Matthew 13:28 - Exposition

He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. An enemy ( ἔχθρος ἄνθρωπος ) . Not "my enemy," referring to some one person, for in real life a man can seldom be at once sure, without inquiry, who it is that has injured him secretly. There are so many coincidences in this verse and Matthew 13:39 ( ἔχθρος ἄνθρωπος τοῦτο ἐποίησεν , [ ἁμάν ] πονηρὸς [ οὗτος ], ὁδιάβολος ) with the LXX . of Esther 7:4-6 , that it would almost seem as though the evangelist remembered that passage. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? Omit up ( συλλέξωμεν ); the servants, in their zeal to separate the tares from the wheat, forget the difficulty connected with pulling them up.