week 5 part 2

Introduction

Mark 4:26-29 is the only unique passage in the Gospel of Mark. As the passage dictates:

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 (NIV)[footnoteRef:1]. [1: NIV Bible. Mark 4:26-29.]

Generally referred to as the parable of the sower, the passage extends to the teachings of Jesus on how the good soil receives the seed. The soil here represents the heart of an individual and the seed represents the word of God[footnoteRef:2]. As it appears, the setting of this parable is the same occasion in which Jesus the son of God told the parable of the Mustard seed (Mark 4:30-32) which marked His start of the ministry to publicly teach in parables. This paper seeks to explain how God mysteriously uses his Word in the heart of his people and calls for Christians to remain faithful in sowing the seed, keep praying for a harvest and then leave the results to God. [2: Boyce, James, Commentary on Mark 4:26-34. Working Preacher.]

Context of the Passage (Mark 4:26–29)

In Mark 4:26-29, Jesus recounts a man who dissipates seed on the ground and after that gives nature the chance to follow through to its logical end. As the man who sowed the seed continues on ahead step by step, the seed starts to have an impact. In the first place, the seed grows; at that point it delivers a stalk and leaves, what follows is a head of grain, and, at long last, completely developed kernels in the head. Jesus stresses that the majority of this occurs without the help of the farmer who scattered the seeds. The man who dispersed the seed cannot even completely see how they grew because nature took its course. The parable ends with a harvest that happens after the grain is ready[footnoteRef:3]. [3: Ringe, Sharon, H, Commentary on Mark 4:26-34, 2009.]

This simply and naturally occurs at simply the perfect time. The man who dispersed the seed cannot even completely see how they grew because nature took its course.

For the individuals who might want to bring things into their very own hands, the parable of the sower is an update that the s God is the real farmer, who the starts the procedure and brings in the harvest as the result of planting. All things considered, the farmer in this parable seems ignorant regarding how the whole process of the growing grain happens[footnoteRef:4]. This may be an ethical story through which Christ's disciples figure out how to be ranchers and get about the matter of sowing the seeds of God's rein, then trust God that the procedure will unfurl in God's time and in God's desired manner. In other form, the farmer maybe Jesus, who get everything under way and will return toward the end to get the harvest. [4: MacAskill, Grant, Mark and Work: Bible Commentary.]

Literary Genre

The literary genre of Mark 4:26-29 is parables, a genre that utilizes expansive paint strokes to craft pictures of the real world and, all things considered, few out of every odd detail is dependably intended to be dissected or interpreted. That being stated, the figure of the farmer in the 27th and 29th verses just as the existence cycle of the seed in verse 28 do not lend themselves to translation. They are unimportant literally tools to push the plot ahead [footnoteRef:5]. Today’s world is so secret and indiscernibility and e may be pardoned in the event that we are slightly uncomfortable. As Hare comments, both Matthew and Luke are not also that much into discussing this world as they exclude this parable and in truth the majority of the mystery language from their version of this parable material[footnoteRef:6]. This ought to in any event be a sign of warning that the book of Mark should be read keenly and be careful not to literary interpret everything. [5: Grant, Bible Commentary.] [6: Hare, Douglas R. A., Westminster Bible Companion: Mark (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996). ]

Relevance of The Passage (Mark 4:26–29)

Theologically, Mark 4:26-29 presents use with nothing easy to take home. The parable asks that we draw in our creative impulses to pursue the conceivable outcomes and disjointed qualities that we differentiate between a world where everything is arranged, straight, and coherent, to a world loaded up with riddles and astonishment into which a sovereign God welcomes us. Although the parable is set in the workplace of agriculture, the job of the farmer is intentionally limited[footnoteRef:7]. Rather, the accentuation is on how the kingdom's development is achieved by the baffling power of God. [7: Hultgren, Arland J., The Parables of Jesus: A Commentary (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000)]

It is great that the passage leaves us with resources. We have the message of the kingdom and the guarantee of Jesus that alongside the call to repent and trust the uplifting news, God in Jesus keeps on equipping and shaping us as listeners who have all we need as God hears our supplication and the kingdom keeps on coming to fruition among us and in our reality.

Part 2

Meaning of the Passage (Mark 4:26–29) and Bibliography

Mark 4:26-29 has been analyzed by many scholars and commentators have different views of the passage. The parable of the sower and other parables are only found in the gospel of Mark to present to Christians the servant of God who are giving out the Word of God. Jesus is the true servant of God through which He represents God’s sovereignty and the responsibility of God to those who hear and spread His Word[footnoteRef:8]. The parable pictures evangelism journey, spiritual growth and growth of the kingdom of God. Each of the phrases in Mark 4:26-29 has a deeper and unique meaning. [8: Pavur, Claude N. "The Grain Is Ripe: Parabolic Meaning in Mark 4: 26-29." Biblical Theology Bulletin 17, no. 1 (1987): 21-23.]

In my view, the man who planted the seeds and left them to grow was Jesus. The seeds represent the gospel if Christ. The grown plant represents a believer who has received and accepted the fully the gospel and now he has matured spiritually to help non-believers transform[footnoteRef:9]. In Mark 4: 28, “All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.” Jesus, is the planter who waters us as Christians to grow fully in the Lord and become his followers. [9: Hultgren, 2000.]

Spiritual Growth Process (Mark 4:26–29)

Mark 4:26-29 teaches a lot in regard to the process of spiritual growth. There is a lot of emphasis concerning the role of the Holy Spirit in the life of Christians[footnoteRef:10]. When a Christian invites the holy spirit in his or her life, the traits of the fruits of the Holy spirit starts to manifest slowly. As Heil comments, when these fruits of the Holy spirit manifests in us, we should not center them around ourselves but rather use them and try to help others because that the only way we will grow spiritually[footnoteRef:11]. Carrying the burden of other people’s souls upon our hearts simplifies the undying love for the people of God, which will result to the Spirit of Christ ripening in us. [10: Boyce, James, Commentary on Mark 4:26-34. Working Preacher.] [11: Heil, John Paul. "Reader-response and the narrative context of the parables about growing seed in Mark 4: 1-34." The Catholic Biblical Quarterly 54, no. 2 (1992): 271-286.]

In a commentary done by Ringe, the essence of Mark 4:26-29 parable is all about the mystery of how the Word of God grows in the hearts of his people through the work of the Holy Spirit[footnoteRef:12]. This passage encourages non-believers to accept the word of God and they will grow spiritually in the kingdom of God. Like the hardworking farmer in the passage, we should keep throwing the seed, meaning we should keep preaching the Gospel to those who need it most[footnoteRef:13]. [12: Ringe, Sharon, H, Commentary on Mark 4:26-34, 2009.] [13: Hare, 1996. ]

It is through sharing the Gospel that our hearts will be open for spiritual growth as we share Christ’s hope, life and love to our fellow men. In general, being a Christian means being changed from one glory to another by the Holy spirit and the main purpose is to produce the stalk, mature spiritually and in Christ.

The Growth of The Kingdom of God (Mark 4:26–29)

Mark 4:26-29 also teaches about the growing Kingdom of God. Mark 4:26, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground” (NIV)[footnoteRef:14]. Spiritual growth can only be measure by the growth of the kingdom of God with the practice of faithfulness. The passage tells us that the mundane and ordinary things we do in life is where the kingdom of God can be found. Ordinarily, the kingdom of God is worked out in the normal life just like the seeds grow when the farmer goes about his normal life[footnoteRef:15]. The Kingdom of God sprouts like a tiny seed in a Christian heart and roots and grounds itself in Christ’s love with the help of the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of the Lord will grow when we are committed to use the fruits granted to us by the Holy spirit from the benefit of others. [14: NIV Bible. Mark 4:26-29.] [15: Scholtz, J.J., 2018, ‘Mark 4:1–34: A simple structure for the mystery of the kingdom’, In die Skriflig 52(1), a2326. https://doi. org/10.4102/ids.v52i1.2326]

According to I-Bing, the message of the Kingdom of God is that God is in control of everything that happens in our lives[footnoteRef:16]. When we experience times of inconvenience and misery, we realize that God is in charge. At the point when life is feeling like a predicament; the drudgery of simply crushing it out, we have to realize that God is in charge. Along these lines, the Kingdom of God isn't a spot; it's not some physical domain existing past the mists. The Kingdom of God is a standard, it's a sway, it's a specialist, the truth God is in charge. [16: I-Bing, Yves. The parable of the growing seed: Mark 4:26-29. Meeting with Christ.]

Furthermore, all through His service, Jesus gave little bits of instructing to enable us to get something of a grip of what the Kingdom of God resembles.

He could not portray it. It is just evidenced in our lives, in his reality, thus Jesus gave little pictures to enable us to see with the goal that we can more readily translate our experience[footnoteRef:17]. The way that God guarantees us that His kingdom will develop does not imply that there is no requirement for us to strive to bring individuals who measure up to the stature of Christ. God needs us to surrender ourselves altogether for His love and service. [17: Brown, Schuyler. "" The Secret of the Kingdom of God"(Mark 4: 11)." Journal of Biblical Literature 92, no. 1 (1973): 60-74.]

The Growth of The Church (Mark 4:26–29)

In Mark 4:26-29 Christians are encouraged to preach the gospel of the Lord to non-believers so that they increase God’s flock. Verse 29 “As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” Baird comments that when we permit the Holy spirit to work on us, we become ripe and we can work on helping others become followers of Christ[footnoteRef:18]. When we share Jesus with non-Christian individuals, once in a while we have the delight of seeing faith, confidence and "fruit" in their lives. But in most occasions, we never know how that seed, God's Word, will develop. God gives different Christians the duty regarding the harvest, which involves bringing the new Christian into the church. [18: Baird, J. Arthur. "A Pragmatic Approach to Parable Exegesis: Some New Evidence on Mark 4: 11, 33-34." Journal of Biblical Literature (1957): 201-207]

Some commentators such as MacAskill have viewed this parable as a lesson about Christ who has sown and in time will come to reap[footnoteRef:19]. Others interpret it as the invisible work of the Holy Spirit in the church and in the disciple. Bringing people to church for growth is a personal choice, just as no one forced the seed to grow, no one can force someone to church. believers and the church will grow through support from one another. Christians are given the role to build scriptural churches with scriptural polity, scriptural love, and scriptural regulation, and furthermore gather holy people into the churches where they can be sustained until the day when they are at long last and totally reaped (at death) or when Christ returns. This means the church is in charge of something beyond expanding church participation and attendance. [19: MacAskill, Grant, Mark and Work: Bible Commentary.]

Bibliography

Baird, J. Arthur. "A Pragmatic Approach to Parable Exegesis: Some New Evidence on Mark 4: 11, 33-34." Journal of Biblical Literature (1957): 201-207.