39. And the enemy who planted the bad seed is the devil. The harvest time is the end of the age. And the workers who gather are God’s angels.
40. “The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire. It will be this way at the end of the age.
41. The Son of Man will send out his angels. They will gather out of his kingdom all who cause sin and all who do evil.
42. The angels will throw them into the blazing furnace. There the people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.
43. Then the good people will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let those with ears use them and listen!
44. “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure, and then he hid it in the field again. The man was very happy to find the treasure. He went and sold everything that he owned to buy that field.
45. “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a man looking for fine pearls.
46. One day he found a very valuable pearl. The man went and sold everything he had to buy that pearl.
47. “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was put into the lake. The net caught many different kinds of fish.
48. When it was full, the fishermen pulled the net to the shore. They sat down and put all the good fish in baskets. Then they threw away the bad fish.
49. It will be this way at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the good people.
50. The angels will throw the evil people into the blazing furnace. In that place the people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”
51. Jesus asked his followers, “Do you understand all these things?”They answered, “Yes, we understand.”
52. Then Jesus said to them, “So every teacher of the law who has been taught about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house. He has both new things and old things saved in his house. And he brings out both those new things and old things.”
53. When Jesus finished teaching with these stories, he left there.
54. He went to the town where he grew up. He taught the people in the synagogue, and they were amazed. They said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and this power to do miracles?
55. He is only the son of the carpenter. And his mother is Mary. His brothers are James, Joseph, Simon and Judas.