Matthew 13:25

But while men slept.

During sleep is the time of tare-sowing. It is when men sleep that they are most likely to inhale malarious poisons. It is when the church member sleeps that the enemy is wont to sow worldly influences and temptation in his heart. It is when the church sleeps that influences are planted that grow up into evil. It was while Prince Alexander of Bulgaria was sleeping that the conspiracy gathered which hustled him out of his kingdom. It is during the hours of sleep, whether in our souls, in the church, in affairs of state, or the natural sleep of night that the enemy is always busiest. It is. natural touch for the Savior to locate the evil "when men slept."

His enemy came and sowed.

It is by no means uncommon for malice to show itself in this way.. wicked person may do great injury with little chance of detection. Dean Alford in his Commentary states that he was once the victim of such animosity,. mischievous weed being sown in his field. Trench says that such acts of revenge are very common in India and the East.

Tares also among the wheat.

The man had sown only wheat, good, clean, sound wheat. The enemy, however, watching the time of sowing, had scattered tares in the night. The tare or darnel is, like our chess or cheat,. kind of bastard wheat, looking like wheat, but producing. seed that is very injurious in its effects, producing, if eaten, vomiting, and even death. Thompson says, "The roots of the wheat and the darnel are often so intertwined that it is impossible to separate them without plucking them both up." The grains of the darnel are black, and can be easily separated by sifting. As we have already considered what the Sower, the seed, and the field represent in connection with the kingdom of heaven, we will here refer to the explanation given by the Lord himself when he explained this parable to his disciples. "The enemy that sowed the tares is the devil" (verse 39), the author of all the evil that is in the world, the "father" of the wicked. "The tares are the children of the wicked one" (verse 38), not some of the children, or the children in the church, but the children wherever found. In other words, the enemy and the tares are the devil and his servants in the world.