Jesus spoke in parables frequently enough that the Gospel writer, in Mark 4:34, describes Jesus as speaking only in parables. Although the parables do conceal from those outside the kingdom and add to condemnation, they also tell you something about the kingdom of God — and about the King.
God grows his kingdom. Recognize that you cannot make the seed grow. The Parable of the Sower emphasizes the importance of the hearts that hear the Word. The Parable of the Growing Seed makes the balancing point that you cannot make the seed grow. We know that is true in gardening and farming. You can try all the right things, and sometimes things grow the way you want, sometimes they don’t. The church sometimes falls into thinking that if it follows the right program, does the right things, it will grow. (I remember seeing a church with a huge banner on its roof, “Holy Spirit Revival, Aug. 10–15.”) We may make a similar mistake in thinking about our own growth in the kingdom–if we follow the right mechanics, we will grow in grace. You are called to strive for holiness, to stir up yourself and others to good works, to love God and your neighbor, etc. What we do is important. But the basis of the growth of the kingdom and of our growth in the kingdom is never our own efforts. The Savior who taught in parables would pour out his Spirit upon the church.
Rejoice that it is God who makes his kingdom grow. Rest in the assurance that the kingdom is the Lord’s. He alone is the one who makes it grow, see 1 Corinthians 3:6. As with seed, God gives the growth in his own time. He uses his Word as he wishes. Often he uses it to bear fruit, but there are times he allows it to be scattered on the path, on rocky soil, or among thorns. But the growth that comes is because of what God does. God established his kingdom by sending his Son to suffer and die. He makes the kingdom grow through means, such as the reading and preaching of the Word, the faithful use of the sacraments, the fellowship and mutual encouragement of the saints, that might seem to be weak and ineffective means. But God does use them to accomplish his purposes. Work in the assurance that the kingdom is the Lord’s. Don’t just relax, either in theory or in practice. The growth of the kingdom, like your growth in it, is something that you are working out — because God is at work in you, Philippians 2:12ff. God’s sovereignty is motive to serve faithfully.
As you work, look to the harvest. The kingdom moves towards maturity. The kingdom of God starts and grows in ways that may seem insignificant to the world. But the kingdom does grow, and it does move towards the harvest. The mustard seed starts small (one of the smaller seeds normally planted — something that the birds could easily pick up and eat) and grows into a plant with large enough branches that those birds take refuge in it. The point is not to place a tape measure against the plant, but to recognize its growth and fruitfulness, Daniel 4:12. The flourishing of the bush draws from the imagery of Psalm 1 and Isaiah 5. The harvest imagery is used frequently in the Old Testament (see Joel 3:13), and pictures God bringing judgment on his foes and deliverance for his people. Why does this growth happen? Why are we moving towards the harvest?
Grow — because of the King is here! Certainly the kingdom of God had been present in the Old Testament. Israel was a theocracy — her king was YHWH. Even in the monarchy, the kings were the representatives of the King. But the preaching of John and even more of Jesus announced something new. The kingdom was present because the King had come. Jesus was present as the messianic king. It is the presence of that King that leads to the development of the kingdom, that brings about the harvest. It is the presence of that King that reveals what had been hidden, verse 22. His presence summons you to respond to the revelation of the kingdom with trust and obedience. How you respond to the King is important.
“Here, too, everything concentrates on the unity of the kingdom in the present and in the future. What one receives from the Sower will also be received from the Judge in double measure. Only those who know the mystery in the present will share in the revelation of the future. For the seed is the word of the kingdom of God by which he comes into the world in Christ.”
Herman Ridderbos, The Coming of the Kingdom, pages 135–136
Look and listen! The lamp has come. This little section (verses 21–25), may have been the conclusion of Jesus explaining the Parable of the Sower, or it may have been a separate, publicly spoken, brief parable. Whichever, the points that the purpose of a lamp is to give light, to reveal, to show things that are hidden in darkness. To cover or hide a lamp is counter-intuitive. The light-giving lamp certainly points to the teaching of Jesus in his parables. But, as one looks at the grammar, there is more. Our English translations smooth over what seems like difficult language, but in verse 21, Mark writes that the lamp comes. Our translations make the lamp the object of someone bringing it, but I suspect that Mark is simply reflecting accurately the teaching of Jesus, who spoke of himself as the light of the world, and in that context mentioned his coming, John 8:12–14, also 1:4–9. Jesus, speaking in parables and even working miracles, may be misunderstood by well-meaning relatives. He has the leaders of Israel plotting his death. People may have difficulty distinguishing him from other rabbis. But, because he is the true lamp, because he is the light of the world, who is will certainly be revealed. The darkness cannot resist him.
Listen to your Lord! In that context, Jesus emphasizes the importance of listening to him, not simply a superficial hearing, but listening in a way that enables you to see him for who he is, to understand the heart of his messianic work, to flee from darkness, rebellion and sin to him.
“Jesus also stresses the importance of how we hear – now. If we fail to grasp the mystery of the kingdom of God now, and do not respond to it now, we may be increasingly alienated from it in the future. But if we do respond to it, we will grow in our understanding and appreciation and increasingly experience its blessings.”
Sinclair B. Ferguson, Let’s Study Mark, p. 56
There are eternal consequences to listening to Jesus, to understanding him, and coming to him.
Respond to the invitation of the King, who summons you to trust him and to live in his kingdom to his glory and honor.