Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Matthew 13:30

"Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn." — Matthew 13:30 (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 .