Matthew 13:39
in Matthew 13and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and the enemy that sowed them is the devil: and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels.
KJV
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
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This verse in Matthew 13
Commentary
12 notes on this verseBy the harvest is denoted the day of judgment, in which the good are to be separated from the evil; which will be done by the ministry of Angels, as it is said below, that the Son of Man shall come to judgment with His Angels. As then the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his Angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all offences, and them which do iniquity.
This site's exposition
the good seed are the children of the kingdom
on Matthew 13:38-39
The field is the world sets the parable's scope wider than the visible church, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom stands opposite the tares, the children of the wicked one, planted by an enemy the text names plainly, the enemy that sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world and the reapers are the angels fixes the timing of the separation to come, not to the church's own present discipline, which chapter 18 will address on its own separate terms.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
(Quæst. Ev. i. 10.) For all weeds among corn are called tares. It follows, The enemy who sowed this is the Devil.
For this is part of the wiles of the Devil, to be ever mixing up truth with error. The harvest is the end of the world. In another place He says, speaking of the Samaritans, Lift up your eyes, and consider the fields that they are already white for the harvest; (John 4:35.) and again, The harvest truly is great, but the labourers are few, (Luke 10:2.) in which words He speaks of the harvest as being already present. How then does He here speak of it as something yet to come? Because He has used the figure of the harvest in two significations as He says there that it is one that soweth, and another that reapeth; but here it is the same who both sows and reaps; indeed there He brings forward the Prophets, not to distinguish them from Himself, but from the Apostles, for Christ Himself by His Prophets sowed among the Jews and Samaritans. The figure of harvest is thus applied to two different things. Speaking of first conviction and turning to the faith, He calls that the harvest, as that in which the whole is accomplished; but when He enquires into the fruits ensuing upon the hearing the word of God, then He calls the end of the world the harvest, as here.
(Verse 37 onwards) And he answered, saying: The one who sows good seed is the Son of Man. But the field is the world. And the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom. But the weeds are the sons of the evil one. And the enemy who sowed them is the devil. And the harvest is the end of the age. And the reapers are angels. Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.
A commentator
John ChrysostomHomily on the Gospel of Matthew 47 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
"And He answered," so it is said, "and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world, the good seed, these are the children of the kingdom, but the tares are the children of the wicked one; the enemy that soweth them is the devil; and the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of Man shall send His angels, and they shall gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into the furnace of fire, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." For whereas He Himself is the sower, and that of His own field, and out of His own kingdom He gathers, it is quite clear that the present world also is His. But mark His unspeakable love to man, and His leaning to bounty, and His disinclination to punishment; in that, when He sows, He sows in His own person, but when He punishes, it is by others, that is, by the angels.
The Medieval Church1 voice
What needed to be said has been said above. We said that He is speaking here of the heresies which are permitted to exist until the end of the world. For if we were to slay the heretics and cut them down, there would be …
5 more voices on this verse
The Medieval Church1 voice
Then he says who the sower is, saying and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, who introduced sin; Wis 2:24: by the envy of the devil, death came into the world. Then the distinction is treated, and he does three things: first, the …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The enemy that sowed them is the devil,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
The parable of the wheat and tares, which occupies the chief part of these verses, is one of peculiar importance in the present day. It is eminently calculated to correct the extravagant expectations in which many Christians indulge as to the effect of missions abroad, and of preaching the Gospel at home. May we give it the attention which it deserves! In the first place, this parable teaches us that good and evil will always be found together in the professing church, until the end of the world.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The enemy, after sowing his "tares," "went his way"--his dark work soon done, but taking time to develop its true character. The harvest is the end of the world--the period of Christ's second coming, and of the judicial separation of the righteous and the wicked. Till then, no attempt is to be made to effect such separation.
The parable of the wheat and tares, which occupies the chief part of these verses, is one of peculiar importance in the present day. It is eminently calculated to correct the extravagant expectations in which many Christians indulge as to the effect of missions abroad, and of preaching the Gospel at home. May we give it the attention which it deserves! In the first place, this parable teaches us that good and evil will always be found together in the professing church, until the end of the world. The visible church is set before us as a mixed body: it is a vast “field” in which “wheat” and “tares” grow side by side. We must expect to find believers and unbelievers, converted and unconverted, “the children of the kingdom” and “the children of the wicked one”all mingled together in every congregation of baptized people. The purest preaching of the Gospel will not prevent this. In every age of the church the same state of things has existed: it was the experience of the early Fathers; it was the experience of the Reformers; it is the experience of the best ministers at the present hour. There has never been a visible church or a religious assembly of which the members have all been “wheat.” The devil, that great enemy of souls, has always taken care to sow “tares.” The most strict and prudent discipline will not prevent this: Episcopalians, Presbyterians and Independents all alike find it to be so. Do what we will to purify a church, we shall never succeed in obtaining a perfectly pure communion: tares will be found among the wheat; hypocrites and deceivers will creep in; and worst of all, if we are extreme in our efforts to obtain purity we do more harm than good: we run the risk of encouraging many a Judas Iscariot, and breaking many a bruised reed. In our zeal to gather up the tares, we are in danger of rooting up the wheat with them.
The words behind it
20 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | and | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| ἐχθρὸς | echthros | the enemy | G2190 → | 32 times |
| ὁ | ho | which | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| σπείρας | speiras | having sown | G4687 → | 52 times |
| αὐτά | auta | them | G846 → | 5565 times |
| ἐστιν | estin | is | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| ὁ | ho | the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| διάβολος· | diabolos | devil; | G1228 → | 37 times |
| ὁ | ho | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | and | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| θερισμὸς | therismos | the harvest | G2326 → | 13 times |
| συντέλεια | sunteleia | [the] consummation | G4930 → | 6 times |
| αἰῶνός | aionos | age | G165 → | 121 times |
| ἐστιν· | estin | is; | G1510 → | 2333 times |
| οἱ | hoi | <the> | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| δὲ | de | and | G1161 → | 2765 times |
| θερισταὶ | theristai | the harvesters | G2327 → | |
| ἄγγελοί | angeloi | angels | G32 → | 175 times |
| εἰσιν. | eisin | are. | G1510 → | 2333 times |
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
δὲand
deG1161 →2765 times
ἐχθρὸςthe enemy
echthrosG2190 →32 times
ὁwhich
hoG3588 →19766 times
σπείραςhaving sown
speirasG4687 →52 times
αὐτάthem
autaG846 →5565 times
ἐστινis
estinG1510 →2333 times
ὁthe
hoG3588 →19766 times
διάβολος·devil;
diabolosG1228 →37 times
ὁ<the>
hoG3588 →19766 times
δὲand
deG1161 →2765 times
θερισμὸςthe harvest
therismosG2326 →13 times
συντέλεια[the] consummation
sunteleiaG4930 →6 times
αἰῶνόςage
aionosG165 →121 times
ἐστιν·is;
estinG1510 →2333 times
οἱ<the>
hoiG3588 →19766 times
δὲand
deG1161 →2765 times
θερισταὶthe harvesters
theristaiG2327 →
ἄγγελοίangels
angeloiG32 →175 times
εἰσιν.are.
eisinG1510 →2333 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Matthew 25:31When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His glorious throne.
it leads to
- Revelation 1:7
Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.
- Matthew 19:28
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve…
- 2 Thessalonians 1:7–8
and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels
- Jude 1:14
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them: “Behold, the Lord is coming with myriads of His holy ones
- Mark 8:38
If anyone is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in His Father’s glory with the…
- Revelation 1:7
Through
Revelation 19:20But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and…
it leads to
- Revelation 20:10
And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day…
- Revelation 20:10
Through
Matthew 13:49So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous,
it leads to
- Revelation 20:12–15
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their…
- Matthew 24:31
And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.
- Revelation 20:12–15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Matthew
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Augustine of Hippo, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Matthew; John Chrysostom, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; John Chrysostom, Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 47; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Remigius of Rheims, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Matthew and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Matthew.