Parables are purposed to challenge us (among other things). As a kingdom citizen, are you ready to allow the kingdom of God do its work, overseen by God? It is his kingdom after all. Mark 4:26-29.
There is a mysterious side to the kingdom’s slow growth and influence. We cannot figure out every detail. All we have to do is surrender to the King’s kingship and let him accomplish his perfect work.
Before we begin the exegesis …..
Quick definition of a parable:
Literally, the word parable (parabolē in Greek) combines para– (pronounced pah-rah) and means “alongside” and bolē (pronounced boh-lay) which means “put” or even “throw”). Therefore, a parable puts two or more images or ideas alongside each other to produce a new truth. […] The Shorter Lexicon says that the Greek word parabolē can sometimes be translated as “symbol,” “type,” “figure,” and “illustration,” the latter term being virtually synonymous with parable.
For more information on what a parable is and its purposes, click on this link:
The translation is mine. If you would like to see other translations, click here: biblegateway.com.
If you don’t read Greek, ignore the left column.
I often quote scholars in print because I learn many things from them. They form a community of teachers I respect (1 Cor. 12:28), though I don’t agree with everything they write. But they do ensure I do not go astray. There is safety in numbers (for me at least).
Now let’s begin.
|
Parable of the Growing Seed (Mark 4:26-29) |
|
| 26 Καὶ ἔλεγεν· οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς ἄνθρωπος βάλῃ τὸν σπόρον ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς 27 καὶ καθεύδῃ καὶ ἐγείρηται νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν, καὶ ὁ σπόρος βλαστᾷ καὶ μηκύνηται ὡς οὐκ οἶδεν αὐτός. 28 αὐτομάτη ἡ γῆ καρποφορεῖ, πρῶτον χόρτον εἶτα στάχυν εἶτα πλήρη [ς] σῖτον ἐν τῷ στάχυϊ. 29 ὅταν δὲ παραδοῖ ὁ καρπός, εὐθὺς ἀποστέλλει τὸ δρέπανον, ὅτι παρέστηκεν ὁ θερισμός. | 26 And he said, “In this way the kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed on the ground 27 and then sleeps and arises night and day, and the seed sprouts and gets taller and he does not know how. 28 On its own, the soil produces crops, first a blade of grass, then a head of grain, then a full crop in the head. 29 When the crop is ripe, he sends in the sickle because the harvest is fully grown.” |
Let’s take this parable as a whole.
It is about a limited perspective and trust. The farmer does not know the science behind the soil producing the crop. He follows the rhythms of nature—which symbolizes the kingdom of God. He does his part: he casts or sows the seed on the soil. From what we learned from Mark 4:13-20, the seed is the word of the kingdom and the good news. He preaches. Then he patiently waits for nature—the kingdom—to do its thing on its own.
He does not need to stand out in the field anxiously calling forth the seed with his hands raised. “Crop, come forth!” Nature does it for him. He can rest and do his other chores. He sleeps by night and works by day, waiting patiently for the seed to grow by the kingdom’s power.
Another element is the gradual growth. First the seed (word) sprouts; then a blade of wheat grass gets taller. He does not know how. The wheat stalk gets taller and taller and then the grains of wheat appear on the top. Finally, the head of grains bends down from the weight. The harvest is ready, so he sends in the sickle and the harvest can begin. He understands how to harvest. He now has to work. But God gave the increase.
As I understand this parable, the kingdom of God endorses and empowers the word of God when the preacher proclaims it. He does not strive or struggle but relaxes or rests when he proclaims it. The kingdom does the work behind the scenes, out of view, and in him and through him.
Wessel and Strauss point to Joel 2:12-13 and say that this short parable speaks of judgment at the end of the age. Yes, because the harvest happens at the end of the age. I also believe the parable relates to the present age and the work of the kingdom.
France writes of the main point:
The kingdom of God, then, does not depend on human effort to achieve it, and human insight will not be able to explain it. This aspect of the parable, focused in the farmer’s inactivity, could suggest a quietistic theology which allows disciples to disclaim any responsibility in the establishment of God’s kingdom. … But if the focus is on the dynamic of the kingdom of God, the farmer’s inactivity functions merely as a foil to this main theme. Here, unlike the parable of the sower, the structure of the story does not suggest a multiple purpose which would require this subsidiary aspect of the imagery to be given a message of its own. …
Application: preachers don’t need to strive so much and work so hard on the platform. They don’t need to shriek and freak and dance and prance. Just talk. Yes, get animated once in a while, but the excitement does not need to be gingered up and on a perpetually high volume.
Talking fast and loud ≠ the anointing.
Preachers have the Spirit of God in them. Let him do all the work.
The first parable in Marks’ Gospel, then, is a message about rightly interpreting and responding to the period of the apparent inaction of the kingdom of God. Despite appearances to the contrary, it is growing, and the harvest will come. But it will come in God’s time and in God’s way, and humans have to step up and advance the kingdom, but nothing is accomplished by human effort alone or in accordance with human logic alone.
GrowApp for Mark 4:26-29
A.. Do you trust God to let the word of God grow by his power (not yours)? How does the word grow in your life when you first heard it?
B.. How have you seen the word grow in someone else’s life?
SOURCES
At this link you will find a bibliography at the very bottom.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 