Continuing with yesterday’s thought, we also read in Matthew 13 the story of The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. Jesus describes another man who sowed seed in his field. Yet while he was sleeping an enemy crept in and “sowed tares among the wheat.”

According to Vine’s Expository Dictionary, tares were “a kind of darnel… growing in the grain fields, as tall as wheat and barley, and resembling wheat in appearance… the seeds were poisonous to man and herbivorous animals, producing sleepiness, nausea, convulsions and even death.”

As the crop began to grow, the farmer’s servants suggested pulling up the tares. The farmer feared this would unavoidably uproot the wheat as well. He said, “Let both grow together until the harvest.” Then the tares would be gathered for the fire and the wheat would be gathered into the barn.

Jesus later explained that the farmer in the story is Himself. The wheat represents genuine believers. The tares represent unbelievers placed in the church by the devil. Only at the end of the age will it be evident who are the wheat and the tares. This is to say that there are some unbelievers who participate in the church right alongside genuine believers. They look the same, but only the Lord knows the difference. The warning is to be certain that you are wheat and not a tare!

Please make sure that you are wheat and not a tare. It will be revealed!