Matthew 13:25

While men slept. The enemy cannot be seen by mortal eyes. Men see only the results of his work, even as they see only the results of the work of the Holy Spirit (see on John 3:8).

His enemy. That is, “the devil” (v. 39), who is Satan, our “adversary” (see on Zech. 3:1). Everything good in the world is of God, and everything evil is, in the last analysis, the product of evil seed sown in the hearts of men by the devil.

Sowed. Literally, “sowed upon”; that is, resowed the field, sowing tares over the previous sowing of wheat or grain. In parts of the Orient even today revenge is taken in precisely the manner described in this parable.

Tares. Gr. zizania, probably the Lolium temulentum, or bearded darnel. This common Palestinian plant grows about 2 ft. tall. In its earlier stages it is indistinguishable from wheat. Only when the plant matures and the seeds of the darnel turn black is it easy to tell the difference. These seeds are poisonous, and if eaten, produce violent nausea, diarrhea, convulsions, and sometimes death. The “tares” are explained as being the “children of the wicked one” (v. 38), because they resemble him in character. This graphic parable lends itself almost perfectly to the spiritual truth illustrated by it.