"And He was saying, ‘The Kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the ground; and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows – how, he himself does not know. The earth 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.’" (Mark 4:26-29)
Stunted growth is a tragedy. When for some reason a child does not develop properly, we all grieve over that sad situation. Babies are wonderful. When they come into this world, they are small and cute, cranky but cuddly. They are indeed wonderful, and we thank God for them. But we also thank God that they grow up. A perpetual baby would be a tragic thing indeed. They, by God’s grace, grow physically and emotionally, mentally and spiritually. We all do. As a matter of fact, if we are functioning properly, we should grow throughout out lives in one way or another. When we quit growing physically, we continue to grow emotionally, mentally, and hopefully, spiritually.
Stunted growth in a person is a tragedy. But stunted growth in the Kingdom is also a tragedy. God has created his Kingdom to grow. The Kingdom of God should be an ever-expanding endeavor, one in which we are actively involved. Kingdom growth is something in which every Christian ought to be involved. Jesus has given the Great Commission to all of us. And with the commission goes the power to see it accomplished.
Our text today shares with us a parable about Kingdom growth. In it, we see the secret of that growth. And perhaps as we study it, we can understand how we can more effectively assist in that growth.
Of all the parables, this one appears only in Mark. It is not like what some would mistake for its counterpart in Matthew, that is, the parable of the wheat and the tares. Some would have these two parables be variations of the same parable because in each, the farmer is said to plant the seed and go to sleep. In each, the harvest comes when the seed has become ripe. There are similarities. But there are differences as well.
There is a different message in each of these parables. In the first, the emphasis is placed on the work of the enemy in sowing the tares, or darnell (a wheat look-alike), and in the action of the Lord in separating them for reward and judgement in His coming. But in the parable at which we shall look today, the emphasis is placed on the secret growth of the seed because of the life contained therein. These parables are distinct.
Here again, the seed is the word of God. God’s word is the agent of growth in the Kingdom. We looked, in a previous study, at the parable of the sower and the soils. As the seed, which is the word of God, is received into the good soil, it produces fruit. The Kingdom will grow as the seed is planted and as the seed matures. The seed has life in itself, and we must sow that seed in order to see the Kingdom grow.
We shall examine four aspects of Kingdom growth suggested to us by our text: Firstly, the deliberate planting of the seed; secondly, the secret destiny of the seed; thirdly, the progressive unfolding of the seed; and fourthly, the proper harvesting of the seed.
"And He was saying, ‘The Kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the ground." (v. 26)
The first truth which reveals itself to us is an obvious truth, but it needs emphasis. The seed must first be planted. Some today assume the seed is already there in people. But this is a false assumption to make. In order for anything at all to happen in a person’s life, there must be the deliberate planting of the seed in the soil.
We have already seen that the type of soil on which the seed falls does have a direct effect on the result of the planting. The seed sown on hard ground by the wayside gets stolen by the devil. The seed that is sown on shallow ground without much depth is starved for lack of root. The seed sown on thorny ground is choked by the cares of the world, the deceitfulness or riches, and the desire for other things. And the seed sown on good, prepared and cultivated ground produces fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.
What we are looking at here is seed sown on good ground. The kind of soil here has been prepared by the Holy Spirit and is ready to receive the seed. But the seed must first be sown by someone. Somehow, the seed must fall upon this earth to begin to have any effect at all.
How do we sow the seed? As Christians, we desire to see people come into the same vital, living relationship with Jesus that we have. That should be the desire of every Christian. If you know and love Jesus Christ, you should desire for others to know and love Him also. Jesus has come into your life. He has made a radical change in you. You have been the recipient of His love and grace. His mercy has been showered upon you. Once you were lost in your sins, and without hope. Once you were blind, but Jesus came along. Now, you are forgiven. Now you have hope. Now you can see. He has healed your hurts. He has given you new life. Once you were desperate and confused. Now you have a purpose for living. All of this has been accomplished by Jesus Christ. And you desire for others to know Him. But in order for them to come to know Him, the seed must be sown in their hearts. We sow the seed by sharing Jesus. And the ways in which this can be done are numerous. In fact, we have probably not even scratched the surface in thinking of the many ways in which we can share the life of Jesus with others. And so, we desire to know every way of sowing seed. If there is a new way, we desire to know it so others can come to know Jesus Christ.
Now, the message never changes. It is the same old message the apostles preached. It is the simple gospel message of a sweet salvation bought for us by the sacrifice of our Savior. And it is true that somehow the simple message of the saving Gospel must be told to the one we are trying to win. But we all know that what takes the most thought is how we can create a situation in which we can share the Lord in such a way that the person will be open to what we say.
In this regard, the opportunities are vast. Our problem is that we do not think creatively enough. Sometimes our problem is that we are too embarrassed. We are afraid we might make a fool out of ourselves. But let me ask you: what is more important, your ego or the salvation of some dear lost soul? I heard of one preacher who used to get on elevators. And as the door closed, he would say to the man beside him, "Which way is the last trip, up or down?" Well, that might not be your style, but it would sure get you on the topic. The point is that if we are willing to break out of our mold and try some new things, we might be surprised at the ideas the Lord would give us. Prayerfully consider creative ways you can share with your friends, neighbors, associates and family. Let those ideas be born in prayer. But let them be born.
We must deliberately plant the seed if we would ever see a harvest. There must be a determined effort to share with people the simple story of saving grace. And you must be the one to share it. You may be the only Gospel preacher they ever hear. Your life may be the only truly Christian witness they ever see. Have you shared the Word with them? Have you planted the seed in their hearts? Have you told them of what Jesus has done for you and what He can do for them? Plant the seed. Plant it however you will, but plant it in their hearts.
"…and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows – how, he himself does not know. The earth produces crops by itself." (vv. 27-28a)
Notice the sower’s limited power. There is only so much that the sower can do. If he has done his job in cultivation and preparation of the land, then after he has sown the seed he must let it alone.
We must cultivate and prepare the lives of those in whose heart we would sow the seed. There is much work in this initial stage. We must befriend those without the Gospel of Christ. We must open our hearts and our homes to them. This takes time and much effort. But it is all part of that cultivation process by which we earn the right to share the good news with them. Just as a farmer works diligently to break up the fallow ground in his field, to till the soil, to use fertilizers and engage in other processes to enrich the soil and rid it of weeds and insects, so we must use every means available to us to cultivate the heart of that person we would see receive Jesus. But then we must sow the seed and let it alone. This is what the farmer does in our text.
Our text says that he rises and sleeps night and day. In other words, he goes on living his life as usual, day after day. He does not see the seed under the soil. He only hopes everything is going well. He can’t dig it up to see how it is doing. He can’t tell how much of it is going to come up until he sees the stalk break through the ground. Even then, he can’t tell how much of it will produce. He has little knowledge of the weather and other factors which he can’t predict. He must trust in the life of the seed. He has done what he can do.
But the message is that the seed does grow. The point that the Lord is trying to make is that because of the life contained in the seed, it grows. The farmer does not understand how that really works, but he knows that it does work. That is why he plants.
We do not have to understand it either. We know certain things work and we take full advantage of them. We do not have to understand how electricity works to turn on the lights. As we sow the seed, there are processes at work to bring forth the germination of that seed. As we share the Gospel message and plant it in the hearts of lost sinners, God will see to it that the word accomplishes the purpose for which He has ordained it.
Now, this gives us hope for many. In our evangelistic efforts, we may not see immediate success. But that is not a reason for discouragement. The seed sown may be in the progress of germination under the soil, and we not even know it. The word sown in the heart may be having its effect, even when we can’t see it. Many times, we are guilty of giving up too soon on the seed because we can’t see it. But according to this parable, the Lord may have everything on schedule.
There is a secret destiny of the seed because of the life contained in it. The word of God is a living thing. It is not merely information. It is not simply historical fact. The word of God has a life of its own. It is the life of the breath of God.
"The earth produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head." (v. 28)
The progress of the seed is through several stages. In the growth of the seed, it does not go from a grain to the full ear of corn. It does not pass from the planting stage to the harvesting stage overnight. It must pass through several growth stages first. These growth stages are spoken of here as the blade, the head, and the mature grain in the head.
What is true of an ear of corn is true of people as well. People must pass through stages of preparation. When the seed of the word of God is dropped into the hearts of those to whom we are witnessing, the process begins. If the heart is "good ground" then the Word may come to harvest. But it must be watered by the continued efforts of those who care. It must withstand the elements that can come against it by Satan. Again, as it passes through the various stages of growth, it may come to that place where it is ready for harvest.
God is at work to bring forth the seed to full harvest. Some of us have the privilege to sow that seed. By sharing the Word, others of us have the privilege to water that seed. We do not have the power to cause the seed to grow. There is a progressive unfolding of that seed by God’s grace. Salvation is of God. We are merely His instruments. Paul said, in 1 Corinthians 3:6-7, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth." God will use the seed we plant and the care in watering we provide to cause that seed to progressively come to maturity. You can count on it. But we must be faithful in planting and water. If we are, we will be privileged to participate in the harvesting.
"But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." (v. 29)
Only as the seed becomes ripe can it be harvested. Verse 29 gives us the pattern for harvest. When the seed becomes ripe, then it is ready for harvest.
No farmer would think of pulling up a young plant as soon as it broke through the ground. There would be no point. It would do the farmer no good. There is nothing to be harvested. The same is true in regard to souls. When we do not allow the processes of God to work, we get no real results that last. All we can do is sow the seed, be faithful to water that seed, and allow God to do His work. All of us are different. We all must go through different stages of preparation before harvest. So many times we who sow the seed are eager to harvest that crop before it is ripe. We must be patient and allow God to deal with that individual. When the time comes, we will find the field ripe.
Now, this does not discourage evangelism. You may say that to have this kind of mentality throws a wet blanket on our efforts to convert people. Some could easily say that there is no use to try to get people saved now — that perhaps they are not yet ready for harvest. But while some may use this as an excuse, there is no excuse there. Jesus said that the fields were white unto harvest. There are always those who are ready to be harvested. As we continually and conscientiously sow seed, there will always be some who are fully mature, fully ripe, fully ready to be harvested. We cannot use the maturing process of the seed as an excuse for not winning people to Jesus. If we do, our real problem is that we have no heart for souls.
Rather than discouraging immediate evangelistic effort, it encourages it. You see, the harvest in which we are involved is not a seasonal thing. There is fruit getting ripe every day in God’s field. Somewhere, someone is being prepared for the harvest each moment. The process may have gone on for months, even years. But at this very moment they are responding to the Lord. Some harvester somewhere is reaping the reward of another’s labor.
So it is our place to be out in the field, ready to harvest those who are becoming ripe. We must learn to tell when that is. So as a good husbandman, we can put in the sickle and come forth bringing our sheaves with us.
As we sow the seed, the seed will grow. The exhortation of God to us is to keep showing wherever you go, whatever you do. Keep on scattering seeds. When you are in the supermarket, plant a seed. When you are in the office, plant a seed. When you are talking with your neighbor across the fence, plant a seed. As you do, God will begin to cause those seeds to germinate. He will give a great increase. Let’s keep on sowing. He is using our efforts as we are faithful to plant those seeds and give ourselves to the work. So cultivate that soil, plant that seed, water it and stand back and watch God work. Harvest time is near.
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