The Parable of the Seed Growing

Analysis of Mark 4:26-29, submitted for review for RTCH 500

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Introduction

The world at large consists of endless processes, seemingly independent of human intervention. As the sun rises and sets, it needs no assistance from any other created being, no matter how knowledgeable he or she may be concerning solar or terrestrial patterns. The same principle applies to the Kingdom of God and how it both spreads and operates. While God graciously invites His human creation to participate in the Kingdom, their participation does not derail or distract God from accomplishing His work in growing the Kingdom. Such an idea is illustrated in Mark 4:26-29 (English Standard Version):

And he [Jesus] said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The purpose of this paper is to, as Paul writes in 2 Timothy 2:15, “rightly divide the word of truth” found in Mark 4:26-29, demonstrating the underlying historical, instructive, and applicable natures of the parable of the seed growing. Thus, the parable of the seed growing illustrates how the Kingdom of God permeates the physical world, both because of and despite the believer, ultimately as a result of God’s power at work.