SERMON: Kingdom Parables | Mark 4:26–34
Kingdom Parables | Mark 4:26–34
Shaun Marksbury | Quacco Baptist Church
Sunday Evening Service | 25 June, 2017
This evening, we are continuing our study in the parables. We are looking at two parables that give us insight into the nature of the Kingdom of God. We will see that the kingdom grows mysteriously and that the kingdom grows chiefly.
I.
Introduction
II.
The Kingdom Grows Mysteriously (vv. 26–29)
III.
The Kingdom Grows Chiefly (vv. 30–34)
IV.
Final Thoughts
Shaun Marksbury | Quacco Baptist Church
Sunday Evening Service | 25 June, 2017
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Sermon Notes
Kingdom Parables | Mark 4:26–34
Shaun Marksbury | Quacco Baptist Church
Sunday Evening Service | 25 June, 2017
Shaun Marksbury | Quacco Baptist Church
Sunday Evening Service | 25 June, 2017
I.
Introduction
Last time, we
talked about The Parable of the Lamp and The Parable of the Measure. These parables emphasize the need for the His
disciples to hear the Word and deliver it to others faithfully. So, we have two points this evening: those
hearing God’s Word must shine it out faithfully, and those hearing God’s Word
must measure it out faithfully.
We see in vv. 33–34
in this passage a reminder that Jesus explained these parables to His
disciples. How many times has hearing
been mentioned in this chapter? Eleven
by my count. Some are supernaturally
hindered, and some will not hear because of their sin. Others have ears to hear.
It’s vital that we
understand this, for it is only the seed of the implanted Word that causes
growth. We may be tempted to lean too
much on the teaching of others for understanding truth, such as a good and
godly Bible teacher, but we can’t place our confidence in people. However, we must hear the word of the
kingdom, for any other word will not cause us to grow.
This evening, we
are continuing our study in the parables.
We are looking at two parables that give us insight into the nature of
the Kingdom of God. We will see that the
kingdom grows mysteriously and that the kingdom grows chiefly.
II.
The Kingdom Grows Mysteriously (vv. 26–29)
26 And he said, “The
kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises
night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces
by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain
is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
While we know a
good bit about the growth cycle of plants, we don’t know everything. That’s not to say that we can’t know much
more thorough investigation, but we must admit that we have neither observed
nor concluded all there is to know. In a
similar way, Scripture gives us need insight into spiritual botany, but God
alone knows the full mystery of kingdom growth.
The question here
is what is the Kingdom image: is it like a seed (as in v. 30), a man, or the
entire act? The image of the sower
casting the seed comes back to mind, but we see that the soil produces. It seems that Jesus is saying that the entire
parable is what the kingdom is like, so let’s proceed and look at the
components.
We see that the
sower “sleeps and rises night and day,” perhaps because the Hebrew day begins
at sundown. He falls asleep after
planting the seed. That might not seem
strange in itself, but we read nothing more of his efforts. He awakens and sleeps again. Usually a farmer is more involved in his
crops than this farmer seems to be, so the focus here is not on the farmer’s
efforts. The seed sprouts (and
literally, the sprout “lengthens”) as growing all on its own.
Consider the rest in the kingdom! After many worries in ministry this week,
this thought struck me. We may sometimes
fret over the soul of an individual, keeping ourselves up at night with worry
and doubt. We may worry over the church
or future ministry. We’re not called to
have some kind of a Zen, “que sera sera” attitude, but God has also given us
the gift of sleep and removed the power of sprouting and growth from our
hands. Losing sleep will not win one
lost soul, for it is not the worker in the field who causes the increase.
Notice that “the
seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.”
The how is somewhat
emphasized, as in “How knows not he!” He
understands that the seed needs to be in the ground and that it needs
rain. Even so, he only knows the
conditions necessary for growth to take place; he doesn’t know what process causes the seed to grow. There’s a sense of dependence. Similarly, we know we need to be faithfully
proclaiming the Word of God here for Christians to grow and mature, but God
will mysteriously cause the growth.
Indeed, the work of the farmer isn’t even in view here, for the credit of
the harvest is beyond his efforts.
1 Cor 3:5–9 comes
into view:
What
then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord
assigned to each. 6 I
planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is
anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each
will receive his wages according to his labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s
field, God’s building.
It is all God doing
the work. Literally, v. 28 says, “The
earth produces automatically.” That is, God
has so designed plants grow naturally, without human intervention. Similarly, a person is not born again through
their own effort but by the work of God alone.
- John 1:12–13—“But to all who did receive him, who believed
in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born,
not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of
God.”
- John 3:5–8—“Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
God. 6 That
which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit
is spirit. 7 Do
not marvel that I said to you, “You must be born again.” 8 The wind blows
where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it
comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the
Spirit.’ ”
- John 6:44—“ No one can come to me unless the Father who
sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.”
- This is why it’s so foolish for us to think that we need to
help God out in getting people saved.
Sometimes churches will dim the house lights and play music softly
to give people an emotional sense that God is moving them. I’ve heard of evangelistic crusades
where they have people assigned in crowds to come forward so as to
encourage others to come forward.
These kinds of efforts may be well-intentioned (though not all
are), but they tacitly deny the power of gospel.
- Paul was a well-educated man. However, when he preached, it was all
about the Word of God. In 1 Cor
2:1–5, he says, “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come
proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to
know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with
you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in
plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power, 5 so
that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of
God.”
The sense here is
almost that the crop decides when it’s ready.
Today, the kingdom is not yet ready, and citizens are still being
added. 2 Cor 4:15—“For it is all for
your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase
thanksgiving, to the glory of God.”
The kingdom of God
gains citizens every day and is therefore spiritual today. Today, the kingdom of God is not yet ready,
with each conversion being another sprout appearing in the field.
Even so, Revelation
20–21 speaks of the future, earthly kingdom reign of Christ and the eternal
reign over the New Heavens and New Earth.
God is all in all and is therefore sovereign over these different
spheres. At the right time, though, the
sickle will free God’s people for His future kingdom. 1 Th 2:19—“For what is
our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it
not you? 20 For you
are our glory and joy.”
Christians share
the gospel, but we must trust the unseen
Spirit do His mysterious work to bring kingdom growth. Once God determines the growth to be
ready, He’ll apply the sickle and bring all of His people into His future
kingdom.
III.
The Kingdom Grows Chiefly (vv. 30–34)
30 And he said, “With
what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain
of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the
seeds on earth, 32 yet
when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and
puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its
shade.
33 With many such
parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to
them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained
everything.”
Now, the mustard
seed isn’t the smallest seed of all the world.
However, it’s the smallest of all kosher seeds, and one that’s familiar
to Christ’s audience. “Mustard seeds are
around 1/10th of an inch in diameter.”[1]
Jesus used the
mustard seed proverbially to speak of the grand results of even a small faith
(Mt 17:20). Here, image is that the
kingdom of God begins small, with the Word and the work of twelve, but it grows
exponentially. The immediate picture of
this is Christ Himself, the Living Word.
He started small—a baby born in a manger, under shameful
conditions. Yet, His ministry had
encompassed the entire region. From the
120 disciples faithfully awaiting in Jerusalem in Acts 1–2 came 3,000 converts
(Acts 2:41).
These wild birds
picture the Gentile peoples, not the Satanic birds in the Parable of the
Sower. It can seem like this is some
nefarious act, the birds resting in the branches, especially after the Parable
of the Sower! And certainly, the kingdom is large enough to attract
pretenders. Since the kingdom grows
so large, it’s inevitable that false believers take up residence within the
church. As the net of the kingdom draws
in fish, some will be bad and separated at the judgment (Mt 13:47–50).
However, just as
the mustard seed can refer to the kingdom in this parable and faith in another,
we need to be careful not to make assumptions.
This is a case where the greater context of Scripture will help us.
Old Testament
references use these images to describe the nations coming to Israel. MacArthur, “In the Old Testament, the image
of a tree providing safe haven to the birds was used to illustrate kingdoms
that were so mighty they brought stability and blessing to nations around them
(cf. Dan. 4:10–12, 20–22 Ezek. 31:3–6).”[2]
For instance, in Dan.
4:10–12, we read,
The
visions of my head as I lay in bed were these: I saw, and behold, a tree in the
midst of the earth, and its height was great. 11 The tree grew and became
strong, and its top reached to heaven, and it was visible to the end of the
whole earth. 12 Its leaves were beautiful and its fruit abundant, and in
it was food for all. The beasts of the field found shade under it, and the
birds of the heavens lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.
Now, that was
Nebuchadnezzar’s second dream. The Lord
reveals to him how his pagan kingdom will grow.
The surrounding peoples were blessed even with this kind of society.
Now, switching to
the Millennial Kingdom, we read this in Eze 17:23—“On the mountain height of
Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become
a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its
branches birds of every sort will nest.”
There again, we see that the birds come to nest, a sign of blessing.
This plant is
growing to be a great kingdom regardless of human effort for or against
it. Think about those who would
persecute the church. I believe it was
Alistar Begg who said that the same Paul who once tried to put Christians to
death now finds rest in the branches of this growing kingdom. There are places in this world where they try
to stamp out Christianity, but the kingdom continues to grow. You and I can take rest in this growing
plant, like the birds of the air, knowing that God will never allow His work to
be destroyed.
The kingdom is large enough for all peoples. Those who follow the Word that Christ gave to
His disciples will find a resting place in the kingdom of God, regardless of
ethnicity or socioeconomic background.
If we believe, we will find rest in the gospel of the kingdom, which is
and which is to come.
Mark says here that
Jesus “spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.” Some can be with the Lord and hearing His
teaching without observing it within themselves. As 2 Corinthians 13:5 says, “Examine
yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves.” If you are in the faith, then follow the
command of Christ to beware false teachers infiltrating the church with fruit
foreign to the kingdom (Mt 7:15–20).
IV.
Final Thoughts
Individually, you
are not going to know how the Spirit is working in you or in anyone else. You may awaken to find another Christian has
grown by inches while you might think your growth has halted. Or, you may not realize that you’ve grown
until the day of harvest. There’s a
mystery to it that is not directly related to our human efforts. Yes, it’s important to follow Scripture in
your walk, but it’s God that gives you the increase. Trust in Him to accomplish His work.
This applies as you
engage in gospel ministry. You may be
tempted to take everything into your hands, as though you are responsible for
the salvation of each and every sinner you encounter. Know that the truth is that God causes the
increase and the growth. We can’t allow
the “what if’s” govern our ministry. Trust
in the sovereign control of the Lord.
