In the Parable of the Wheat & the Tares, we read in Matthew 13:24-30 about how a man sowed good seed in his field, and overnight, the enemy came and sowed tares (weeds) among the wheat.
When the man and his servants realized what had happened, they asked the man if he wanted them to go ahead and pull up the tares. The man told them no, because in doing so, they might pull up the good seed/the wheat along with it.
He said in Matthew 13:30:
“Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘Gather together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
The reason the man said this, is because in real life, wheat and tares look identical. Until they are fully grown, you are unable to distinguish the weeds from the wheat.
That’s why he told his servants to wait until the time of the harvest, and then separate them.
After Yahusha finished telling this parable to the multitudes, His disciples came to Him privately, asking Him to explain it to them.
(Remember, a parable is an earthly story that conveys a heavenly meaning).
The Messiah told them in Matthew 13:36-43 that the harvest represents the end of the world, and the reapers are angels. At the very end of the age, the tares will be removed from this world and the wheat (the good seed, the children of the kingdom) will be gathered in his barn, aka the kingdom of the Father.
What we are seeing now is the beginning of this separation of the wheat from the tares happening within the body. This is why it's crucial to understand the importance of how to test someone’s fruit--because in real life, in discerning wheat from tares, you can’t tell the difference until the harvest draws near.
As the harvest draws near, the crops start to ripen, and the wheat, which by this time is now full of fruit, begins to bend its head as the fruit becomes heavy—it bows down.
But the tares reveal that they are a weed in the very last days before the harvest by sticking up straight—it reveals itself to be an empty plant with no fruit. It’s only at the time right before the harvest that you can begin to see the difference.
What we are witnessing in this world today is the ripening of the harvest. The fruit is beginning to bear itself. The world will know us by our fruit, which as we have thoroughly examined in Parts 1 & 2 and on Episode 42 of The Promise Perspective Podcast, the fruit we are told to bear is to keep and guard His commandments.
That’s how we abide in Him and that’s how we produce much fruit, as Scripture says (John 15:5). The wheat will bear that fruit, the tares will not. The tares are those who look like wheat but are actually a lawless people.
They have no fruit, even though people might think they do. Those seeking after the Father’s heart and the Father’s ways are showing the fruit of obedience and a bowing down in devotion and worship of His truth. Broadly speaking, Christianity today has no reverence for His law/His commandments. Christianity is revealing itself to have no fruit today.
This is not my opinion, this is a fact, based on how Scripture tells us to examine someone’s fruit. It doesn't matter how much outreach you do, how much money you give, how many people you help, how many demons you cast out of someone—that’s not the fruit the Father is looking for.
Those things are needed, yes, but the commandments teach us how to love. So, for those guarding His commands, you’re also going to have a heart to do those things for people.
Charity is important, but we are called to plant seeds. The seed is the word of the Most High (Luke 8:11). Good seed is sown by teaching the Word accurately.
The Kingdom is truly at hand, and it has never been more important for us to understand what it means to test someone’s fruit and let Scripture speak for itself.
For deeper study, see Season 3, Episode 42: "Testing the Fruit" on The Promise Perspective Podcast