The Mysteries of The Growing Kingdom | Mark 4:26-32

Good morning, what a pleasure it is for me to be opening up the word of God again with you this morning and to look at Jesus’ own words in the Gospels. We are in this series which we are calling, “Stories from the King” where we are looking through Jesus’ parables. A parable is simply a story that illustrates a truth. Jesus’ parables have metaphors and allegories, and analogies to communicate these truths. As we will see today these parables were sometimes hard to understand. We know this because Jesus’ own disciples often did not understand these parables, and Jesus had to explain them in private to them. Not only were these parables needing deciphering, but they also were the subject of a complex theme. The Kingdom of God.

What is The Kingdom?

Let us begin there, what is the Kingdom? Jesus in our passage and in most of the parables is teaching on the Kingdom of God. I think before we look at our passage in detail, we need to develop growing understanding of the Kingdom. We also need to understand why the concept of the Kingdom is a complex one. In the Bible we see the Kingdom being described in the following ways:

the kingdom has come near

the kingdom can be entered

the kingdom is in the midst of us

the kingdom comes

the kingdom is prepared for us

the kingdom is sought after

the kingdom has keys

the kingdom is able to be locked from men/women

a scribe is not far from the kingdom

We can look at this list and conclude that the Kingdom is a bit more complex than what some of us might think. These are just some of the ways the Bible references the term. We also use the term in a variety of ways. We use the word Kingdom to reference a territory, like “the United Kingdom.” We use it to describe a group like “the Animal Kingdom.” We also sometimes use it in reference to a time in history like “the Middle Kingdom” in relation to ancient Egypt. So we can see how when we think of the Kingdom of God, some of us may have a different idea in mind when we think of the Kingdom. Our question should be, what does Jesus mean when he talks about the Kingdom?

There is actually much debate among theologians as to the definition of the Kingdom, but I found there were overall agreement that the Kingdom is both present and future. There is also much agreement that the Church is not the Kingdom. Jesus is not saying the Kingdom of God is the church, because of the various ways it is used, it can’t mean the church. It has to be bigger than that. I believe the church is part of the Kingdom, but we can’t define the Kingdom as the church. A better definition of the Kingdom could be:

“God’s Reign or Sovereignty”

The Lord is reigning now, and will reign for all to see in the future when He comes for His people.

Jesus calls this concept of the Kingdom (or his reign) a secret. Some other bible translations say “the mysteries of the Kingdom of God”

Mark 4:10–11 (ESV)

10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,

Perhaps you are sitting here today thinking, well if it’s confusing that the disciples themselves couldn’t understand, what hope is there for us to be able to really understand what Jesus meant. As I thought of that of that same question in my studies, I thought of an experience I had early on in my marriage.

Laura and her family are big Star Wars fans. Before becoming a fan of the franchise myself, I didn’t quite get the whole concept or storyline. For example, one of the movies I had seen prior to my joining my wife’s family mentioned what the Jedi called “the force.” You see it on t-shirts and such but you watch a movie and you think well, it’s the power of the Jedi, but then you see the bad guys using the force, then you learn in another movie, that the force is described as being all around.

Now I don’t want to draw a parallel between the force and the Kingdom, rather what I am saying is that my experience was that I had a greater understanding of the force and a greater appreciation for the storyline after watching all the trilogies. After taking it all in I then could see the connections between each of the movies and come to an understanding of “the force”

We have the completed Word of God, which the original hearers did not have. The disciples needed Jesus to explain it to them, but we have the completed words of the Living and True God to lead us through these concepts.

So with that, let us look at the mysteries of the growing kingdom from our passage. I have identified three mysteries from our passage that I hope bring clarity to.

The Mystery of the Sower

They Mystery of the Seed

The Mystery of the Harvest

The Mystery of the Sower

Read again with me Mark 4:26-27

Mark 4:26–27 ESV

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.

The kingdom or “reign” is as if a man should scatter the seed on the ground. The parable right before this one is the one of the soils which we heard from Pastor Gary last week, where Jesus also explains to the disciples and to the readers what each element of the parable of the soils meant. In his explanation, he says, Mark 4:14

Mark 4:14 ESV

14 The sower sows the word.

That is what the sower does. He sows the word. The word being the good news of the Gospel. We are the sower who must scatter the seeds! Notice a couple of aspects about the sower.

First, he does not know how the seeds grow. He goes about his day (and night) and he notices that the seeds sprout and grow but “he knows not how.” The sower is a bit ignorant with how the seed grows. This is how we are to partake in the growing of the kingdom by being a sower of God’s word. We spread the word. That’s our role and that’s it.

Look what Paul says to the Corinthian Church.

1 Corinthians 3:5–7 (ESV)

5 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.

This leads to the second aspect of the sower which is that we share the Gospel by spreading the seeds, we, as the sowers, tell people that Jesus is the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father, no one enters heaven except through Him. We call people to repentance and acceptance of faith in Jesus

BUT we do not and cannot save people. God does that. God brings about the growth of His Kingdom, but our role is to scatter the seeds.

One of my professors at Emmaus, actually, Cindy Davis’s dad, Jack Fish. Used to tell the story of his salvation in class. He shared how he heard the Gospel through the TV. He heard and saw Billy Graham present the gospel at an event and he watched it from TV and that moment placed his faith in Jesus for salvation. That seed was sown in the life of Dr. Fish and He has in turn, influenced and taught the Bible to men and women for decades at Emmaus. Billy Graham the great evangelist was a model sower. He spread seeds all over the country and the world by scattering seeds of the gospel where ever he went. Billy Graham did not save Cindy’s dad, His ministry was not to save people, but to bring the words that save to those who need saving.

This is what the church has been commission to do. Let me remind you of the commission Matt 28:19-20

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This is our task, if you have placed your faith in Jesus for salvation, this is your purpose, the orders from our heavenly King have come down and they are clear, make disciples, to baptize them, and to teach them about Jesus’s teaching. To teach them the parables.

This is the mystery of the sower, we are the sowers tasked to spread the Gospel. That’s how we partake in the growing of God’s Kingdom. We (the sowers) are not responsible nor capable of growing the seeds of the Gospel, but we spread the seeds.

The Mystery of the Seed

Personal Growth

But what about the seeds? The seeds are also a bit of a mystery that need some clarity because they are being used in different ways in each of these parables. In the parable of the seed growing it is about the sanctification process. That is to say, it is the spiritual maturing of a person. The seed is planted in a person when a sower shares the gospel with a person. God is the one that makes it grow which means, this person converts and begins to mature in their faith.

Spiritual Maturity is what discipleship is all about, it is seeing seeds become sowers. This happens when a person who comes to faith desires to grow and begins to practice what we call “Spiritual Disciplines.” These disciplines like:

Spiritual Disciplines

Reading and Studying the Bible

Praying Regularly

Worshipping God

Serving God

Evangelizing

These kinds of things are what can help a young deliver grow in godliness.

I mentioned before when we were in 1 Thessalonians that we have a human responsibility in the sanctification process. It is not a “let go and let God” process, we have a role in it. The seed in this parable is speaking of this growth in a person. You see the development of the seed from a blade of grass, to an ear, to then a full grain in the ear. This is the growth of each individual person.

Let me add this while we are on the topic, if you have been a Christian for a number of years, you should not feel like a blade of grass, who is just starting to grow. Seek to grow, join a bible study and learn to study the bible for yourself around other men and women. Come to Family Bible Hour. You know Family Bible Hour gives out some homework to help you during the week to do your own study of the bible.

Come to prayer meetings on Tuesdays, or get into the habit of praying daily to God.

Commit yourself to living a life of worship to God and commit yourself to worshipping with other believers. Make a priority, don’t allow other things to get in the way of your higher calling of being a servant of the most high king.

These are some ways we begin to grow from a blade to a full grain. May this be true of you. If it is not, know that this church family is where you need to lean into for help.

Kingdom Growth

There is another aspect to how the seed growth is referenced, and that’s in the parable of the mustard seed. If the first parable is about personal growth, I would say that this parable is about Kingdom Growth. Read once more with me Mark 4:30-32

Mark 4:30–32 ESV

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.”

Jesus begins this parable with a question, “what can we compare the kingdom of God to?” This signals to the reader, a shift, he is going to illustrate a different aspect or mystery of the kingdom. Picture the disciples who are listening to these parables. They understand the task, we are to be sowers, but with so much opposition from the religious leaders of their time, and opposition from Roman rule, what hope is there that this task is achievable? Jesus tells them (and us) here.

The Kingdom of God, the growth of God’s reign and influence on earth starts with humble beginnings. Begins with Jesus’s ministry of 3 years and equipping 12 disciples and some 2,000 years later, we can attest that the Mustard Seed has grown. Starting with humble beginnings, the church has been busy for over 2,000 years to fulfill the mission our King left us and in doing so, God’s Kingdom, has grown.

We still have opposition today, very likely that opposition will grow in the near future, but be encouraged by Jesus’ words, “when it is sown, it grows up.” There is no may grow up, it grows! It has grown and will continue to grow because he said it so, it grows because he makes it grow. The disciples who were with him, think about the encouragement that might have been to them?

What hope is there that this would grow? Jesus says, it will grow and we see today the influence of those disciples in planting churches, we see the influence of other evangelists like Billy Graham, Charles Spurgeon, or theologians like John Calvin, or Jonathan Edwards. God uses people to see this task come about. You and I are no exception, we have the same task and can hold on to the same promise that God will make it grow, we are to play our part in spreading the seed.

Those of you who are a bit more tuned to the theology of end times, I am not saying that we are bringing about God’s Kingdom. That’s not what this passage teaches, and I don’t personally thing that’s what the Bible teaches. He does that, we have a part to play but it is not growing nor bringing the kingdom to earth, that’s God’s doing.

The mystery of the seed is two fold, it is the personal sanctification, growth in godliness, and the growth of God’s kingdom we have the privilege to partake in.

Just a side note about the second part of this parable about the large branches for the birds to make their nests. Some commentators attribute this to what we call common grace, God blesses even those who are not His children through His children. Others believe that the birds are evidence of the opposition from the evil one or those who are against the growing of the Kingdom. I think either interpretation could be taken but let not issue of the birds distract from the main message of this parable. The Kingdom of God will grow immensely and continue to grow until the coming of our King.

The Mystery of the Harvest

The final mystery I see in these parables is the mystery of the harvest. Going back to the end of the parable of the seed growing. Read with me once more Mark 4:29

Mark 4:29 ESV

29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The key to understanding the mystery of the harvest is understanding the word play Jesus is doing with using the term sickle. This is an allusion to Joel 3:13

Joel 3:13 ESV

13 Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Go in, tread, for the winepress is full. The vats overflow, for their evil is great.

The sickle in Joel is a symbol of judgement that is coming for the way the nations have treated God’s people. This judgement was declared to all the nations for their wickedness. This prophecy in Joel 3 is a future judgement. We see the same wording in Revelation 14:14-15

Revelation 14:14–15 ESV

14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. 15 And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.”

The Apostle John who wrote revelation based on the vision he saw from the Lord again uses this same term. The angel declares to the son of man to use the sickle to reap the harvest of earth.

The Mystery of the harvest is the second coming of the Lord. Those who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus will be reaped and see and live in the time of the Kingdom where the Lord’s reign will be on full display. This is the hope that we have as believers. This is what gives us strength to persevere persecution or to get over any kind of embarrassment that may come in making known to those around us that we are children of God and we have the message of hope that they need.

The harvest implies that there are those who will not be reaped but instead they will enter an eternal punishment. The growing Kingdom is available, you must obey the gospel and place your faith in Jesus for salvation to be part of that glorious day of harvest.

What about those who will not be reaped? What is the implication for the believers, the sowers when we think about the harvest? Charles Spurgeon, the great pastor and evangelist is often quoted saying,

“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our dead bodies. And if they perish, let them perish with our arms wrapped about their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go unwarned and unprayed for.” - Charles Spureon

Conclusion

Listen church, we have to do better! I’m including myself in this exhortation. We must do better. People are perishing, people are walking about in route to condemnation. May we take Spurgeon’s words to heart and say, over our dead bodies are they going to hell.

Let us walk away today from this service with a zeal to see the great commission fulfilled in our tri-state area. I know there is excitement about reaching hispanics with the gospel in our area. This a need that the elders have identified years ago and are wanting to see these people who are here, in our backyard receive the gospel and have a place where discipleship can occur. May we also be excited about reaching our neighbors. Pray for your neighbors, ask God to provide an opportunity to share your faith with them. Pray for your unsaved family members and share your faith with them. When I say share your faith, I don’t mean mention you are a Christian, I mean, tell them why you need a savior, explain that your sin and their sin separates them from God and a price needed to be paid for reconciliation with God. Tell them that God sent his son to reconcile us to himself. Tell them that they can enjoy the hope of eternal life, they can receive the cure for their sin that separates them from God. They must confess their need for God and place their faith in Jesus for salvation. If they do that, they have been born again and will never be the same. They have entered into the family of God.

Tell them that Jesus is the only way, the truth and the life. This is our task as sowers, to spread the seeds of the gospel because the harvest is coming. As sure as we know death is coming, that is how certain we know that the day for reaping the harvest is also coming.

May our lord find us as faithful servants partaking in the growing of His Kingdom.

And until our Lord comes we also remember Him as He taught us to by taking together the Lord’s Supper. This ordinance is for those who have placed their faith in the Lord Jesus for salvation. If this is you today and you are visiting, we are happy for you to join us. If you have not placed your faith in Christ, we ask that you simply pass the elements through your isle. We are glad you are here today and know that any of the elders or myself would be happy to talk to you if you have questions about the Bible or how to become part of the family of God.

At this time I’ll invite the brothers to come up to distribute the bread and brother (insert name here) will pray for the bread.

If you chose to partake, please hold on to the bread and we will take it together.

READ: 1 Cor 11:23-24

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 (ESV)

that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Brother (insert name here) will not come up to pray for the cup.

READ: 1 Cor 11:25-26

1 Corinthians 11:25–26 ESV

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.