Mark 4:26-34
26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil;
27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up daily, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know.
28 The soil produces crops by itself; first the stalk, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.
29 Now when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30 And He was saying, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?
31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is the smallest of all the seeds that are upon the soil,
32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants, and forms large branches, with the result that the birds of the sky can nest under its shade.”
33 And with many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to understand it;
34 and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.
Two Parables about the Kingdom of God
The mystery of the kingdom of God
Two parables about the kingdom of God are recorded. The first parable teaches the mystery of the kingdom of God. (1) The seed sown on the ground represents the message of the gospel. (2) When the seed of the gospel is sown, it sprouts and grows without human assistance. People sleep at night, wake up in the morning, and live their daily lives. Meanwhile, the seed of the gospel sprouts and grows. (3) No one knows how the seed grows. First, there is the stalk, then the head, and then the mature grain in the head. Similarly, the grace of God brought by the gospel also grows, sprouts, produces heads, and fills with grain within those who hear it. (4) The time of harvest is the end of the world. When the message of the gospel covers all the earth and God’s grace comes to fullness, the sickle for the harvest will come. At that time, all God’s children will be invited into the kingdom of heaven. Are you afraid of sharing the gospel? There’s no need to fear. Our responsibility is to sow the seed of the gospel. The seed will grow by the mystery within the seed itself. Let’s entrust the results to God.
Growth of the kingdom of God
Next, the kingdom of God is likened to a mustard seed. The mustard seed is synonymous with something very small. When sown in the ground, it grows into a surprisingly large plant, some of which can reach over 3 meters in height. This signifies that the kingdom of God starts from something very small but will grow into something remarkably large. This parable prophesies the spiritual state of the Church Age. The Church grows into a large tree like the mustard plant. However, birds of the air come and nest in its branches. Judging from the context, the phrase “birds of the air,” represents Satan and evil spirits (in the parable of the sower, birds were evil spirits). In other words, it means, “During the Church Age, the gospel will be widely spread, and Christ’s Church will grow significantly. However, within the Church, the influence of Satan and evil spirits will remain.” Let us awaken our spiritual eyes and discern the schemes of Satan and evil spirits through faith. Today, let us have victory with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Today's prayer
Father God of Lord Jesus Christ, please use me for the expansion of Your kingdom. Protect me today from the temptations and schemes of the evil one. I pray in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.