The Parables of Jesus - The Seed Grows in Secret

Introduction

Today’s message is about the third parable in the series of Jesus’ parables. It comes directly after the one we looked at last week, which spoke about the Sower, Jesus Christ Himself.

But this time, the focus is on each one of us who belong to Christ, His Church, which He bought for Himself by His own blood poured out on the cross.

Jesus came to show who He was and what He came to do. Step by step, He revealed His mission, while teaching His disciples, the people who were with them, and, by extension, us here today.

What is beautiful in this parable is seeing how this seed, symbolizing the Word of God, which is sown into the world by those who love Christ, falls into the ground and grows through a mystery that we are not allowed to control or even fully understand.

It is God alone, through His Holy Spirit, by His sovereignty and by His grace, who makes it grow and produce fruit at the time He has decided.

The main purpose of this parable is to make things clear about the Kingdom of God to His disciples and to everyone who would read these words: growing in His Word causes us to grow in our lives, so that we reflect Him and become faithful servants for His glory.

Reading of the passage of the day.

“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

Context of the parable.

We can see how Jesus speaks in this parable by using a simple and clear example, one that fits the disciples and the people who were following Him.

They were in Palestine, a place where agriculture was their way of life and a tradition passed down through many generations. Once again, Jesus chose to speak in a way that matched the people who were there, showing love and humility, without arrogance or pride, He who could have taken a higher position, being fully God and fully man, He who knows all things, from the beginning of the world to its end. But He did not. Instead, Jesus began His mission with a clear purpose: to be the beginning, the first of many, and to fulfill the will of the Father.

The Kingdom of God was already there. The humble Messiah was standing right in front of them, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, yet at the same time they could not grasp it or understand it. Their spiritual condition was at its lowest point. They were trying to figure out who He was and what He was saying, while He was being watched and questioned by all the religious leaders at the same time.

“And he said, ‘The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.“ v.26

This time, Jesus does not speak about a sower, but about a man, meaning an ordinary person, not a farmer or a specialist, but simply someone who has seed and throws it onto the ground, a common ground, not well-maintained soil as a farmer would prepare. This man was spreading the seed all over the place.

So, what kind of ground is this? It is not clearly explained. Jesus spoke about the ground in the previous parable, where there were four different kinds of soil. But here, in this parable, the ground is spoken of in a general way, without any specific difference.

When we receive the Word of God, when we read it and understand what it means, this Word is also meant to be spread and shared in people’s hearts, whatever the situation is, the place, or the circumstances. This is what Jesus is pointing to when He says, “the kingdom of God is like.”

It is a call given to those who belong to the kingdom of God, those who are saved by His grace through Jesus Christ, to be these men and women who represent their new kingdom, the one that comes from heaven and not from the earth.

This new identity in Christ brings us into another kingdom, one that is heavenly and spiritual, not built with stones, but built by the Holy Spirit, who brings us together in love for the truth of His Word, sharing the same faith and the same foundation, which is Christ, and Christ crucified.

“He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.” v.27

Who is this passage speaking about? It is speaking about the man, who represents each one of us, without any difference. When a person sows the Word of God into their life, whether they are sleeping, awake, or busy with their daily activities, this seed, which is the Word of God, begins to grow.

This means that it opens up, takes root, and starts to grow in the ground. In the same way, when the Word of God is preached and shared, and when hearts are ready to receive it, its powerful work takes root and continues to grow, as if by a divine mystery.

God works when this ground is ready to receive the Word. And once the Word has been received, it is God who makes it grow, not our efforts to control things or force results. The Word is living, and it is the Holy Spirit who, at the time God has chosen, makes it grow, according to His purpose and His sovereignty.

Our mission, therefore, like this man, is to scatter the seed, to sow the Word of God, and to trust that God alone will make it grow. It is not by our own strength, nor by tricks or methods we try to use, nor by all our human efforts to create a special or entertaining environment that the seed sprouts and grows, but by the Holy Spirit who lives in us when we are willing to let Him work in us.

As the verse says, the man sleeps and rises night and day, and he does not know how this growing process is happening or how it continues. He simply trusts God’s divine nature to act and to do His glorious work, without doubt and without questioning. He rests, waiting for the seed to grow strong, until the time comes to harvest the fruit, whether to eat from it or to sell it.

“The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.” v.28

The earth is an organic reality, full of many things: minerals, insects, nutrients, and much more. Yet true growth can only happen through the divine and mysterious work of God.

The verse says that the earth produces by itself. This leads us to ask a simple question: what can man really produce by himself? Can he create a mineral? An insect? A seed? Yes, we are able to analyze things, change them, put things together, and build or assemble using what already exists. But what about the raw material itself, can we create it?

Of course, the answer is no. Why? Because we can only work with what is already in front of us. Out of nothing, we can do nothing. But God can.

When people say that the univers, mankind, nature, animals does not come from God, they often do not give any real reason for it. They simply say, “it’s not from God,” with some scientific elaborated facts, according to limited human being, but they do not truly know where it comes from. But we do know, because it has been written, explained, and revealed throughout God’s Word for thousands of years.

In the deepest and truest sense, only God creates. He alone brings into existence what did not exist before. He alone calls things from nothing into being. When God speaks, the thing exists. Man does not create in this way. Man assembles, shapes, and transforms what God has already made.

A painter does not create color; he uses it. A musician does not create sound; he puts it in order. A writer does not create words; he puts them together. An inventor does not create matter; he combines it. Even when man is inspired, he still uses tools in order to reproduce what he has in his mind, or is inspired by something that exists, and works only with what he has received, known, experienced, and lived on.

We do not give life. We do not bring being. We do not create from nothing. Only God is the supreme and sovereign Creator, and we, made in His image, are called not to replace God, but to reflect Him with humility, knowing that everything comes from Him and all the glory returns to Him.

As the man sowing the seed, we therefore have to learn to wait, because we are limited and can do nothing without God’s help, without His powerful hand, and without His divine order over creation. At times, we think of ourselves as gods, but at best we can only copy or repeat, with limitation, what already exists. This is the great difference between the Creator and His creation, which is us.

Concerning Satan, it is exactly the same. Satan can only counterfeit what God creates. He imitates, sometimes with great illusion, but he never creates something out of nothing. Only God can do that. Satan has always tried to imitate God, in what God has said, in what God has done, and even in what God has written in Scripture, producing false beliefs, religions, gods, and philosophies.

But in every one of them, there is always a counterfeit element: something true mixed with something false. And because of this mixture, all of it is false and does not come from God Himself. And things coming from Satan are temporary, pleasing the present moment, giving glory to Satan and to man, and not to God.

By extension, it leads souls to perdition, because Satan works in the heart to deceive people, telling them that they are gods of this or gods of that, while in reality they are following their deceitful hearts and going astray from God, in total opposition to Him, the Creator of all.

When the apostle Paul asks us to imitate him, it is not the same kind of imitation. He is calling us to imitate him in his faith, in his preaching, in his love, and in all that he did to become more like Christ, spreading the true Gospel of salvation by grace, justified by faith in Jesus Christ alone.

First the blade, this is the first stage in the growth of a plant, and it shows that the seed has been properly received in the ground and has died in it. This growth is still simple and is the first step, but it can be clearly seen. In the same way, when the Word of God enters the heart of a person, it begins to grow. 

The first signs of life appear: a growing faith and a new desire to live for God, produced by the Spirit of God who lives within him.

Then comes the ear, which shows that the grain is forming. This is the stage where the fruit begins to take shape, moving toward the purpose for which it was created. In the same way, when the Word of God is at work in a person’s heart, and when the desire to follow Christ and to be His disciple becomes central, faith continues to grow, good works begin to confirm that faith, and the person grows in maturity in Christ.

Finally, the full grain in the ear: the believer is now walking on the right path, the narrow path, the path of truth and life. But the full fruit has not yet fully come. The heart is still being prepared. It is only when the kingdom of God becomes first in his life that God can fully use him for His glory.

“But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” v.29

When the fruit is ripe, it is ready to be gathered. This is when the man enters into full action, happy to finalize what he was waiting for, with patience, perseverance, and faith. In the same way, in our growth and shaping on this earth, as children of God and disciples of Jesus Christ, when God prepares us to sow the Word of life into people’s hearts and to become useful servants for the Kingdom, the Master sends us out to gather the harvest.

This harvest is the result of our obedience to God, lived with patience and perseverance, as we serve people the way Christ served the Father and His disciples.

The sickle is a useful and sharp tool used to gather the harvest. This harvest, which is already happening today, will also reach its final completion at the end of God’s plan of salvation for humanity, when God Himself, as Judge, will separate the righteous from the unrighteous. Jesus often speaks about this urgency when He says that the harvest is ready, but there are few workers.

God has given us His Word, which is like a double-edged sword. It is meant to be used as a powerful tool to bring in souls, but also to protect us against every false belief and every teaching that does not come from God Himself.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.“ Hebrews 4:12-13 ESV

The Word of God examines the heart, provoking a reaction from within the deepest part of our soul and our being. This reaction might not be immediately perceivable, but it has a sure effect in our lives. 

The reason for this is quoted in this passage: to provoke a division, separating us from our own will, in order to reach this intimacy with our Creator, who sees the entire nakedness of our being, so that we may understand that God loves us and wants us to be saved from eternal separation from Him.

It is the way God gives life to the one who truly believes that it is the Word of God. If we see it as nothing more than a collection of historical books, our lives will never be changed, and we will remain with only head knowledge, unable to reach the heart and the soul, where our identity and our closeness with God are found. Without this, it is impossible to truly follow the Truth and the Life, who is Christ.

Conclusion

God knows our hearts, because He created us. He came in Jesus Christ to love us first, suffering on the cross and giving His life for us, sinners who were once far from God and headed toward eternal separation from Him. We stand exposed before God, the Judge of our souls, the One who is three times holy, and whom we can approach only if He chooses, by His grace, to save us.

Are we ready and prepared for this harvest? Do we have the desire to grow in our faith and in our understanding of the Word, so that we may sow it faithfully and use it to reach lost souls who are loved by God? Are we aware that this Word is a powerful instrument that God uses in our lives and in the lives of others?

Let us all place ourselves in a true spiritual urgency to proclaim the Good News of the kingdom of God, to announce freedom to those who are captive, so that the Name of Jesus Christ may be proclaimed to the ends of the earth, as we wait for His return, according to the time God has appointed