The following excerpt is taken from What Every Christian Should Know About Satan. Order your copy in print, Kindle, or Audible versions here.

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In Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the wheat and weeds, he refers to unbelievers as “children of the evil one.”

Matthew 13:38

“… the field is the world; and the good seed ​— ​these are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one …”

Here, Jesus reveals the spiritual truths behind the parable of the wheat and weeds (Matt. 13:24-30). As in the parable of the sower, the Lord presents a farmer who has sown good seed in his field. But an enemy invades at night and plants weeds among the wheat. When the wheat matures and begins sprouting heads of grain, the weeds appear as well. 

The hired hands report their discovery to the farmer and ask whether they should pull out the weeds, but the farmer tells them:

“No. When you pull up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but collect the wheat in my barn” (Matt. 13:29-30).

After sharing this story, Jesus leaves the crowds and retreats to the home in which he is staying. The disciples come to him and ask him to interpret the parable. Jesus obliges:

“The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world; and the good seed ​— ​these are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all who cause sin and those guilty of lawlessness. They will throw them into the blazing furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Let anyone who has ears listen” (Matt. 13:37-43, emphasis added).

This parable differs from the parable of the sower. It features distinctive characters and a unique central message: the kingdom of heaven and Satan’s kingdom exist simultaneously during this “present evil age” (Gal. 1:4). Jesus paints a sweeping portrait of time with this story. The Son of Man – Jesus’ favorite name for himself, using it some eighty times in the Gospels – plants true believers in the world. These are adopted sons of the Father to whom Jesus sends another advocate – the Holy Spirit. These “children of the kingdom” are called to bear much fruit in a hostile world of unbelievers whom “the evil one,” “the enemy,” and “the devil” has planted. 

Until Jesus returns, the children of God and the offspring of the evil one contend with one another. At last, there is a harvest and a great separation. Unbelievers are rooted out and cast into hell, while true followers of Jesus remain and bask in the glow of the Son of Man’s glorious presence. 

Jesus refers to Satan in three ways in this parable. First, he is an / the enemy (vv. 28, 39). Primarily, he is an enemy of the Son of Man, seeking to render Jesus’ earthly ministry fallow. As the father of lies, Satan is the archenemy of truth incarnate. As ruler of the kingdom of darkness, he seeks to smother the light of the world. And as one who masquerades as an angel of light, he parodies Christ’s servants and distorts their gospel message. Satan is the enemy of the church in general, and of individual believers in particular. His chief aim is to defeat his creator and to ruin those made as God’s image-bearers. 

Second, Satan is the evil one (v. 38). Demons recognize Jesus as “the Holy One of God” (Mark 1:24). Jesus stands in stark contrast to the demons’ master, the evil one. Jesus is the author of life; Satan, the agent of death. Jesus is the light of the world; Satan, the prince of darkness, ruling over a vast, loyal, and mobile army of evil spirits. As one who sows opponents of Christ’s kingdom in the world, the evil one produces a bountiful crop of counterfeit wheat, which springs up and looks a great deal like Jesus’ yield but produces a poisonous substitute. 

The weeds – or tares, as they are sometimes called – are unbelievers who are “holding to the form of godliness but denying its power” (2 Tim. 3:5). A brief look at tares gives us a clearer image of these false professors of the faith. The Arabic name for tares is zawan, and they grow abundantly in the Middle East. The grain is small, emerging at the upper part of the stalk, which stands perfectly erect. It bears a bitter taste and, when eaten by itself or used in ordinary bread, causes dizziness and provokes vomiting. It is a strong, sleep-inducing poison that must be carefully winnowed, grain by grain, before grinding. Once mixed with healthy wheat, it is almost impossible to exterminate.

In a similar manner, false professors of the Christian faith look and act a great deal like genuine Christians. They attend the same churches, mingle with the same congregations, and project a form of piety. They are religious. They talk freely about God but more guardedly about his Son. They engage in vibrant spiritual conversations. They may even present themselves as “super apostles” (2 Cor. 11:5; 12:11). 

But they proclaim “another Jesus,” “a different Spirit,” and “a different gospel” (2 Cor. 11:4). Like tares, they stand tall in their self-righteousness. They entangle themselves with the children of the kingdom. And when the fruit of their false doctrine reaches full maturity, it produces a noxious crop that, if consumed, leads to spiritual death. They are, as Paul declares, “savage wolves” bent on destroying the flock (Acts 20:29-31).

Satan is indeed the evil one. Nothing he does is good. He only lies. He only deceives. He only murders. He only destroys. He only plants tares in Jesus’ wheat fields. He only brings death. And he does all this with such alacrity that people willingly swallow his poison before they realize their peril. 

Third, Satan is the devil. We examined this name in more detail in previous posts. The word devil comes from the Greek diabolos, from which we get “diabolical.” It means “slanderer,” “accuser,” or “disrupter.” Slander represents the evil of human speech. New Testament writers use verbs such as “blaspheme” and “speak evil against” to describe it. To slander  implies acting with hostile intent, or setting two people against each other, thus placing them at odds with one another. 

The name devil is based on two Greek words: dia, meaning “through” or “among,” and ballo, meaning “to throw.” As James Boice explains, “The devil is the one who from the beginning has been attempting to throw a monkey wrench into the machinery of the universe.”

No doubt, in his explanation of the parable of the wheat and weeds, Jesus calls Satan “the devil” to shed light on the enemy’s diabolical nature and devious activities. He is the consummate disrupter. He sneaks in under the cover of darkness, sows false prophets and false teachers in the church, arms them with poisonous doctrines that lead unsuspecting people astray, and – perhaps most surprisingly – succeeds in deceiving the false prophets and teachers themselves so they profess their innocence at the final judgment (Matt. 7:21-23). 

The devil’s work is not confined to the church, of course, for Jesus says Satan plants tares in “the world.” But if the devil can make the church look like the world – tares look very much like wheat until harvest time – then the world does not hunger for the healthy life-giving gospel message. 

The day of harvest and gathering is coming, says Jesus. This refers to the resurrection and final judgment that separate believers and unbelievers (John 5:28-29). Just as tares are gathered and burned, those who reject Christ receive the same judgment pronounced on the evil one: everlasting separation from God in hell (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10-15). 

Believers, however, receive glorified bodies similar to Christ’s resurrected body. They are rewarded for their faithfulness. And they spend eternity with their Savior in the new heavens and new earth (John 14:1-3; Rom. 14:10; 1 Cor. 3:11-15; 15:51-57; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; Rev. 21:1-7).

Next: Protect them from the evil one