw others to apostasy", NAB.
      touV poiountaV thn anomian "all who do evil" - who work lawlessness. In an Old Testament sense the phrase refers to those who defy God's law. The one law that applies in the New Testament is "repent and believe", so "all who reject Christ."

v42
      balousin "they will throw" - Describing a vigorous action
      thn kaminon tou puroV "the fiery furnace" - furnace of fire. "The blazing furnace", cf. Dan.3:6. Describing the horror judgment.
      odontwn (douV) "grinding of teeth" - gnashing, or clenching of teeth. A physical expression of anger or frustration serving to illustrate the terrible end of those without Christ. Such a phrase raises the issue of the ongoing state of the lost. Do they face annihilation, or ongoing torment? "There will be tears and bitter regret", Phillips.