New Testament · Gospel

Matthew 13:38

Secrets of the Kingdom

The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, Matthew 13:38 · Berean Standard Bible

What It Means

Matthew 13:38, in plain English

The field is the world. The good seed represents God's people. The weeds represent those who belong to the evil one.

Why it's here

Jesus is explaining why good and evil exist side by side in the world. It is the cosmic battle playing out in everyday life.

Who's speaking

Jesus continues the explanation.

Where it sits in the story

Jesus reveals the big picture: the world is a field where God's people and the enemy's people grow side by side. The battle is real, but the harvest is coming.

A Closer Look

The scholar's commentary

Jesus provides the allegorical key: the field (agros) is the world (kosmos), the good seed (kalon sperma) represents the 'sons of the kingdom' (huioi tes basileias), and the weeds are the 'sons of the evil one' (huioi tou ponerou).

Language and setting

The identification of the field as the world (not the church) is significant: the parable addresses the coexistence of good and evil in human society broadly, not merely within the community of faith.

Voice

Jesus continues interpreting the parable.

Significance

Jesus maps the parable onto reality: the world is the field, God's people are the good seed, and the children of evil are the weeds -- all growing together in the same world.

In context

Matthew 13:36–40

36Then Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

37He replied, “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

38The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,

39and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

40As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

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