070206 Pentecost 4
Pentecost 4, July 2, 2006
The kingdom of God is much greater than meets the eye.
Text: Mark 4:26–34
Other Lessons: Psalm 92:1–5 (6–11) 12–15; Ezekiel 17:22–24; 2 Corinthians 5:1–10
Introduction: I know that this is the 4th of July weekend. It’s that time of year for fireworks, patriotic songs, and a remembrance of the formation of our Republic. We like to celebrate our national independence at least at this time of year. However, let me submit to you that true independence is not something that you can see with untrained eyes, or hear with untrained ears.
For example: Look around you. How many people of royal descent do you see around you? Is there anyone who looks like a King or Queen or Prince or Princess? My point is this: The kingdom of God is much greater than meets the eye. And it is only in the kingdom of God that you and I have true liberty. Yet it is not liberty with independence, but liberty with interdependence with those people who make up the body of Christ, and with God Himself. But, none of this is seen with the natural eye of humanity.
(3. The kingdom of God is presently hidden from our eyes.)
(a. You see, the kingdom of God doesn’t look like we think it ought to look.)
And looking at the kingdom of God with human eyes can be quite a letdown, especially if you have been told that the kingdom is comprised only of royal citizens. Even for us Christians it can be somewhat deceiving to our senses.
We know that we live in God’s kingdom of grace, that is, in the kingdom of His Divine undeserved favor. We all have our own perceptions regarding what that is all about. But when we look around, what do we see? Some bald-headed man standing in a pulpit; folks sitting in pews—mostly in the back, and a lot of empty seats. That just doesn’t meet with our expectation of royalty, liberty, and independence.
And to make matters worse, we are all sinners! We see people who aren’t as active in the church as we think they ought to be. People who don’t always treat us, or one another, as kindly as we think they should. People whose lives outside the church don’t always rise to the standards we might set for a Christian. And if we take an honest look at ourselves, each of us would have to admit that we, too, seem altogether out of place in the kingdom of God.
When I saw the pastor who succeeded me at St. Paul’s Hale and His lay delegate at the District Convention, whom I know very well as a personal friend. I said, “What a motley looking crew this is. The pastor said, “You’re not so good looking yourself, thank you very much.” It was all friendly banter. But, my dear friends and royal subjects, none of us—not even one—deserves the royal status we have because of the True and Only Royal Son of God, Jesus Christ. And that is precisely what makes God’s grace—His undeserved favor—so remarkable. And it is also what makes our royal status unseen, unheard, and unbelievable to the untrained human eye. It just doesn’t look like we think it ought to.
(b. The kingdom of God didn’t look to the first followers of Jesus like they thought it ought to look either.)
They had been waiting . . . and waiting . . . and waiting . . . and waiting some more, for the promised Messiah. Now, finally, the signs indicated that he had come! The blind were being made to see, the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk! And this man Jesus taught with authority like no other.
Even with all of that, all the pieces of the puzzle just didn’t seem to fit. Rome still had Israel under its thumb. The corrupt house of Herod still cast a dark shadow over their land. And the One to whom they were looking for deliverance was in no hurry to take up a crown or raise an army. If Immanuel had at last come, why wasn’t he doing more to ransom captive Israel?
To top it all off, this man was associating with all the wrong people. He ate with sinners! Tax collectors and women of ill repute were among his closest friends. This hardly shows a man of royalty—so some thought.
Transition: Of course, Jesus knew what they were thinking—and what we think as well. He knows that our fallen, sinful minds just can’t quite grasp the fullness of the mysteries of His kingdom. So to help us get it, Jesus tells a parable:
"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.”" (Mark 4:26-29, ESV)
(2. The kingdom of God will come one day in the sight of all people.)
(a. The harvest will come.)
This parable doesn’t explain the mystery of God’s kingdom. It’s not the kind of mystery that can be explained. It can only be heard and seen with eyes and ears opened spiritually. That’s what faith is—the eyes and ears to discern spiritual things. Faith believes the promise.
The promise is portrayed in the parable this way: seed that’s been sown will produce a crop. And when the grain is ripe, the harvest will come. And when the harvest comes, only those who have come from the seed of the first planting, Jesus Christ, will be gathered into the Lord’s barn. Then the great celebration of harvest begins!
(b. The certainty of the harvest gives us reason for hope and patience.) But, the certainty is not found in us. It is only found in the production and growth that comes from the first seed, Jesus Christ.
If Kingdom growth depended on us, there would not be any assurance for its completion. Jesus reveals the comforting assurance that responsibility for the kingdom’s growth does not rest on our shoulders. We, the royal farmers only need to sow the seed. The rest will come by itself (v 28). "The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear." (Mark 4:28, ESV) God is the one who makes it all work, not as the product of our efforts and ingenuity, but as the product of His Divine will. The Lord of the harvest is always in control. There’s no need to worry.
Transition: Like the harvest, God’s kingdom will come. But that does not mean that his kingdom is now absent. Remember who you saw when you looked around earlier! These are the people of the kingdom of God—not the only people—but, royalty none-the-less. These are people with freedom from the condemnation of God’s Law. These are the people with true liberty to live their life for Him who gave them life. Luther explains this in the second petition of the Lord’s Prayer: “Thy kingdom come.
What does this mean? The kingdom of God certainly comes by itself without our prayer, but we pray in this petition that it may come to us also.
How does God’s kingdom come? God’s kingdom comes when our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead godly lives here in time and there in eternity.”
Is the promise of God’s kingdom only a future hope, with no present comfort or shelter for us? By no means! Not according to the next parable:
"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.”" (Mark 4:30-32, ESV)
(1. Though not yet seen by human eyes, the kingdom of God already is seen with the eyes of faith.)
(a. You see, the kingdom of God is right here in our midst.)
Perhaps, like a bird landing on a plant, you have landed here this very day. Perhaps you came expecting to see, hear, and feel great things from God. Perhaps you feel disappointed that this is all there is to our worship. Perhaps the Lord of Life led you here to hear and see more clearly through His Word the truth of what He has done and is doing for you even now. Perhaps the Lord is sparking faith in your heart for the first time. Regardless of all of those possibilities, there is one reality that we all need to know—the reality that the kingdom of God comes even without our asking. It comes through the promise of the forgiveness of all our sin, right now! That promise doesn’t come from us, but from the very Word of God in which we are being washed by God’s Holy Spirit, right now, right here! It is a present reality!
This is how we have the real rest and the real peace that passes all understanding. Through Christ’s holy Word and Sacraments, we have peace and shelter in God’s kingdom of grace.
(b. Even so, this kingdom continues to confound human expectations.)
This is a kingdom visible only to the eyes of faith. Though it’s understandable that we might wish God’s kingdom would look more glorious, more radiant, and more majestic, that is not what we should expect in this life. That isn’t what the kingdom of God is like.
Many have false expectations that the kingdom of God is one of visible glory. Ezekiel says the kingdom of the Messiah would be like a great cedar. But we do not much look like a great Cedar—leastwise a great kingdom. But that is what we are as a planting of the Lord Himself.
Conclusion: So what can we conclude from this text? We conclude that the kingdom of God is where poor, miserable sinners, such as me, are welcomed with the open arms of the King—as He comes to us in His Word and the Sacrament of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper to say, “Your sins are forgiven, for Jesus’ sake.” So, the conclusion is stated very simply this way: The Kingdom of God Is Much Greater Than Meets the Eye. It is where we receive true peace, true independence, and true freedom. Amen!