Matthew 13:36-52

Then Jesus left the crowd and went into the house. His followers came to him and said, “Explain to us the meaning of the story about the weeds in the field.” Jesus answered, “The man who planted the good seed in the field is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed are all of God’s children who belong to the kingdom. The weeds are those people who belong to the Evil One. And the enemy who planted the bad seed is the devil. The harvest time is the end of the age, and the workers who gather are God’s angels. “Just as the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all who cause sin and all who do evil. The angels will throw them into the blazing furnace, where the people will cry and grind their teeth with pain. Then the good people will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let those with ears use them and listen. “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure, and then he hid it in the field again. He was so happy that he went and sold everything he owned to buy that field. “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a man looking for fine pearls. When he found a very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it. “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was put into the lake and caught many different kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled the net to the shore. They sat down and put all the good fish in baskets and threw away the bad fish. It will be this way at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the good people. The angels will throw the evil people into the blazing furnace, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.” Jesus asked his followers, “Do you understand all these things?” They answered, “Yes, we understand.” Then Jesus said to them, “So every teacher of the law who has been taught about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house. He brings out both new things and old things he has saved.”