New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 13:30

Secrets of the Kingdom

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 into my barn.’” Matthew 13:30 · Berean Standard Bible
What It Means

Matthew 13:30, in plain English

Let them grow together until harvest time, the master says. At harvest, the weeds will be collected and burned, and the wheat will be gathered safely into the barn.

Why it's here

God has a plan for dealing with evil -- just not on our timetable. There will be a reckoning, but in the meantime, patience protects the good.

Who's speaking

The master gives instructions in the parable.

Where it sits in the story

The master has a plan: wait, then sort. Evil will be dealt with completely, but in the right time. Until then, the wheat is safe and growing.

A Closer Look

The scholar's commentary

The master commands both to grow together until harvest (therismos), when the reapers will first gather the weeds for burning, then collect the wheat into the barn -- a picture of eschatological judgment and salvation.

Language and setting

The harvest is an established Old Testament metaphor for final judgment (Joel 3:13, Hosea 6:11). The sequence -- weeds first gathered and burned, then wheat safely stored -- depicts the certainty of ultimate separation.

Voice

The master gives final instructions in the parable.

Significance

The master reveals God's plan: patient coexistence followed by definitive separation at harvest. The weeds will be destroyed and the wheat safely gathered, ensuring ultimate justice.

In context

Matthew 13:28–32

28‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

29‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them.

30Let 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 into my barn.’”

31He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field.

32Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

Read all of Matthew 13 — A farmer scatters seed, a woman hides yeast, a merchant finds a pearl. Jesus teaches in parables — and not everyone is meant to understand.

Understand every verse, not just this one

This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.

Get BibleKey
In the App

What's in the app that isn't here.

Seven translations

NIV, NLT, NKJV, KJV and the Berean — plus the Catholic NLT-CE and Douay-Rheims, with the full deuterocanon in the reading order.

Every verse, as you read

Tap any of the 31,102 for what it means, and any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, without leaving the chapter.

Selah

Start recording at church and put your phone away. You get the transcript, the key moments, and every verse referenced.

Prayer Maker

Say what's sitting on your heart and hear it back as a real prayer, in a warm voice. Keep the ones that land.

Every Word

The whole Bible in a year — five chapters a day, five days a week, weekends off. Built to be finished.

Today's Light

A verse each morning with its meaning, how it lands today, something to sit with, and a prayer to close it.

Understand every verse.

Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.

Download on the App Store

Free on iPhone & iPad