Parable of the Wheat and Tares Coloring Pages

Color the story together

Five Parable of the Wheat and Tares coloring pages follow the seed, the weeds, the owner's instructions and the harvest. Each picture has a short description and a Bible reference.

These sheets use simple cartoon outlines and open areas for crayons or colored pencils. Each design is a separate printable, so you can choose the moment that suits your lesson.

Read the Bible account

Read Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 for the complete account. The following is a shortened summary in our own words.

Jesus told a story about a man who sowed good seed in his field. While people slept, an enemy sowed weeds among the wheat. When the crop grew, the weeds appeared too. The servants asked whether they should pull them out.

The owner told them to let both grow until harvest, because pulling out the weeds could uproot the wheat. At harvest, the reapers would gather the weeds in bundles to be burned and bring the wheat into the barn. Our coloring pages do not depict the fire.

Jesus then explained that the field is the world, the good seed represents the children of the kingdom, and the weeds represent the children of the evil one. The enemy is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. His explanation concerns judgment and the righteous in his Father's kingdom. It is more than a gardening lesson.

What is in the collection?

1. The farmer plants good seed: The farmer sows good seed in his field. This is the beginning of Jesus' story about the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 13:24.
2. An enemy sows weeds: While people sleep, an enemy scatters weeds among the wheat. The night scene pictures this part of the parable. Matthew 13:25.
3. Wheat and tares grow together: The crop grows, and weeds appear among the wheat. Compare the two groups of plants in the picture. Matthew 13:26.
4. The owner tells the servants to wait: The servants ask about pulling up the weeds. The owner tells them to wait so they do not uproot the wheat as well. Matthew 13:27-30.
5. The harvest is gathered: At harvest, the weeds are bundled separately and the wheat is gathered into the barn. The picture shows separation without depicting the burning described in the passage. Matthew 13:30.

A simple activity for home or Sunday school

Arrange the finished pictures in story order. Ask what was planted first, when the weeds appeared, and why the owner told the servants to wait. Read Jesus' explanation together rather than asking children to decide which people are wheat or weeds.

Questions to talk about

• What did the farmer sow?
• Who sowed weeds among the wheat?
• Why did the owner tell the servants to wait?
• What happened to the wheat at harvest?

Notes for parents and teachers

Tares is an older English term used in some Bible translations for the weeds in this parable; the World English Bible calls them darnel weeds. These are grass-like weeds. The plant drawings, faces and clothes are simplified artistic interpretations, not botanical identification guides. The owner and two servants represent the people in the account, which does not give their exact number. The night scene illustrates the time described in the passage. The final picture combines the separate harvest tasks and omits fire. Explain the judgment passage at a level appropriate to your child; do not label classmates or other people as weeds. This is a different parable from the mustard seed.

Download and print

Download any individual design, the complete 5-page PDF, or the ZIP containing both. The ZIP repeats the same designs in convenient formats; it does not contain extra pictures.

The PDFs are A4 portrait originals. For US Letter, select Fit to page and check the preview. The WebP pictures are lightweight screen previews; use the compressed PDFs for printing. There is no account or payment required.

More parables to color

Try The Parable of the Mustard Seed Coloring Pages or Parable of the Sower Coloring Pages for another story Jesus told.