Part 2: Meaning of the Passage and Bibliography
LIBERTY SCHOOL OF DIVINITY
Parables of the Kingdom (Mark 4:26–34)
Submitted to Professor Denise Moitinho
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the completion of
Exegesis Research Paper
RTCH 500-B14 LUO
RTCH 500
By
Avery Clementin
February 8, 2018
Introduction
This paper will discuss how Jesus Christ used parables in trying to explain to his followers what the kingdom of God is like. In the book of Mark Jesus used the parable of the scattered seed and the parable of the mustard seed to show how the Kingdom of God is mysterious. The book of Mark that contains these two parables is one of the Gospel books of the Bible. However, unlike the other three this book does not give the chronology of Jesus from the time of his birth, instead, the book focuses more on Jesus as an adult. Theologians believe that the author of this book obtained most of this information from the narration that he received from Apostle Peter.
Literacy Review
The purpose of writing this paper is to try and come up with an understanding of the kingdom of God by looking at the two parables found in this book of Mark. One of the parables is that of the scattered seed while the other parable is that of the mustard seed. Jesus used these two parables to teach his followers how the Kingdom of God is like, therefore the paper will be able to bring insight on these parables.
Jesus Christ used parables when he was teaching his followers. Most of his followers did not understand what he was saying, but the main ideas from the two parables in this chapter were mainly concerned with the kingdom of God. To start with there is the parable of the scattered seed, Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to the casting of a seed into the ground. This shows that Jesus was trying to portray the power of a seed that cannot be seen when it is being cast on the earth. However, after being thrown on the earth, the seeds usually have a potential to produce roots. The roots of these particular seeds then break through rocks and grow into plants that are later used to sustain the life of people and also act as habitats for animals (Mark 4;31).
In this parable, Jesus further tried to explain to the people that it is not the effort of the farmer that makes the seed to germinate. Therefore, he points out that the work of the farmer is only in vain since many seeds can grow without having a farmer to do much on them. Jesus shows that the growth of a seed is a mystery and so it is with the kingdom of God.
From the parable, it is evident that the Kingdom of God is like that seed that grows slowly although in a steady manner. This means that there are people all over the world who are chosen by God to do his work in small amounts that go unnoticed; however, their work helps in the growth of the kingdom of God. From the parable, it is clear that a seed depends on Grace of God for it to grow the same way those preaching his word depend on his grace to bring people closer to God (Mark4:28).
In the second parable Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a mustard seed that is so small, but afterward, it develops into a big tree that can hold a lot of birds in it. This illustration shows that the gospel started differently from what people expected. But at the end, it is expected that through Jesus Christ the kingdom of God will stand out and overtake everything in the world. It is clear that the two parables have a well-outlined explanation of how the kingdom of God looks like. From the above explanation, one can conclude that this kingdom of God is a mystery and only God’s grace can help one come to terms with it and also understand it.
Bibliography
Hannan, Maryanne. "A Lot of the Way Trees Were Walking: Poems from the Gospel of Mark." Anglican Theological Review 98, no. 3 (2016): 584.
Schneider, Floyd. "Mark's Gospel Compared with Virgil's Aeneid." (2018).