Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 13:29

"But he saith, Nay; lest haply while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them." — Matthew 13:29 (ASV)

The owner blames an enemy, but forbids his servants from attempting to separate weed from wheat till the harvest. Then, as the workers reap the field, only the wheat will be gathered; the weeds, apparently so plentiful they must first be gathered up and burned, contaminate the wheat no longer. “Harvest” is a common metaphor for the final judgment .