During the month of February, I had the opportunity to preach upon a wonderful parable presented to us in the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, that parable being the Parable of the Growing Seed. At the time Jesus gave this parable, He was speaking to His disciples about the Kingdom of God, and in this particular parable, Jesus focuses in on the ‘growth’ of this Kingdom. In examining this growth, four key truths are presented.
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The Growth of this Kingdom is dependent upon (or founded upon) the preaching of the Word of God.
This is how the growth of this Kingdom initially begins. It begins with the planting of the seed of The Word of God. In fact, this is where the growth of this Kingdom must begin. To expect the Kingdom of God to grow without the proclamation of the Word of God is like expecting a plant to grow without first sowing a seed. It can’t be done. And so, the preaching of the Word of God is essential in bringing about Kingdom growth.
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The Growth of this Kingdom is mysterious in nature, and is therefore hidden from natural human understanding.
We find this point made quite clearly in the words of verse 27, where it says that this sower ‘went to bed at night and got up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows – how, he himself does not know’. And so it is with the Word of God. How the Word of God grows in the life of a person is a mystery to all of us. We do not understand it. We do not see the inner workings. We cannot put the human soul under a microscope to see how the seed of the Word germinates and grows in the life of a believer. It is completely hidden from our sight. In fact, the only thing we ‘can’ see is the fruit that is brought forth from the planted seed. But, as to the process, we cannot know.
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The Growth of this Kingdom is progressive in nature, and once started, will inevitably see itself to completion.
In this point, we find two great truths presented. First, we see how the growth of this Kingdom is ‘progressive’ in nature. Notice how this seed did not grow to maturity over night, but it grew in stages; ‘first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain on the head’. And, of course, what we see here, in this progression of growth, is similar to what we see in the growth of the Christian. In fact, this is the testimony of every Christian. Like a seed, an individual Christian grows in stages, and he does not reach maturity overnight.
Secondly, we see how this seed will eventually grow up to maturity. Yes, it will grow in stages, and yes, sometimes that growth will seem very slow, but eventually maturity will come. And, again, the same can be said for the Christian. Christian maturity is guaranteed. As Philippians 1:6 says ‘…He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus’. And so, let the Christian not get too discouraged if the growth process doesn’t go as fast as he would like. Eventually, he will get there.
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The Growth of this Kingdom will eventually culminate with a great gathering of the Harvest.
It says in verse 29 that ‘when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the Harvest has come’. Here is the culmination. Here is the ultimate purpose for which this seed was planted. It was planted to reap a harvest. Now, of course, what we read here, in this statement, is a symbol of what will happen at the end of the age, when God will gather up all those who are His own. When He will collect all those who have had the Word of God planted in them. When He will bring together all those who have grown and brought forth fruit to maturity. He will gather them all up and He will bring them into His storehouse.
And so, the question all of us need to ask ourselves today is the question ‘will I be there?’. Will I be there when this great gathering takes place? Of course, the answer, in large part, depends upon whether you have had the Word of God implanted in you or not, and whether that Word is producing fruit to maturity.
And so, let us examine ourselves today to see if the Word has truly been implanted in us. Let us search ourselves today to see if we are producing mature fruit. And let us test ourselves today to see if we will be there when the great day of Harvest comes. Now, as to when the day of Harvest will come, none of us can truly know. But, this much we do know. It will come.
I close with the words of Revelation 14:14-16, which says…
Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe”. Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.