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THE PARABLES OF JESUS, #017
A Chronological Study
"To Him who opened His mouth in parables and
uttered things hidden since the creation of the world."
Psalm 78:2
"The Growing Seed"
The Mysteries of the Kingdom
Mark 4:26-29[1]
INTRODUCTION
Jesus and His Parables
[Mk 4:33-34] With many such parables He was speaking the Word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.
In the last three lessons we were dealing with Jesus’ explanation of why He spoke in parables. We learned along the way that Jesus’ plan of action through these parables was to describe important kingdom details in such a way that those whom God had prepared to hear the meaning would hear it, and those whom God had not prepared would not hear it.
The Growing Seed
The Text:
[Mk 4:26-29]
And He was
saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and
he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how,
he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade,
then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he
immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The
Kingdom of God
[Mk 4:26] And He was saying,
“The kingdom of God is like a man….”
Along the way in these
lessons, we are spreading out many different facets of “The Kingdom of God.’
Here we are once again confronted with The
Kingdom of God. “A logical starting point
is understanding the word itself. Within the word kingdom (Gk.
basilea), there
are three interrelated ideas which must be considered in establishing a
biblical concept of the term.[2]
I’ll summarize His meaning here.
First, there is
The Right to Rule
– The authority, sovereignty, dominion vested in a king.
Second there is
The Realm of Rule
– This is the
realm
in which ruling authority is exercised. This involves
the subjects
of the one in authority rather than the authority himself.
Thirdly, there is
The Reality of Rule
– the actual
exercise of royal authority.
A kingdom does not actually exist where there is no active exercise of that
royal authority. All three elements must be present to understand each use
of the word kingdom properly.
“There are two aspects of the kingdom as the word is used in the Bible and
we need to see that they are not self-contradictory. One might say there is
an
eternal
aspect as well as a
temporal
aspect; it has a
universal
nature as well as a
local
nature; or there is an
immediate
sense of the kingdom in which God rules directly, and a
mediated
sense of the kingdom in which God rules indirectly through appointed
representatives.”
[3]
This is probably a good time for some definitions!
Eternal
- the Kingdom of God outside of our time. All things physical exist in time.
God is a spiritual being. His Son was under the influence of time only while
He had physical existence here in time and space. It is expected that we,
like the angels, and the occasional visits here by the pre-existent Jesus,
when they took (take) on physical existence, will only be subject to time
when merging from the eternal state to enter the physical realm on a mission
from Almighty God - but our nature will always be eternal - as we were
created that way. So is the Kingdom of God. Where God rules in Eternity
(from Heaven in Eternity).
Temporal
- as in the explanation of Eternal, temporal has to do with the Kingdom of
God with its physical existence in time. Where God exercises His rule upon
the created universe, especially (to us) on the earth.
Universal
nature of the Kingdom of God - God's rule is absolute and absolutely
everywhere in both the eternal heavens and upon all of creation.
Local Rule
in the Kingdom of God - His absolute rule in any one specific place in His
creation - specifically, to us, upon the Earth.
Immediate rule
in the Kingdom of God - God enters physical creation and acts upon the
moment immediately. A clear example might be when Moses meets God in the
burning bush, or when Jesus, in His physical body, acting as God's righteous
servant, heals someone upon His Father's request.
Mediated Rule
- Kings, Queens, Presidents, Dictators, Police, anyone with authority only
rules by God's plan and program, and specifically His assigned approval.
While all these are under His supervision they also find themselves
responsible for their actions to be in line with His nature. All are free to
rule at His request, all are responsible for their rule.
And - The Heavenly Kingdom of God - God
almighty rules from His Kingdom in Eternity, outside of the created universe
and physical time. Whether He rules the Angels (and other spiritual beings
there) in the Spiritual realm or us and/or other created beings in the
created universe, the base of God's power is always in the Heavenly Kingdom
of God.
One more clarification: So that the question
of Jesus as a man VS. Jesus as God doesn't keep coming up... Jesus is
Almighty God. The Trinity does not divide God's being. Father, Son, Holy
Spirit are God (period.). The Kingdom of God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is
like... a man who....
As we study the parables of Jesus we also need to see that many of them begin with, “The heavenly Kingdom of God is like a man,” in this particular parable I think you will come to the conclusion that this man is... just a man. In our most recent parables Jesus portrays His Position as King through the imagery of a farmer and his rule over his farm, what he does, and what is the result. We need to understand Jesus, His rule, and His results – as well as where in the program of God these are expressed. As we always say, “Context is everything!”
The Immediate Context
The Gospel writers present us with at least three
time
ingredients for
our context in these Kingdom parables. For simplicity we could call them Old
Testament, New Testament and the Future. Most of the Old Testament concerns
the establishment of the kingdom of Israel, most of the New Testament
concerns the establishment of the Body of Christ – The Church, and the third
element concerns the coming earthly Kingdom and Heavenly kingdoms. Our
parables often contain one, two or all of these understandings of the
Kingdom of God. The parables are given for our understanding of these things
so that we might know Him intimately.
The Kingdom of God, a Man, Seed,
and Soil
[Mk 4:26a]
“The
kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;”
Our
first thought is about the Kingdom. Using the immediate context, we have
Jesus in Israel the covenanted Kingdom of God at that time on earth
(God is also sovereignly ruling over all of His kingdoms on earth). Jesus is
educating His disciples as to what is right about His covenanted Kingdom and
what is wrong with it.
We
learned in an earlier lesson (014 The Sower) that it is God, in that case
Jesus, who is the “farmer” who sows the seed, and that the seed is “the Word
of God,” and the soil, in that case, is the “good soil,” those who hear and
believe the Word of God (believers) as Jesus sows the Word of God to them.
We
should see that Jesus was making a specific statement to His disciples
concerning those who believe the Word of God.
The Man Does Not Know
[Mk 4:27]
and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day,
and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know.
It is always important to make sure that any text we
are trying to learn and understand does not contradict other scripture. All
scripture must agree with itself. We should see that, in this clause of the
verse, our sower of seed cannot be the Lord Jesus because it states here
that “he himself does not know” how the seed sprouts and grows. The man in
the parable is just an ordinary farmer man who rises early with the sun
rising and goes to bed early with the sun setting “and the seed sprouts and
grows – how… he himself does not know.
The Soil Produces Crops by Itself
[Mk 4:28]
The soil
produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature
grain in the head.
So, in this parable Jesus is making the connection
between soil and the seed. The soil, the believer, receives the seed, the
Word of God, and it grows according to a normal plan. One source says that
wheat planted in the spring will take about 4 months to get to maturity, and
if planted in the fall will take about 8 months to mature because of winter
dormancy. The last stage of growth is the development and maturity of the
grain head where the seed ripens.
We see that there is a relationship between God’s
plan for the wheat and His plan for believers follows a path together:
[Genesis 1:11-12]
Then God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation,
plants yielding seed, and fruit trees on the earth bearing fruit after their
kind with seed in them”; and it was so. 12 The earth brought forth
vegetation, plants yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit
with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good.”
The vegetation – the believer!
The plants yield fruit and seed – the believer’s job
is to yield fruit (of all kinds – witness, testimony, preaching, teaching,
helping others to repentance and salvation in Christ Jesus); that is full of
seed (spread the word of God to those who would receive Christ and grow in
the word).
It is interesting to note that in God’s purposes a
single seed grows into a plant or tree that will produce a multitude of seed
or fruit – not just one-on-one.
I also like the end of verse Mk 4:28…
“The mature grain in the
head.”
Perhaps Jesus, or Mark, added a little tongue-and-cheek there. For it is in
the believer’s head that the Word of God becomes mature.
The Crop Matures and the Harvest Comes
This parable certainly has
meaning on through the age of the Church and then the Millennium, however
Jesus was giving this simple message to His disciples so that they would
understand some of the major points in the plan of God for the individual
believer right there in their own time. They were being prepared to take the
Gospel of Jesus Christ and the message of His Kingdom to their friends and
neighbors, eventually all around the middle-east, and then all around the
world.
How does that work? I was recently telling a small
group in my home about my own experience, and I’m not putting this here for
my own aggrandizement but to demonstrate what Jesus is telling His
disciples.
I was saved when I was about 24 years old. I was not
brought up in a believing home. I was just a regular “lost” guy. After a
couple of years my parents were so impressed with the changes in my life –
and my constant witness to them – that they both surrendered their live to
Jesus. My dad spoke often to a younger friend of his about the changes in my
life, and now his own, and he recommended the bible believing church I was
attending to him. He and his wife came to our church and got saved, and
their grown children. This man and his wife went off to Bible school and
became missionaries to China where they ministered for more than 30 years –
as church planters and bringing many to know the Savior. When they retired,
they came back to the US and started Chinese Christian churches in the New
York City area. God planted seed, it grew and matured, then it multiplied
shedding its seed in God’s harvest, sending the Word of God into prepared
hearts of prepared soil and new believers were born – repeatedly. And like
in Genesis 1:12, “And God saw that it was good. Jesus is telling His
disciples... "How it all works." The Word of God (the seed), grows and
matures the believer and then because of this... there is fruit (more
believers). We are the laborers, God produces the growth and fruit.
“Feast upon The Word of God, Now!”
A word of application
How about you? How did God bring you to Christ? Who
planted the seeds (God), who watered your journey (God), how is maturity
working on you? Are you witnessing, giving testimony? So many along the way
have become lax in their responsibilities in spreading the seed and
multiplying the harvest - because they are not listening to God's Word.
Don’t fall under the reproach of the book of Hebrews 5:12.
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers,
you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of
the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13
For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of
righteousness, for he is an infant.”
The purpose of Christian Growth is to provide the
hands and feet of the laborer.
Romans 10:14-15
14 "How then will they call on Him in whom they have
not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how
will they hear without a preacher? 15 How will they preach unless they are
sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring
good news of good things!”
FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS WITHOUT ANSWERS
1. Why is knowing the verse context so important?
2. Who is “the man” in this parable?
3. What is the lesson taught in this parable?
4. What does Genesis 1:12 teach about being fruitful?
5. What is your responsibility as a plant of wheat?
6. What does verse 29 mean “when the crop permits”?
FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
1. Why is knowing the verse context so important?
Proper contextual study tends to keep all kinds of strange doctrines from introduced into the local church. It is important when studying the Bible to not base any seeming truth from just one verse, or one paragraph. Always study using context and knowing, as best you can, the whole of scripture, both Old and New testaments. It is all one book and one story. It is God written and He cannot contradict Himself or His revelation.
2. Who is “the man” in this parable?
It would be so easy to say that it is Jesus… but He would
certainly know how a garden grows – He created all the dirt, plants, worms, the
water, the sunlight – everything![4]
It's just a man who planted seed.
3. What is the lesson taught in this parable?
From the very creation of all things, God’s plan is that all things shall pursue life, and grow up in order to multiply and pursue life. In that plan it is God’s way of attaining a family of human believers who are, in fact, His sons and daughters by adoption – bought by the blood of His Son’s sacrifice upon that Cross of blood and shame.
4. What does Genesis 1:12 teach about being fruitful?
It is God’s purpose to bring glory to Himself by being the source of forgiveness and grace. He created all things to fill the earth and multiply.
5. What is your responsibility as a plant of wheat?
To grow seeds (The Word of God) and to harvest them in order to grow more witness and testimony so that the Word of God can do it’s divine work and bring many into the Family of God.
6. What does verse 29 means, “when the crop permits”?
Part of this whole process requires the seed grower to be willing and able to bring witness and testimony – proving that they are indeed a child of God and not just a pretender. There is a real difference between a multiplying plant of wheat – or a weed. Look deeply at your faith and life’s works – are you a multiplying wheat, or not?
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[1] All scriptures are from the NASB unless otherwise noted.
[2] Penticost, Dwight J., Thy Kingdom Come, Scripture Press, 1990
[3] ibid
[4] John 1:1-4 The Word of God, The Son of God, Jesus created all things from nothing.
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