Matthew 13:36-52

36Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, “Please explain to us the story of the weeds in the field.”

37Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed.

38The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.

39The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.

40“Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world.

41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

42And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!

44“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.

45“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.

46When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

47“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind.

48When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away.

49That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous,

50throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51Do you understand all these things?” “Yes,” they said, “we do.”

52Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.”