TNDL: “YESHUA ILLUSTRATED THE TEACHINGS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN PARABLES, IN ORDER TO GIVE A CLEAR UNDERSTANDING TO HIS DISCIPLES AND FOLLOWERS IN THEIR TIMES.”

Matthew 13:24-43
The Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat and its Interpretation; the Mustard Seed, the Yeast, and Jesus Teachings in Parables.
Summary
Jesus' teaching in parables is in fulfillment of scriptural prophecy. The parable of the weeds among the wheat sees the kingdom of heaven to be like a farmer who sows good seed and then is surprised to find it also contains weeds. The weeds and the wheat must be allowed to grow together until the time of harvest, because, like a mustard seed or like yeast, the kingdom will grow and expand.
Analysis
Like the parable of the sower with its interpretation, the next section presents a parable and its explanation to the disciples by Jesus that frame two other brief parables and a second statement about the reason for Jesus' parable teaching. Matthew's reworking of Mark and his preference for structure are both to be seen here in support of his key themes. He has removed Mark's parable about the seed growing secretly and replaced it with his unique one about the weeds growing among the wheat. As such he has shifted the question from how the seed grows to why there are so many weeds among the wheat and what to do about it. The interpretation provides transparent instruction to Matthew's own disciple community about life in the meantime of kingdom waiting. The sower is the Son of Man who at the end of time will come to gather his good seed, the righteous children of the kingdom, and separate out the weeds, the children of the evil one, and burn them in fire. The parables of the mustard seed and the yeast are framed by this teaching and so underscore the confidence in the growth of the kingdom in spite of the signs to the contrary.
Matthew 13:24-43
The Parable of Weeds among the Wheat
24 He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while everybody was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and then went away. 26So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well. 27And the slaves of the householder came and said to him, “Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where, then, did these weeds come from?” 28He answered, “An enemy has done this.” The slaves said to him, “Then do you want us to go and gather them?” 29But he replied, “No; for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them. 30Let both of them grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Collect the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31 He put before them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; 32it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.’
The Parable of the Yeast
33 He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed in with* three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.’
The Use of Parables
34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables; without a parable he told them nothing. 35This was to fulfil what had been spoken through the prophet:*
‘I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.’*
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds
36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples approached him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ 37He answered, ‘The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38the field is the world, and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; the weeds are the children of the evil one, 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, 42and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let anyone with ears* listen! (TNDL)