Between the pronouncing of this parable and the explanation that the Lord gives, we find two other parables. We will now logically first look at the explanation of the parable of the weeds and later discuss the parable of the mustard seed and the parable of the leaven.
36 Then He sent the multitudes away, and entered the house. And His disciples came to Him, and said: Explain to us the parable of the poisonous weeds in the field.
house out, house in
In verse 1 we saw that the Lord went out of the house and sat down by the sea. We have discussed that this depicts that He leaves the house of Israel and salvation would go to the nations. Here Jesus goes into the house. He has left Israel and goes into a (different) house and explains mysteries to His confidants there. It is a picture of the ecclesia, which Paul says is a spiritual temple, the house where God dwells and that we are members of the household of God (Eph. 2:19-22).
37 And he answered and said, The sower that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38 and the field is the world; and the good seed are the sons of the kingdom…
sons of the Kingdom
In the parable of the sower we saw that the seed is a representation of the Word (1 Pet. 1:23). Here this step is skipped and it is immediately said that it is a representation of that which the seed produces: the sons (=heirs) of the Kingdom.
Here too, just as in the parable of the sower, the sower is a picture of the Lord himself (:3) and the field is a representation of the world. In this world, sowing is done by God, but also by His enemy, the Devil.
38…and the poisonous weeds, these are the sons of the evil one;
39 and the enemy who sows them is the Devil (…)
diabolos
The Greek word that is translated as devil is diabolos, which means something like a through-thrower. It speaks of the one who causes confusion and throws everything into disarray. Here too, this happens because tares are sown among the wheat.
If we consider that seed is a representation of the Word of God, we also know that another word is sown by the adversary. It is a word that looks like the word of God, but Satan twists it in a subtle way (compare Gen. 3:1; Matt. 4:6).
As the wheat is a representation of those who belong to the Lord, so the tares are a representation of those who belong to Satan. This concerns believers and unbelievers.
a form of godliness
But beware! The tares that are sown are not just any tares, but are a tare that looks like wheat. We should therefore be aware that in the world, there are both believers and unbelievers, but that these ‘sons of the evil one’ are hardly distinguishable from believers!
Those of whom the tares are a representation have a form of godliness, but it is a form and it’s just the outside. They have denied its power (2 Tim. 3:5). Just as the tare has the appearance of being wheat, but it is not.
messengers of light
Paul also had to deal with people who presented themselves as apostles and servants of righteousness but were in fact opponents. They pretended to be pious and appeared so to the Corinthians, for they found favor with them.
2 Corinthians 11
13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into a messenger of light.
15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
false
In these verses from the 2nd Corinthians, Paul points out that we should seek out the ministers of Satan among those who transform themselves into ministers of righteousness. He is talking about those who transform themselves into false apostles, that is, false representatives of Christ. Satan also transforms himself into a messenger of light, and therefore it is no wonder that his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness.
servants of righteousness
A messenger of light pretends to preach the gospel and we must therefore look for them among pastors, preachers, theologians, etc. They present themselves as servants of righteousness. They have the appearance of godliness and so do their followers. It seems so, but it is not. Therefore they are not just presented as weeds, but as poisonous weeds. The darnel looks exactly like wheat, but it is not and that becomes apparent at the harvest. Then it will become apparent that the wheat bears fruit and the weeds do not.