Jesus knew all about the problem of weeds and he used them to illustrate an important spiritual truth. This parable is based on the devious practice of sabotaging an enemy’s field by scattering bad seeds among a newly planted crop.
The weed in this case, also known as tares, is a plant that in its early stages of growth is indistinguishable from wheat. Only as it begins to mature is it betrayed by a grayish coloring. By then, however, the roots of the two plants have intertwined, so that it’s too late to pull the weeds without also uprooting the grain. The only recourse is to wait until the harvest, when the wheat can be safely sorted from the weeds….