First, let's look at the Parable itself Matthew 13:24-29 (NIV):

The Parable of the Weeds

²⁴Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

 ²⁷"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

 ²⁸" 'An enemy did this,' he replied. 
      "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

 ²⁹" 'No,' he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "

Now let's look at Jesus' explanation Matthew 13:36-43 (NIV):

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

 ³⁶Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

 ³⁷He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,³⁹and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

 ⁴⁰"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴²They 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 the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."

Now, let us see if we can get a good handle on Jesus' teaching here, without complicating it at all - essentially looking at it at face-value.

The most obvious, overall point seems to be that we Christians, as "the wheat" and apparently also "the servants", are not to condemn others among us who we might be tempted to think are bad or evil - "the weeds" - because we cannot know that they will never be saved and enter the kingdom. In other words, only God can know who will ultimately be saved and only He will make this judgement "in the end".

A modern interpretation:

It has been suggested that we can also assume this parable to mean that certain forces within our society are simply mistaken in their general approach to try to do away with evil people "the Weeds" in our midst. The idea being that this is for God alone to do, and that all of our attempt eliminate or presumably to even lock up "bad" people, would be in direct conflict with Jesus teaching.

I reject this line of reasoning on two main fronts.

First, it implies that this parable is meant to be interpreted beyond that which we, as individuals, can address or affect change (which is arguably not at all where the Gospel is directed) into the realms of the social and the political. 

That is: Jesus was never talking to governments or societies - He was always talking directly to us as individuals - to me... to you. For, He knew that there was no way to help bring about change or salvation within or through any worldly institution, or even within or through His Church, without helping individuals, one by one, come to know Him and thus change and "see the truth" which would then no doubt inspire them to change the world by bringing other individuals, through Him, to The Father.

Second, this parable is not about the need for us to resist confronting evil. It is about the need for us to resist the temptation to condemn anyone else as unsaved… which is a HUGE and infinitely important lesson for us to learn and always keep in mind. In other words, it is a very dangerous thing for us to try to read into this parable (or any other) beyond it’s most obvious and incredibly powerful fundamental message.

There are many other parables and lessons throughout the Gospels, which help us understand how we should conduct ourselves in the face of evil, and none suggest that our government or societies or laws should allow obviously bad or corrupt people - “the Weeds” - to flourish unhindered by those who are able to see the wrong that they perpetrate and the destruction that will no doubt result from such negligence or irresponsibility.

Frank Newman - TheFuge Moderator