God Causes the Growth

Context First Reading

Ezekiel during the Babylonian Exile. He writes about future hope, when Jerusalem (which had been destroyed) will be rebuilt. Even more he speaks about the Kingdom of God that the Messiah will establish for all people. He uses the image of God taking a small cedar twig and planting it on a high mountain top, where it gives safety and shelter to all birds.

Ezekiel 17:22–24 “Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 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. And all the trees of the field shall know that I am the Lord; I bring low the high tree, and make high the low tree, dry up the green tree, and make the dry tree flourish. I am the Lord; I have spoken, and I will do it.””

Context Second Reading

Series: Faith Awakened.

Jesus is teaching the crowds. He uses parables. Earthly stories with heavenly meanings. Stories about familiar things to illustrate a spiritual truth that is less obvious.

Mark 4:26–34 “And he 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.” And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 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.” With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.”

Introduction

Example of putting down my new lawn. Hard work. Then wait. Type A side of personality, wanting it to happen, checking everyday. Messing with it only make it worse. Just had to wait.

Then one morning. hay not yellow, green tinge, then blades everywhere, then a lawn. MIRACLE. That is amazing. Seed and now a lawn.

jesus says the KofG is like that.

Exegesis

The familiar image in his agrarian society. Planting and harvesting.

a man scatters seed on the ground. Large bag of seed. Walking up and down the field scattering the seed. Other details not mentioned, turning it under, fertilizer.

Then that is it. Days goes by. He sleeps and rises.

One day seeds sprout and begin growing. One day bare dirt, then another day, grow happening everywhere.

The man does not know how it happened. Not a statement of ancient ignorance. The fact that it life emerges, is a mystery.

The farmer could not make it happen. He can set the conditions, water, fertilizing, but he did not make it grow and he could not make it come a day earlier that its time.

The earth produces by itself. The earth has the capacity for life in itself, not depending on the man.

Blade, ear, full grain in the ear. It grows steadily and becomes not seed above the ground, but a whole new useful, life-giving plant, a harvest.

When the harvest comes, the man, who has been waiting, puts in the sickle, he reaps the harvest. He planted seed, he reaps a harvest.

A comfort to Jesus.

Jesus and his disciples working hard. Not even enough time to eat or sleep. Is all this WORK the KofG?

There were many times that people and situations demanded his patience. “How long will I have to put up with you?” Go to bed, get up, minister another day.

NO: this is the pre work…the KofG more..

Every year Jesus saw an earthly symbol for the harvest that would come of his ministry. It has been built into creation since the beginning. The earth provides earthly life. The kingdom of God provides spiritual life.

Isaiah 55:10–11 ““For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” Jesus is the Word.

Jesus explained the parable to his disciples. But there is no interpretation provided for this parable. Perhaps this is because as Jesus’ disciples — familiar with his ministry and other teachings we can decipher it :

Jesus is the sower. He scatters the seed on the ground. He proclaims the gospel on earth.

Matthew 13:37 “He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.”

Jesus sleeps and rises.

He ministers day to day.

A reference to his death and resurrection.

John 12:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

The sower trusts the God will cause the seeds to grow…cause people to have faith and respond.

The church grows slowly, but surely, a great harvest.

When the church is ready, Jesus will come back at the end of time to put in the sickle…the reap the harvest, bringing to himself all his people.

He will gather the wheat into his barn, but the chaff he will burn up.

Revelation 14:14–16 “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. 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.” So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.”

Simplest summary interpretation: We do our part. Then God makes the growth: The Kingdom of God is gift and miracle.

Interpretation

Jesus passed this parable on to his disciples, so that they too could trust that Kingdom of God — for all the work it takes — is in the end a divine gift and miracle.

Luke 10:2 “And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”

To a contentious church in Corinth. Some were fans of Paul, some of Apollos. 1 Corinthians 3:6 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”

Like Jesus, the early church leaders just strived to be faithful, to do their part, and let God cause the life to emerge.

A comfort to us.

We have pressure on us.

Job, education, marriage, relationships, finances, culture.

And my spiritual life and church!

Trying to manage all these things. We all want control. Type A even aggressive and pushy about it. Competence, responsibility, ALL ON US.

The kingdom of God offers us a break from that. It is not our kingdom and it is not up to us. we don’t have the power to make it happen. It happens of itself.

God just asks us to be faithful, not successful. Just do our part.

In church. We do OUR part. We worship. learning. giving. serving. welcoming. And the church grows of itself.

relationships get mended. People come to know Jesus.

In our personal lives. We worship, pray, work, sleep, go through our days with the rhythm of God’s grace and our response.

God’s gracious action works on us. Resolutions, surrender, respond to grace, until we reach maturity (Eph. 4:13)

Something there that was there before. (Beauty and the Beast)

Just plant the seed and be ready for the growth. Several ancient writers, say we are like the harvest coming up.

the blade of grass - fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Ps. 111; Prov. 1:7)

Then the ear - the time for pruning, fertilizing.

James 1:21–22 “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”

Then the grain - productivity for the Kingdom of God. Fruitfulness.

Philippians 1:22 “If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.”

Lastly, being harvesting into Glory.

Come into the glory prepared for you. (Matt. 25)

Little seeds, daily work, but part of divine miracle

Application

A word of rest — Let God do the growing.

Personal holiness. Let God work.

Reconciling with your spouse. Step back and wait a night and day. Let the work happen under the surface. Miracles happen there. A change of mind, heart. New outlook.

Or with work problem. Let God’s grace flow and cause the life.

Encouragement - your efforts for the Kingdom of God are not in vain.

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

1 Corinthians 15:58 “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”

Each day put in the work.

Ecclesiastes 11:5–6 “… In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.”

God has called us to be faithful, not to understand everything or control everything.

Conclusion

MY FAVORITE PART OF THE LAWN. Lawn I put down, the favorite part. I saw the miracle. Our favorite parts will be where we saw the miracle happen. Not what we did, but what God did.

Share in Jesus’ comfort:

Isaiah 55:10–11 ““For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall YOUR word be that goes out from YOUR mouth; it shall not return to YOU empty, but it shall accomplish that which YOU purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which YOU sent it.” Jesus is the Word.

Prayer of Intercession

We praise and thank you, O Lord, that you have fed us with your Word [and at your table]. Grateful for your gifts and mindful of the communion of your saints, we offer to you our prayers for all people.

God of compassion, we remember before you the poor and the afflicted, the sick and the dying, prisoners and all who are lonely, the victims of war, injustice, and inhumanity, and all others who suffer from whatever their sufferings may be called. [Silence]

O Lord of providence holding the destiny of the nations in your hand, we pray for our country. Inspire the hearts and minds of our leaders that they, together with all our nation, may first seek your kingdom and righteousness so that order, liberty, and peace may dwell with your people. [Silence]

O God the Creator, we pray for all nations and peoples. Take away the mistrust and lack of understanding that divide your creatures; increase in us the recognition that we are all your children. [Silence]

O Savior God, look upon your church in its struggle upon the earth. Have mercy on its weakness, bring to an end its unhappy divisions, and scatter its fears. Look also upon the ministry of your church. Increase its courage, strengthen its faith, and inspire its witness to all people, even to the ends of the earth. [Silence]

Author of grace and God of love, send your Holy Spirit’s blessing to your children here present. Keep our hearts and thoughts in Jesus Christ, your Son, our only Savior, who has taught us to pray: [Lord’s Prayer]

Faith Alive Christian Resources; Calvin Institute of Christian Worship. The Worship Sourcebook, Second Edition (pp. 189-190). Faith Alive Christian Resources. Kindle Edition.