28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
28 " 'An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' So the servants said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?'
28 "He answered, 'Some enemy did this.' "The farmhands asked, 'Should we weed out the thistles?'
28 He said to them, 'An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, 'Do you want us then to go and gather them up?'
28 "'An enemy has done this!' the farmer exclaimed. "'Should we pull out the weeds?' they asked.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 13:28
Commentary on Matthew 13:24-30
(Read Matthew 13:24-30)
36-43 This parable represents the present and future state of the gospel church; Christ's care of it, the devil's enmity against it, the mixture there is in it of good and bad in this world, and the separation between them in the other world. So prone is fallen man to sin, that if the enemy sow the tares, he may go his way, they will spring up, and do hurt; whereas, when good seed is sown, it must be tended, watered, and fenced. The servants complained to their master; Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? No doubt he did; whatever is amiss in the church, we are sure it is not from Christ. Though gross transgressors, and such as openly oppose the gospel, ought to be separated from the society of the faithful, yet no human skill can make an exact separation. Those who oppose must not be cut off, but instructed, and that with meekness. And though good and bad are together in this world, yet at the great day they shall be parted; then the righteous and the wicked shall be plainly known; here sometimes it is hard to distinguish between them. Let us, knowing the terrors of the Lord, not do iniquity. At death, believers shall shine forth to themselves; at the great day they shall shine forth before all the world. They shall shine by reflection, with light borrowed from the Fountain of light. Their sanctification will be made perfect, and their justification published. May we be found of that happy number.