Parables of the Kingdom

Intro- We continue this morning on our walk through the Gospel of Mark with Mark 4:21-34. But before we look at today’s passage we have to understand something about what Jesus was doing in His earthly ministry. We have to understand that Jesus came not just to live a sinless life and die on the cross to open up a way for lost sinners to be saved, but that He also came to establish a kingdom on earth.

Now this was a new kind of kingdom than any mankind had experienced before. It wasn’t a physical kingdom with a traditional king and a capital city and an army and all that stuff. No, it was a spiritual kingdom that started in the hearts and souls of those who believed in Jesus. It was the kingdom of God come down to earth. Now, Jesus and His followers didn’t look like much of a kingdom. This was not at all what the Jews expected of the Messiah. They thought the Messiah would establish a physical kingdom and reign over the whole world. So, a big part of Jesus’ ministry was trying to help people see how a carpenter from Nazareth turned itinerant preacher and the rough and tumble rabble that followed Him were actually the beginnings of the great and eternal Kingdom of God. How could Jesus help people begin to see that God’s kingdom had come in this unexpected way?

He told them in parables. And that is exactly what we have this morning are three parables about the kingdom. And these parables not only give us insight into what Jesus was doing in the first century, but also into what God is still doing today as He grows His kingdom in the church and in the hearts of men and women and children like you.

Transition: So, let’s look at our first parable this morning. The parable of the Lamp on a Stand.

1. The Parable of the Lamp on a Stand

Now, you’re probably familiar with this parable from the Sermon on the Mount, not to mention the children’s song “This Little Light of Mine.” But as a travelling preacher, Jesus told His parables many times in many different contexts, sometimes using the same parable to make different points in different places. And that is the case here. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus told this parable to encourage believers to, “let your light shine before others.” (Matthew 5:16.) But that is not Jesus’ point in these verses. Let’s read.

Mark 4:21–23- He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Many parables have a key phrase or point of emphasis at the end to help us interpret them. In this case, it’s the statement “whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.” So, Jesus is talking about something that is hidden that will soon be revealed.

I believe this parable, like the others we’ll look at this morning, is supposed to help Jesus’ hearers catch a glimpse of the new kingdom He is starting. The lamp in the parable represents Jesus and His kingdom ministry. In the same way that it wouldn’t make sense for you to light a lamp just to hide it under a bowl, neither would it make sense for God to send His Messiah only to hide Him and the true nature of His mission. Yet, Jesus’ true identity and mission were hidden as He spoke this parable. No one really understood who He was or what he was going to do. At this point in His ministry Jesus wasn’t coming right out and saying “I am the eternal Son of God and His messiah sent down to be the perfect blood sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.” No, for now He spoke to the people in parables and told them only what they could understand.

So, the point of this parable is to tell the people that there is something hidden and mysterious about Jesus and His ministry that will soon be revealed. [English, Don. The Message of Mark. The Bible Speaks Today. ed. John R.W. Stott. (Downer’s Grove IL: Inter-Varsity Press) 1992. p98.] Jesus is telling the people to consider carefully what they hear from Him and to listen with the ears of faith. Look at...

Mark 4:24-25- “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

Craig Keener suggests that the phrase “with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” is a reference to judgment. He says that “the language of ‘measuring’ was sometimes used in Jewish texts for God measuring out just judgments on the final day.” [Keener, Craig S. The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament. (Downer’s Grove, IL: IVP Academic) 1993, p145]

So, Jesus is warning those who come to hear Him teach that there is something hidden and mysterious about His true mission and identity that He can only hint at right now, but that will soon be revealed. Yet, they shouldn’t despise this mystery but rather should consider carefully what they hear from Jesus because only those who respond in faith to His teaching will receive more insight into the mystery. Jesus even warns that God will judge them based on how they respond to His teaching.

App- I want to focus in on the last point. God will judge us based on how we respond to Jesus’ teaching. How much more is this true of us! How much more ought we to consider carefully what Jesus taught? We who get to see all that was hidden in Jesus’ day. We know about His death. We have the apostle’s testimony to His resurrection. So, consider carefully what Scripture says and receive it with faith, because with the measure you use, it will be measured out to you. You will be judged by how you respond to God’s Word.

Have you ever considered that? Have you ever considered that you will be judged by how much notice you take of this Word and how you respond to it? Consider how many people in the history of the world have lived and died on pagan shores without ever having heard the name of Jesus, never having the chance to believe. Do you think that you can have unrestricted access to God’s life-giving Word and not be held to a higher standard? Do you think you can ignore this gift and trample it under foot and not be judged for it? Of course not.

What you do with this will determine your eternity, so don’t take it for granted. Don’t despise God’s Word. Don’t treat Jesus’ teaching with contempt. Consider carefully what you hear and respond in faith!

Transition: Let’s look now at a second parable of the kingdom in verses 26-29.

Mark 4:26–29- He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

2. The Parable of the Growing Seed

In this parable Jesus points out first of all that the seed the farmer plants grows of it’s own accord. They merely scattered the seed and then the seed grew “automatically” no matter what the farmer did. A second point of emphasis is that there are stages of growth that the seed must go through before the harvest comes. The seed doesn’t immediately mature and produce a harvest It has to grow over time before the harvest comes. This brings us to a third emphasis in the parable which is seems to be that the harvest is unavoidable. From the moment the seed is planted, the whole process of growth moves the seed step-by-step closer to the harvest.

So, what does this parable teach us about the kingdom of God? The expectation in Jesus’ day was that the kingdom of God would break in all at once, like water breaking through a dam or like an invading army attacking a city. Jesus says that it’s more like a farmer sowing seed. Jesus is saying that the kingdom of God doesn’t come all at once but grows over time. (ESV Study Bible Note on 4:26-29) He is planting it in seed form and even though it may not look like much it will grow, slowly but steadily, stage by stage, blooming into the worldwide church, until it eventually reaches the point of harvest, the last judgment. But the seed must be allowed to grow first. Jesus hearers shouldn’t expect an immediate harvest. [Grand Rapids, MI: William B Eerdmans Publishing Company) 1974, p169]

App- We are often guilty of wanting an immediate harvest too aren’t we? We want to spiritually microwave our lives, our church, our lost friends, even our country. We want God to come in with a quick fix. But most of the time that just isn’t how God works.

Think about how God rescued His people from Egypt. He sent a baby, Moses. Then God waited 80 years for Moses to grow and mature before using him to deliver Israel. And think about Jesus. God could have sent the Messiah down as an adult. But He didn’t do that did He? No, He sent Jesus as a baby, and He waited as the Messiah grew from infancy to boyhood, from boyhood to adolescence, and then from adolescence to manhood. He waited 30 years before Jesus began His ministry.

That is how our God works. We don’t get all-at-once change very often. Instead, we have to plant kingdom seeds in our lives and wait for them to grow. So, plant good seed in your life and give it time to grow. Give it time to grow in you. Give it time to grow in this church. Give it time to grow in your family and in your lost friends. Sow good seed and wait. Slowly and steadily, stage by stage God’s work will move towards His desired end.

Transition: Let’s look now at a third parable of the kingdom.

Mark 4:30–34- Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

3. The Parable of the Mustard Seed

The Bible Knowledge Commentary helpfully notes that it takes over 700 mustard seeds to weigh a gram (and there are 28 grams in a single ounce). So a mustard seed is pretty small and very light. Yet the shrub that grows from this seed becomes the largest of all garden plants in Palestine, reaching a height of 10–12 feet in a few weeks. [John D. Grassmick, “Mark,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 121.] The key point being that this mustard seed starts small but grows to be something very big.

Jesus is comparing His ministry and the kingdom He is planting to the mustard seed. He is saying that even though it looks small and insignificant right now, it would grow. In fact, this small movement would one day encircle the whole globe. Yes, there would come “a day when the kingdom of” this carpenter from Nazareth “would surpass in glory the mightiest kingdoms of the earth.” [Grand Rapids, MI: William B Eerdmans Publishing Company) 1974, p171-172]

App- This parable is a great reminder for us that God often starts great works in the smallest ways. An old Chinese proverb says “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” And that seems to capture how God often works in His children’s lives. Consider for example how God chose to create a people and a nation for His name. He didn’t go find a people already existing and adopt them as His own. No. He chose one man and his wife and asked them to go on a long journey to a place they had never been before. Imagine that! The beginnings of Israel, even the beginnings of the church. Abram I’ve got a plan, but first you need to go on a journey.

Yes, God has a habit of starting large undertakings in small ways. So, you have to learn not to despise small things and small beginnings in the Christian life. Advancing God’s kingdom in your life often starts with small things like choosing to obey. Praying and asking God for guidance and help. Or even inviting someone to church. Don’t underestimate these small steps of faith.

Transition: So what have we learned about the kingdom?

Conclusion:

First, that God often leaves some pieces of His plan hidden and shrouded in mystery. Even now, we only see through a glass darkly. So, we have to learn to consider carefully what God does choose to reveal to us and respond to it with faith. How are you responding to the revelation God has given you? Are you taking Jesus or His Word for granted?

Second, that God often takes His time doing His greatest works. It isn’t very often that He changes us or His church or the world all at once. Most of the time He plants the seeds of kingdom change in us and lets them grow little-by-little. So, be sure to plant good kingdom seed in your life, then give it time to grow. What kind of seeds are you planting in your life? Are you waiting patiently for the harvest?

Lastly, we are reminded that God often starts His greatest works in the smallest of ways. Don’t underestimate the power of small changes, small expressions of faith, small steps of obedience in your Christian walk, because God can use them to do big things. What small step of faith is God asking you to take today?

PRAY