21. But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once.
22. The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear the message; but the worries about this life and the love for riches choke the message, and they don't bear fruit.
23. And the seeds sown in the good soil stand for those who hear the message and understand it: they bear fruit, some as much as 100, others sixty, and others thirty.”
24. Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field.
25. One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
26. When the plants grew and the ears of corn began to form, then the weeds showed up.
27. The man's servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, it was good seed you sowed in your field; where did the weeds come from?’
28. ‘It was some enemy who did this,’ he answered. ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ they asked him.
29. ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them.