📖 Biblical Definition
In Matthew 13:24-30, Jesus teaches that the Kingdom of Heaven is like a field where a man sowed good seed, but his enemy came by night and sowed tares (darnel) among the wheat. When both grew together, the servants asked whether to pull up the tares. The master forbade it, saying the uprooting would destroy the wheat as well — wait until the harvest, and the reapers will separate them. Jesus interprets the parable plainly: the field is the world, the good seed are the sons of the Kingdom, the tares are the sons of the evil one, and the harvest is the end of the age. The church will always contain false believers until Christ Himself separates them at judgment.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
TARE — A weed that grows among corn (grain). In Scripture, the darnel grass.
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TARE, n. A weed that grows among grain, particularly wheat. In the parable of our Savior (Matthew 13), tares are generally understood to mean darnel, a plant that closely resembles wheat in its early growth. Note: Webster understood tares specifically as darnel — a plant whose mimicry of wheat made it a perfect symbol for spiritual counterfeits.
📖 Key Scripture
• Matthew 13:25 — "While his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away."
• Matthew 13:30 — "Let both grow together until the harvest... gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned."
• Matthew 13:38-39 — "The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one."
• 2 Corinthians 11:14-15 — "Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Used to justify tolerance of false teaching within the church rather than discernment.
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The parable of the tares is routinely weaponized to silence church discipline. When a congregation confronts false teaching or unrepentant sin, someone inevitably says, "Don't pull up the tares — let God sort it out." But Jesus was not forbidding discernment or discipline. He was teaching that final, definitive separation of true and false believers belongs to God at the end of the age — not that the church should tolerate wolves in the pulpit. Paul commanded the Corinthians to expel the immoral brother (1 Corinthians 5). Jesus told the churches in Revelation to repent of tolerating false teachers. The parable warns against premature, ultimate judgment — not against the exercise of biblical discernment and church discipline that Scripture everywhere commands.
Usage
• "The parable of the tares teaches that the visible church will always contain counterfeits — and only Christ can make the final separation."
• "Tares look exactly like wheat until the harvest reveals what they truly are — this is why Scripture warns us to test every spirit."