Parable of the Growing Seed
Mark 4:26-29
And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
This is an interesting parable that Jesus shared with his disciples concerning five key principles about the kingdom of God. He used this method to explain how God operates because he knew these men knew something about planting and harvesting.
First, Jesus told His disciples that seed must be planted in the ground: “. . .So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;. . . ” In this verse, Jesus talks about the Word of God being a seed which must be planted in our heart. In order for God’s word to make a difference in our lives, Jesus tells us to plant it in our hearts. We do this by finding appropriate scriptures that pertain to our situation and meditating on them. If we desire to be healed, we should meditate on healing scriptures. Here are a few examples:
“He sent His Word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”
Psalm 107:20“Surely he hath born our griefs, and carried our sorrows . . .”
Isa. 53:4a“But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
Isa. 53:5“For I will restore health unto thee, and I will heal thee of thy wounds saith the Lord. . .
Jer. 30:17a“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; . . .”
Jer. 17:14a“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed.”
1 Peter 2:24
Scriptures for finances:
“But thou shalt remember the Lord thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth: that he may establish his covenant which he sware unto thy fathers, as it is this day.”
Deut. 8:18“If they obey and serve him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures.”
Job. 36:11“And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the Lord, God made him to prosper.”
II Chron. 26:5“If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.”
Jn. 16:23-24
Jesus explains the second principle in the 27th verse by telling his disciples, in effect, while the seed is in the ground germinating they should go about their daily lives. The inference is several days will pass while the seed germinates and takes root, and there will be no sign of growth above ground – until one day, suddenly, they will see a new plant spring out of the ground. This new birth is, indeed, one of God’s great mysteries.
We often marvel at how God answers our prayers, and we are baffled as to how he works things out on our behalf without our knowing how he did it. Jesus teaches this third principle in the second half of verse 27 when he says that the seed will “spring and grow up” seemingly unnoticed and without knowledge of how it was done. While God’s word is in our heart, God is working on our behalf without our knowing.
In the fourth principle (verse 28), Jesus says that growth will come about in stages: “For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. “A farmer never plants corn on Monday and expects to see growth on Tuesday because he knows that the seed, soil, fertilizer, water, and sunlight have to interact in order to promote growth. The first sign of growth he sees is a little blade or bud pushing its way through the soil. That’s the first stage. The second stage is an “ear” which looks like corn, but must remain on the stalk until it matures. Then the last stage occurs which produces the full of ear of corn and is ready to be harvested.
Finally, Jesus tells his disciples that ” . . . when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.” Farmers know when to harvest because they observe and understand seasons. By the same token, it’s important for us as Christians to know when to act and flow with the move of the Holy Spirit.
This parable about planting and harvesting was one of the last lessons that Jesus taught his disciples before his crucifixion. Although he explained how the kingdom of God operates, it is also a lesson for us to understand how he was God’s seed which was planted in the heart of the God. He sprang up on the day of Pentecost and grew. He has produced much fruit, and we are now in harvest time.
Min. John Mabry