²⁴ Jesus then told them this story: The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a farmer scattered good seed in a field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and scattered weed seeds in the field and then left.

²⁶ When the plants came up and began to ripen, the farmer's servants could see the weeds. ²⁷ The servants came and asked, "Sir, didn't you scatter good seed in your field? Where did these weeds come from?" ²⁸ "An enemy did this," he replied. His servants then asked, "Do you want us to go out and pull up the weeds?"

²⁹ "No!" he answered. "You might also pull up the wheat. ³⁰ Leave the weeds alone until harvest time. Then I'll tell my workers to gather the weeds and tie them up and burn them. But I'll have them store the wheat in my barn."

Stories about a Mustard Seed and Yeast

³¹ Jesus told them another story: The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a farmer plants a mustard seed in a field. ³² Although it is the smallest of all seeds, it grows larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree. Birds even come and nest on its branches.

³³ Jesus also said: The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a woman mixes a little yeast into three big batches of flour. Finally, all the dough rises.

The Reason for Teaching with Stories

³⁴ Jesus used stories when he spoke to the people. In fact, he did not tell them anything without using stories. ³⁵ So God's promise came true, just as the prophet[b] had said, "I will use stories to speak my message and to explain things that have been hidden since the creation of the world."

Jesus Explains the Story about the Weeds

³⁶ After Jesus left the crowd and went inside,[c] his disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the story about the weeds in the wheat field." ³⁷ Jesus answered: The one who scattered the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seeds are the people who belong to the kingdom. The weed seeds are those who belong to the evil one, ³⁹ and the one who scattered them is the devil. The harvest is the end of time, and angels are the ones who bring in the harvest.

⁴⁰ Weeds are gathered and burned. That's how it will be at the end of time. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everyone who does wrong or causes others to sin. ⁴² Then he will throw them into a flaming furnace, where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain.