Matthew 13:36  “Explain this parable to us.”

Jesus did not hesitate when his disciples asked him to explain the parable of the weeds. As I read his words, I find this a big help in trying to understand the meaning of his parables.

First, he went to the heart of the story, “The Son of Man sows good seed.” The Son of Man is Jesus, himself, of course.  He “seeds the world with ‘sons of the kingdom,'” people, that is. I would never have guessed that. So we, who have made Christ to be our  Lord, are the good seed. I note that Jesus did not explain the meaning of “the good seed.”  Presumably it is the Gospel – spread by God.

Then he explained that Satan sowed his bad seed – the sons of the evil one. So we have those who are good seed and those who are bad. The battle rages, so to speak, in the field of the world. Good plants grow among bad plants. What kind of harvest will the field produce?

All this leads to the end of the age when the seeds have produced their kind. The bad ones get pulled up and are burned. The good plants, the good sons of the kingdom, will “shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” This flow of history will reveal ultimately which kingdom prevails. Obviously the kingdom of heaven will.  Good overcomes evil.

All of life, every event, should be seen as part of that story. Only then can we begin to understand what is going on.