The Kingdom | Wheat or Weed?

Written by Kate Powell 

Today, we are continuing our new series in the study of the Kingdom Parables in Matthew 13. Last week we dug into the Parable of the Sower. This week, we’re diving into the second parable Jesus teaches—the Parable of the Weeds. 

Through these parables, Jesus uses powerful, everyday imagery to drive home just how significant the Kingdom of God is in our day-to-day lives. 

In Matthew 13:24-26 Jesus says, 

The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 

For a long time in my Christian life, I didn’t understand the Kingdom. When I gave my life to the Lord at 29, everything centered around the forgiveness of my sins—and I felt a deep freedom because of it. But I didn’t yet understand that in that same moment of salvation, I was transferred into the Kingdom of God. 

Colossians 1:13 says He rescued us from the domain of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. We were adopted out of one kingdom… and brought into another. Brought into the movement and rhythm of the Kingdom of God. 

So what is the Kingdom of God? At its core, the Kingdom of God is where the rule and reign of the Father—through Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit—is happening. It’s not just a place we go one day. It’s a reality we’re invited into right now—even in the day-to-day grind of life. God our Father wants us to experience kingdom living! 

That’s why Jesus says in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” He’s establishing priority—when the Kingdom is first, everything else finds its place. 

And over time, through discipleship, my eyes began to open to this reality—that salvation isn’t just about being saved from something… it’s about being invited into something. 

But if that’s true… then what does that look like in the world we’re living in? 

In Matthew 13:24, Jesus says the Kingdom of God is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. The ultimate Sower—the One planting what is good in the world—is Jesus. The field represents the world. And the good seed represents the sons of the Kingdom. 

Then, in verse 25, the enemy enters. Of course, he works while the people are sleeping and sows weeds among the wheat! The enemy works even while the people of God are fast asleep. So, we learn from this parable that there are two Kingdoms in conflict – the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan. 

In fact, we discover the beginning of this war all the way back in Genesis 3. Adam and Eve encounter a demonic attack when Satan deceives them into disobeying God. Almost from the beginning of creation, we see two Kingdoms: a Kingdom of darkness where Satan seeks to distort and destroy and the Kingdom of God in which God works in truth, life, and authority. 

Jesus’ parable continues the Genesis 3 story showing the very active work of the enemy to destroy the work of the man who sowed good seed in the field. 

Then, in verse 26, Jesus says that the wheat and the weeds will grow and mature together. The wheat and the weeds can look very similar. Satan always attempts to counterfeit what God is doing! 

Jesus gives the second part of the parable in Matthew 13:27-30  where He says, 

The owner’s servants came to him and said, “Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field?”  Where then did the weeds come from?”  “An enemy did this” he replied. The servants  asked him, “Do you want us to go and pull them up?” “No,” he answered, “because while  you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let them both grow  together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds  and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.” 

Understanding that an enemy has poisoned the owner’s field, the servants want to rip out the weeds! But the servants do not have the calling or the skill to pull weeds. Jesus says there is another group of people, the harvesters (angels identified in 13:39), who are called and skilled to separate the wheat and the weeds. Harvest (judgement) is coming. Wheat will be gathered into the owner’s barn and weeds will be burned in fire. 

So, Jesus is showing us something really important here. We are living in a season where good and evil, truth and deception, the kingdom of darkness and the Kingdom of God are growing side by side. Sometimes it can seem like evil is winning – cheaters get away with cheating, liars get away with lying. Sometimes it seems like doing good does not get rewarded. For now, good and evil co-exist. 

But a harvest is coming. Angels will remove everything that causes sin and evil. And every man and woman will be judged as either wheat or weed. No one will get away with anything. Jesus gives a brutal picture of what will happen to the weeds in Matthew 13:42, “They will be thrown into a blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 

This led me to ponder, “Wheat or weed? Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Satan? In which field are you planted and growing?” 

In Ephesians 3:17, the Apostle Paul is on his knees before the Father, praying that we would be strengthened with power through the Spirit—so that Christ would dwell in our hearts through faith. And then he says this… that we would be rooted and grounded in love. That we would grasp how wide, how long, how high, and how deep the love of Christ is… and not just know it in our heads—but experience it until we are filled to the fullness of God. 

Paul says Kingdom planting grows in the love of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And does not stop growing until fullness happens! 

Unfortunately, until the harvest, we must live in a world where good and evil exist together. Yes, Jesus calls. Yes Jesus rescues. Yes, Jesus heals. Yes, the Holy Spirit energizes. Yes, the Father provides. And Satan steals, kills, destroys, lies, robs, wounds, perverts, and tears. 

Until the day when everything will be revealed. Everything will be separated and everything will be made right. On that day, as the weeds burn, Jesus says the wheat, also called the righteous, “will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” (Matthew 13:43). 

Because when you’re rooted in Him, you won’t just make it through the field—you will shine like the sun!