Mar 4:26-29 | KingComments | STEP | The Lord tells a parable about the kingdom of God. He compares that kingdom to a man casting seed upon the soil. That man is He Himself. He sows to bring the kingdom of God into being. The coming into being of that kingdom is His work. This and the next parable speak about the two sides of the Christian testimony on earth. In the first parable – that one is found only in this Gospel – we see the Lord Jesus as a man who has sown and seemingly does not further concern himself with the seed. Just as the seed rises without any action on the part of the sower, so Christ will let the gospel spread itself in the world without intervening in any noticeable way. The defining characteristic of the kingdom is that the King is not present. To the servant, it means simply sowing and leaving the growth to the Lord. We do not have to care what the seed does, we only have to sow. We know that God gives the growth ( ). The servant cannot make any contribution to that. He sows and can do nothing else. The progress of the gospel does not depend on the activity and efficiency of the workers, but on the power of the seed itself. It is the Word of God that works ( ). On the process of growth we have no influence. But what is done in faithfulness to God, He blesses in secret. This ‘growth law’ illustrates growing in grace and in understanding spiritual realities. We do not become matured Christians all of a sudden; it takes a process. When God’s work in the hidden is completed, the harvest can take place. Then we see the great Servant become active again. Just as He is personally involved in sowing, so is He involved in mowing, even though He is seemingly not involved during growth.

‏ Mark 4:26-29

Parable of the Seed Growing by Itself

The Lord tells a parable about the kingdom of God. He compares that kingdom to a man casting seed upon the soil. That man is He Himself. He sows to bring the kingdom of God into being. The coming into being of that kingdom is His work. This and the next parable speak about the two sides of the Christian testimony on earth. In the first parable – that one is found only in this Gospel – we see the Lord Jesus as a man who has sown and seemingly does not further concern himself with the seed.

Just as the seed rises without any action on the part of the sower, so Christ will let the gospel spread itself in the world without intervening in any noticeable way. The defining characteristic of the kingdom is that the King is not present. To the servant, it means simply sowing and leaving the growth to the Lord. We do not have to care what the seed does, we only have to sow.

We know that God gives the growth (1Cor 3:6). The servant cannot make any contribution to that. He sows and can do nothing else. The progress of the gospel does not depend on the activity and efficiency of the workers, but on the power of the seed itself. It is the Word of God that works (1Thes 2:13). On the process of growth we have no influence. But what is done in faithfulness to God, He blesses in secret. This ‘growth law’ illustrates growing in grace and in understanding spiritual realities. We do not become matured Christians all of a sudden; it takes a process.

When God’s work in the hidden is completed, the harvest can take place. Then we see the great Servant become active again. Just as He is personally involved in sowing, so is He involved in mowing, even though He is seemingly not involved during growth.