Wheat: Parables of
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Wheat holds significant symbolic meaning in the Bible, often representing the righteous, the Kingdom of God, and the fruits of spiritual labor. In the parables of Jesus, wheat is used to convey profound spiritual truths and moral lessons. These parables are found primarily in the Gospels and serve to illustrate the nature of God's Kingdom and the final judgment.

The Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43)

In this parable, Jesus compares the Kingdom of Heaven to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, the weeds also appeared. The servants asked the owner if they should pull up the weeds, but he replied, "No, because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let 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" (Matthew 13:29-30).

Jesus later explains the parable to His disciples, identifying the sower as the Son of Man, the field as the world, the good seed as the sons of the kingdom, and the weeds as the sons of the evil one. The enemy who sows the weeds is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age. The reapers are angels who will separate the righteous from the wicked, gathering the wheat into the barn and burning the weeds in the fire (Matthew 13:37-43).

The Parable of the Growing Seed (Mark 4:26-29)

This parable, unique to the Gospel of Mark, describes the mysterious and autonomous growth of the Kingdom of God. Jesus says, "The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come" (Mark 4:26-29).

Here, wheat symbolizes the growth and maturation of God's Kingdom, which occurs independently of human understanding or intervention. The parable emphasizes the divine power and mystery inherent in the Kingdom's expansion and the inevitability of the harvest, representing the final judgment.

The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23; Mark 4:3-9, 13-20; Luke 8:5-15)

While not exclusively about wheat, this parable involves the sowing of seed, which can be understood as wheat. Jesus describes a sower who scatters seed on different types of soil: the path, rocky places, among thorns, and good soil. Only the seed that falls on good soil produces a crop, yielding thirty, sixty, or a hundred times what was sown.

Jesus explains that the seed represents the word of God, and the various soils symbolize the different responses of human hearts. The good soil, which produces a bountiful harvest, represents those who hear the word, understand it, and bear fruit through perseverance and faithfulness (Matthew 13:23).

Symbolism and Themes

In these parables, wheat serves as a metaphor for the righteous and the fruitful work of God's Kingdom. The imagery of sowing, growing, and harvesting wheat underscores themes of patience, divine sovereignty, and the ultimate separation of good and evil. The parables highlight the importance of spiritual readiness and the assurance of God's just and final judgment. Through the symbol of wheat, Jesus communicates the transformative power of the Gospel and the hope of eternal life for those who remain faithful.
Nave's Topical Index
Matthew 13:25
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
Nave's Topical Index

Luke 16:7
Then said he to another, And how much owe you? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said to him, Take your bill, and write fourscore.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

The First Great Group of Parables.
... The First Great Group of Parables. ... were negligent], his enemy came and sowed tares
[darnel, which closely resembles our cheat] also among the wheat, and went ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/liv the first great group 4.htm

On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xiii. 19, Etc. , Where the Lord ...
... 1. Both yesterday and to-day ye have heard the parables of the sower, in the ... were
offended, when they saw a quantity of tares among the good wheat, and wished ...
/.../sermons on selected lessons of the new testament/sermon xxiii on the words.htm

New Teaching in Parables' - the Parables to the People by the Lake ...
... from the ship' to the multitude that crowded the shore, He addressed to them these
four Parables: concerning Him Who sowed, [2831] concerning the Wheat and the ...
/.../the life and times of jesus the messiah/chapter xxiii new teaching in.htm

Parable of the Various Kinds of Fish in the Net. --Of the Wheat ...
... The parables in which he illustrated the hindrances and obstacles of the truth were
also ... that gave him occasion to utter the parable of the "Wheat and the Tares ...
/.../section 130 parable of the.htm

Second Great Group of Parables.
... (Time: One Year Less One Week.) XCII. Second Great Group of Parables. (Probably
in Per??a.) Subdivision E. ... And he said, A hundred measures of wheat. ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/xcii second great group of 5.htm

The First Great Group of Parables.
... The First Great Group of Parables. ... iii.6-9). The seed here spoken of, being wheat
or barley, needed no cultivation, and hence the planter let it alone, and did ...
/.../mcgarvey/the four-fold gospel/liv the first great group 3.htm

The Parables of the Kingdom.
... Wheat and tares therein are sown, Unto joy or sorrow grown; * * * * Grant, O Lord
of ... For the answer we turn naturally to His Parables; because the form of ...
/.../burbidge/the kingdom of heaven what is it/chapter iii the parables of.htm

The Parables Exemplified in the Early History of the Church.
... We have seen that our Lord described in His Parables the general character and ... charges
show how strongly the tares began at once to grow amongst the wheat. ...
/.../the kingdom of heaven what is it/chapter vii the parables exemplified.htm

And He Set Forth to them Another Parable, and Said...
... and bind them in bundles to be burned with fire; and gather the wheat into my ... 1220]
And Jesus spake all that to the multitudes by way of parables, according as ...
/.../hogg/the diatessaron of tatian/section xvii and he set.htm

The Teaching of Matthew 13 Proves that no Era of Millennial ...
... The second of the parables found in Matt.13"that of the Wheat and the Tares"brings
out even more forcibly than the previous one the fact that there can be ...
/...//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the redeemers return/2 the teaching of matthew.htm

Resources
What is the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares? | GotQuestions.org

If our salvation is eternally secure, why does the Bible warn so strongly against apostasy? | GotQuestions.org

What was the significance of the commands against mixing different things in Deuteronomy 22:9 11? | GotQuestions.org

Wheat: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

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Subtopics

Wheat

Wheat of God's Mercy

Wheat of Self-Rigteousness

Wheat: Chaff of

Wheat: General Scriptures Concerning

Wheat: Ground in a Mortar

Wheat: Grown in Palestine

Wheat: Growth of, Figurative of Vicarious Death

Wheat: Offering of

Wheat: Parables of

Wheat: Prophecy of the Sale of a Measure of, for a Penny

Wheat: Winnowing of

Related Terms

Wheat-harvest (6 Occurrences)

Tares (9 Occurrences)

Threshing-floor (36 Occurrences)

Cors (6 Occurrences)

Spelt (3 Occurrences)

Barley (35 Occurrences)

Weeds (14 Occurrences)

Parched (37 Occurrences)

Burn (206 Occurrences)

Gleaning (10 Occurrences)

Granary (4 Occurrences)

Wheatfields (3 Occurrences)

Finest (23 Occurrences)

Fan (8 Occurrences)

Threshingfloor (18 Occurrences)

Rye (2 Occurrences)

Darnel (9 Occurrences)

Minnith (2 Occurrences)

Barn (6 Occurrences)

Beans (2 Occurrences)

Baths (8 Occurrences)

Cheat (5 Occurrences)

Stubble (18 Occurrences)

Storehouse (12 Occurrences)

Grain (413 Occurrences)

Chaff (24 Occurrences)

Gather (251 Occurrences)

Agriculture

Corn (107 Occurrences)

Threshing (57 Occurrences)

Straw (21 Occurrences)

Premillennial

Bread (433 Occurrences)

Measures (50 Occurrences)

Food (2953 Occurrences)

Millennium

Flour (69 Occurrences)

Olive (61 Occurrences)

Bashan (54 Occurrences)

Kors (3 Occurrences)

Kernel (4 Occurrences)

Unquenchable (5 Occurrences)

Ornan (10 Occurrences)

Lentils (4 Occurrences)

Lentiles (4 Occurrences)

Garner (4 Occurrences)

Gathering (71 Occurrences)

Groats (4 Occurrences)

Winnowing-shovel (2 Occurrences)

Winnowing (7 Occurrences)

Wheaten (4 Occurrences)

Fork (8 Occurrences)

Fitches (3 Occurrences)

Floor (69 Occurrences)

Throughly (10 Occurrences)

Thoroughly (48 Occurrences)

Mandrakes (4 Occurrences)

Pentecost (3 Occurrences)

Cockle (1 Occurrence)

Shell (1 Occurrence)

Store (134 Occurrences)

Sowed (20 Occurrences)

Sheaf (11 Occurrences)

Sow (61 Occurrences)

Purge (35 Occurrences)

Lily (9 Occurrences)

Fine (184 Occurrences)

Slept (74 Occurrences)

Pomegranate (11 Occurrences)

Perhaps (89 Occurrences)

Desert (322 Occurrences)

Hiram (21 Occurrences)

Beasts (241 Occurrences)

Grow (139 Occurrences)

Cleanse (75 Occurrences)

Bringeth (313 Occurrences)

Thunder (48 Occurrences)

Firstfruits (37 Occurrences)

Wheat: Offering of
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