Parables #13-15 The Growing Seed-Mustard Seed And Yeast
Three Kingdom of Heaven Parables (#13-#15)
Parable #13 — Mark 4:26-29 — The Growing Seed
One of the possible practical reasons that Jesus used parables is that parables teach a concept or idea by using word pictures. By using concepts and word pictures, the message is not as readily lost to changes in word usage, technology, cultural context, or the passage of time as easily as it might be with a literal detailed narrative.
Two thousand years later, we can still understand concepts like similarity, growth, the presence and influence of evil, etc. By using the methodof parables Jesus also promotes working principles rather than inflexible obedience to laws. Jesus also highlight a singular point by using multiple parables consecutively on the same subject,as is the case with the Parable of the Growing seed, the Mustard Seed and The yeast or Leaven.
Parable 13 of the Growing Seed
26 Jesus also said, “The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. 28 The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens. 29 And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.”
“The meaning of the arable of the growing eed?“(Mark 4:26-29)The first thing we notice about this parable is its similarity to theParable of the SowerinMark 4:2-9. In some ways, this parable expands on Jesus’ teaching of how the “good soil” (a receptive heart) receives the “seed” (the Word of God).In the Parable of the Growing Seed, Jesus tells of a man who scatters seed on the ground and then allows nature to take its course. As the man who sowed the seed goes about his business day by day, the seed begins to have an effect. First, the seed sprouts; then it produces a stalk and leaves, then a head of grain, and, finally, fully developed kernels (the most important part of the seed) in the head. Jesus emphasizes that all of this happens without the man’s help. The man who scattered the seed cannot even fully understand how it happens—it is simply the work of nature. “All by itself the soil produces” (verse 28).The parable ends with a harvest. As soon as the grain is ripe, the sickle is employed, and the seed is harvested. This happens at just the right time.Jesus did not explain this parable, as He did some others. Instead, He left it to us to understand its meaning.Taking the seed to be the Word of God, as inMark 4:14, we can interpret the growth of the plants as the working of God’s Word in individual hearts.The fact that the crop grows without the farmer’s intervention means that God can accomplish His purposes even when we are absent or unaware of what He’s doing. The goal is the ripened grain. At the proper time, the Word will bring forth its fruit, and the Lord of the harvest will be glorified. Luke 10:22 These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.The truth of this parable is well illustrated in the growth of the early church: 1Corinthians 3:6“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow”Just like a farmer cannot force a crop to grow, an evangelist cannot force spiritual life or growth on others.To summarize the point of the Parable of the Growing Seed is that: “The way God uses His Word in the heart of an individual is mysterious and completely independent of human effort.”We may be faithful in “sowing the seed,” praying for a harvest, but we are to leave the results to the Lord!Parable #14 The Mustard Seed – Mark 4:30-32
30 Jesus said, “How can I describe the Kingdom of God? What story should I use to illustrate it? 31 It is like a mustard seed planted in the ground. It is the smallest of all seeds, 32 but it becomes the largest of all garden plants; it grows long branches, and birds can make nests in its shade.”Parable #15 –The Yeast (Leaven)– Matthew 13:33 —
33 Jesus also used this illustration: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like the yeast or leaven a woman use in making bread. Even though she’ll put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeate every part of the dough.”34 Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables. 35 This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet:“I will speak to you in parables.I will explain things hidden since the creation of the world.
Three Kingdom of Heaven Parables (#13,#14 & #15) Discussion QuestionsJesus had recently told the parable of the four types of soil, then the parable of theweeds among the good plants, and now he tells this parable, recorded only byMark, about plants growing from seed.
1. Who does the man who plants the seed represent? Who does the seed represent? The plant it growsinto? The soil?Think before you answer.
The man represents the planter of the seed who might be Jesus or might be a believer planting the seed in a non-believer. The seed represents the word of God (it does not represent a person, which may be a bit confusing, because the mature plant does, in fact, represent a believer). In this parable and the previous ones, people also seem to be initially represented by the soil (“All by itself the soil produces grain…” Mark 4:28).28 The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.
2. Have you ever tried to grow a plant from seed? Does every seed sprout? Doesevery seed grow to maturity? What does it take for a plant to grow, and where doyou get the things you need for it to grow?
3. Was the growth process for the seed in the parable? Quickor gradual?Mark 4:27-2827 Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. 28 The earth produces the crops on its own. First a leaf blade pushes through, then the heads of wheat are formed, and finally the grain ripens.Was it well understood or mysterious?
4. Does the seed have anything to do with being “born again?”
(1 Peter 1:22-25)How about with saving your soul? (James 1:21)
These two verses show how the seed, which is actually the word of God, canwork within you.
1 Peter :22-2522 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters.[a] Love each other deeply with all your heart.23 For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. 24 As the Scriptures say, “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades.25 But the word of the Lord remains forever.”And that word is the Good News that was preached to you.”[Isaiah 40:6-8]
James 1:21 – 21 So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.
5. How does this parable help you better understand what the kingdom of God islike? How do you feel knowing the message of Christ has a mysterious power initself?
6. Does this parable imply an obligation for believers to sow the seed, water it, andfertilize it in others, i.e., speak of your faith to others?
Answer: yes to all of the above. All Christians have an obligation to plantseeds, water them, and fertilize them by speaking of our faith or giving ourtestimony to others.
1 Corinthians 3:6–96 I planted the seed in your hearts, and Apollos watered it, but it was God who made it grow. 7 It’s not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What’s important is that God makes the seed grow. 8 The one who plants and the one who waters work together with the same purpose. And both will be rewarded for their own hard work. 9 For we are both God’s workers. And you are God’s field. You are God’s building.
What’s the meaning of the parable?Whereas the parable of the four types of soil stresses the importance of proper soil for growth of the seed and the success of the harvest, here the mysterious power of the seed itself is expressed (“the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.”–4:27).Once the seed is planted, the farmer perhaps waters and fertilizes it, but verse 28 says, “all by itself the soil produces grain…”
What’s the meaning of the parable? It seems to be that “once planted in a fertile mind, the gospel message contains its own power to grow and mature.”
7. What small or seemingly insignificant possession is worth a great deal to you?…….Why?
8. Jesus often referred to mustard seeds
In Matthew 17:20 Jesus says, 20 “You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.[a]
Again in Luke 17:6 :6 The Lord answered, “If you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘May you be uprooted and thrown into the sea,’ and it would obey you!
9. The parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4:30-32) may have been confusing to some of Jesus’ listeners, but clearer to others. Some things probably seemed “wrong.” The mustard seed is not the smallest seed, but it is small compared to the seeds of other vegetables and herbs. The black mustard bush is typically about 1.5 meter tall, hardly a tree that could shelter birds, although in the wild it can grow to many times that size. What is Jesus saying here?
First, why a mustard seed?Probably because it is the most tightly packed seed of all.There is no place for air inside it. As a result it can withstand high pressures and high temperatures. Also, of all the seeds sown in the East that produce edible,products, the mustard seed was probably the smallest known by most people.
Why refer to the plant as a tree? A cultivated mustard seed does not “naturally,” grow into a tree although in the wild a black mustard bush can grow up to 3 or 4.5 meter tall. Even if a mustard bush should grow to 4.5 meter, the large closely-spaced branches do not make it possible for birds to nest in as mustard bush however large it grew.
For it to grow into a tree it would have to be an unusual occurrence. (Someeven say supernatural) Perhaps Jesus was painting a picture of the dramatic work of God, so that his listeners would visualize a huge mustard tree that was like nothing they had ever seen before.
But there are other aspects of this parable that are equally, if not moreimportant. Think of these when you compare the growth of a mustard seed to the growth of the kingdom of God. The pod of seeds on a mustard plant holds thousands of seeds so one plant can give rise to hundreds more plants. In many ways a mustard plant is like a weed: it sprouts quickly but can also lay dormant for many years. Also it is not easily killed; a fire in a field will destroy everything but the mustard plants. It grows with attention from the farmer, but also grows on its own (with attention from God). As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.”
So as Jesus started telling this parable they might have been thinking, “What ….did he say, a mustard tree? Any bird sitting on its branches would crush the little bush,” but at the end of the parable those who understood what Jesus was saying would be thinking, “Wow, the kingdom of God is amazing in the way it grows and it is really going to be beyond anything we have ever seen before.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed is contained in all three of the synoptic gospels. However, the Gospel of Matthew provides us with most of the unimportant information, as it includes one parable before and after the mustard seed parable, each one teaches us about and relates to the same subject ,The Kingdom of heaven. Each of the three parables: the weeds among the wheat, the mustard seed, and the yeast have six common elements in them, providing structure which helps us to interpret the individual parables. The common elements are (1) a similarity about “the kingdom of heaven,” the earthly sphere of profession both true and false;
(2) “aman,” Christ;
(3) “afield,” the world;
(4) “seed,” the Word of God or its effect;
(5) ”growth” or “spreading,” church growth; and
(6) the presence of evil, symbolized by weeds, birds of the air, and yeast.The Parable of the Mustard Seed was taught in abstract or rhetorical exaggeration or hyperbole .Here, Jesus uses a shrub/tree coming from a seed (John 12:24) to represent kingdom growth, consistent with other tree/kingdom references (Ezekiel 17:23andDaniel 4:11-21). The seed’s growth attracts the presence of evil—depicted as birds (Matthew 13:4,19Revelation 18:2)—to dilute the church while taking advantage of its benefits.So, the picture painted in the Parable of the Mustard Seed by Jesus is of the humble beginnings of the church experiencing an explosive rate of growth. It grows large and becomes a source of food, rest, and shelter, for both believers and false professing individuals that seek to consume or take advantage of its benefits while living or mixing among what was produced by the seed (1 Corinthians 5:16:72 Corinthians 11:13Galatians 1:7). In other words, Jesus predicts that, while the church will grow extremely large from just a small start, it will not remain pure. While this is not a condemnation of the “hugeness” of modern Christianity, it does show us the greatest burden that comes with it. The Parable of the Mustard Seed is both a prediction and a warning. May we listen to its message.
10. Lets look at how yeast or leaven work?
Jesus’ Parable of the Leaven is found in two of the Gospels.Matthew 13:33cf.Luke 13:20-21
It is a very simple story—a snapshot of life, really:
“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough”
First, it’s important to define “kingdom of heaven.” By this, Jesus is referring to His domain as the Messiah. In the current age, the kingdom of heaven is spiritual, existing within the hearts of believers Luke 17:2121 You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you.[a]”Later, the kingdom will be manifest physically, when the Lord Jesus establishes His throne on this earth Revelation 11:1515 Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices shouting in heaven:“The world has now become the Kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ,(Or his Messiah.) and he will reign forever and ever.”
In the Parable of the Leaven, we learn several things about the working of the kingdom in our present age. Each of these lessons stems from the nature of yeast.First, the kingdom of God may have small beginnings, but it will increase. Yeast is microscopic in size, and only a little is kneaded or worked into the dough. Yet, given time, the yeast will spread through all the dough. In the same way, Jesus’ sphere of influence started with twelve men in an obscure corner of Galilee, but it has spread throughout the world. The gospel makes progress.Second, the kingdom of God exerts its influence from within, not from without. Yeast makes dough rise from within. God first changes the heart of a person, and that internal change has external manifestations. The gospel influence works the same wayin a culture: Christians within a culture act as agents of change, slowly transforming that culture from within.Third, the effect of the kingdom of God will be comprehensive. Just as yeast works until the dough has completely risen, the ultimate benefit of the kingdom of God will be worldwide Psalm 72:1919 Praise his glorious name forever! Let the whole earth be filled with his glory.Amen and amen!Daniel 2:3535 The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.
Habakkuk 2:14
14 For as the waters fill the sea, the earth will be filled with an awarenessof the glory of the Lord.
Fourth, although the kingdom of God works invisibly, its effect is evident to all. Yeast does its job slowly, secretly and silently, but no one can deny its effect on bread. The same is true of the work of grace in our hearts.The nature of yeast is to grow and to change whatever it makes contacts with. When we accept Christ, His grace grows in our hearts and changes us from the inside out. As the gospel transforms lives, it exerts a persistent influence in the world at large. As we “reflect the Lord’s glory, [we] are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit”2 Corinthians 3:1818 So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.
11. We can summarize these two parables in a simple way as to what they meantto Jesus’ listeners back then and what they mean to us today?Jesus used these parables to show that although Christianity had very smallbeginnings in Jesus, a day was coming when it would grow into a worldwidecommunity of believers and its greatness and impact would be seen by the whole world. Today, if you feel alone in your stand for Christ, realize that God hasfaithful followers throughout the world and your faith, no matter how small, can join with that of others to accomplish great things.
Just as Jesus often spoke in parables. We can use examples, stories, or illustrations to help us share our faith in Christ with our family or friends?