Those particular weeds look exactly like wheat while they’re growing. So at first, no one knew what had happened. It became obvious when the plants began to mature. The farmhands said, “What should we do? Should we go into the fields and pull up the weeds?”

The farmer said, “No, if you do that, you’ll destroy the wheat. Let’s wait until harvest.” When harvest came, the farmer sent his workers into the field. They pulled up the weeds, tied them in bundles, and burned them. They then gathered the wheat and put it into barns.

The disciples came to Jesus and asked what this meant. He said, “The farmer is the Son of Man, the field is this world, and the wheat is the children of God. The enemy is the devil and the weeds are those who follow him.

“At the end of time, the Son of Man will send his angels to gather in the children of God. After that, they will gather in the wicked, and throw them into a blazing furnace.”

At another time, Jesus said that God’s kingdom is like a wealthy man who decided to go on a long journey. He called in his trusted servants and assigned them responsibilities so his business could prosper while he was gone. He allotted money to each of them, according to their abilities. To one he gave $5,000, to the next $2,000, and to the last he gave $1,000.

Immediately, the first servant went out and put his money to work. By doing so, he earned another $5,000. The second man did the same and he earned another $2,000. But the third man found a safe spot, dug a hole, and buried his $1,000.

After a long time, the master came back. The three servants stood before him to give an accounting of what they had done. The first one said, “You allotted me $5,000. Look, I have put that money to work, and I’ve doubled it.”

The master was thrilled. He said, “Great job! I’m proud of you. I’m promoting you to a higher position, with much better benefits.”

The second man said, “You allotted me $2,000. Look, I have put that money to work, and I’ve doubled it.”

Again, the master was thrilled. “Great job! I’m proud of you. I’m promoting you to a higher position, with much better benefits.”

The third man stepped forward and said, “Master, I knew you were a shrewd businessman and didn’t tolerate mistakes. I was afraid, so I went and hid my $1,000 in a safe place. Here it is, every bit of it.”

The master was furious! He said, “You worthless good-for-nothing. How can you be so lazy? If nothing else, you could have gotten a little interest at a bank. But no, you did nothing.”

He yelled to the guards. “Take this man’s $1,000 and give it to the servant with $10,000. Then take this worthless servant and throw him out into the darkness. There he will be destitute with nothing but his stupidity.”