To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it?

 

 Also He said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed?  Is it not to be set on a lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."  Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear.  With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.  For the earth yields crops by itself:  first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.  But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God?  Or with what parable shall we picture it?  It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade."

And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.  But without a parable He did not speak to them.  And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples."

 

- Mark 4:21–34 

 

Yesterday we read that again Jesus began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately, it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.' "  And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

 

 Also He said to them, "Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed?  Is it not to be set on a lampstand?  For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.  If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."  Once again, in continuing from yesterday's reading and commentary, we must understand that Jesus is speaking of mysteries to be revealed through faith.  That is, through spiritual ears to hear, and spiritual eyes to perceive the light of the truths of the kingdom of God. 

 

Then He said to them, "Take heed what you hear.  With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.  For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."  My study Bible says that here Jesus calls us to attentive listening and discriminating response.  We must not only hear, but hear properly.  More will be given, it says, to those who respond to Christ with open hearts; they will grow in understanding.  St. Mark the Ascetic is quoted here as saying, "Do the good you know, and what you do not know will be revealed to you."  Jesus' saying, "With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given" is also reported in Matthew 7:2 and Luke 6:38, both in different contexts than the teaching given here.  Nevertheless, it is an important reiteration of a spiritual principle, so that we must understand it.  My study Bible comments that Jesus no doubt repeated this particular message many times. 

And He said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.  For the earth yields crops by itself:  first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head.  But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."  My study Bible notes that this parable occurs only in Mark's Gospel.  The kingdom is a reference to the whole span of God's dispensation or plan of salvation.  The man, it explains is Christ, and the seed is the gospel (see verses 13-20, from yesterday's reading).  His sleep, my study Bible explains, indicates Christ's death, from which He will rise.  In this understanding, that the man does not know how the seed grows shows Christ does not manipulate our response to the gospel, but each person is free to receive it and to let it grow in one's own heart.  The harvest is an image of the Second Coming, when all will be judged on their reception of the gospel. 

Then He said, "To what shall we liken the kingdom of God?  Or with what parable shall we picture it?  It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade."  According to commentary by Theophylact, which is cited by my study Bible, the image of the mustard seed in this parable represents the disciples, who began as just a few, but "soon encompassed the whole earth."  It also stands for faith which enters a person's soul, which causes an inward growth of virtue.  This soul will become godlike and can receive even angels (the birds of the air who may nest under its shade).

And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.  But without a parable He did not speak to them.  And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples."  Once again, we observe this new tendency in Christ's ministry:  the numbers of people who come to hear Him have grown so great that, without a parable He did not speak to them.  Note that the text tells us that He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it, an important clue to the use of parables, and how we receive them.

The parable of the Mustard Seed is one of my favorites.  What I admire about it is what it teaches us about Christ's ministry and the kingdom of God:  that we don't have to be the biggest, the best, the most flashy or noticeable, or the most obviously promising vehicle for "success" in order to grow and bear abundant spiritual fruit.  Over and over again, the Bible tells us stories about God's power working through the small, and nowhere is that better illustrated than in Jesus' parable.  In the Old Testament, the prophet Samuel is sent to the home of Jesse, the father of David, to choose a king who will succeed Saul.  Although Saul was considered to be "great" by worldly standards, he is not considered so in the eyes of God and the faith expressed in the Scriptures, as he grew corrupt through false worship practices.  To choose a new king to be anointed was therefore an important spiritual mission, and when Samuel approaches Jesse's sons, he beholds a splendid looking young man.  But God says to Samuel, "Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."  Among seven sons, none seemed to pass muster, but there was one more, the youngest, who was tending sheep, and he was David, whom God chose for Samuel to anoint as king.  (See 1 Samuel 16.)   In another example, St. Paul speaks of a "thorn in the flesh" which we can't really completely identify, writing, "lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure."  We should note here, in the context of the parable of the tiny mustard seed, how this thorn in the flesh is meant to deflate an over-exalted understanding of himself, maintaining humility.  St. Paul makes great mention of this, as he writes twice for emphasis, "lest I be exalted above measure."  Paul speaks of pleading with the Lord three times that it might depart him.  But the reply from the Lord is, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  "Therefore," says St. Paul, "most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  (See 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.)   In the power of the tiny mustard seed and its explosive growth, we have an image of God's power working within us and through us, which Jesus has given to us in this important, small parable.  It is an image repeated throughout the Old and New Testaments, of the Lord choosing even a tiny people within and among whom to dwell and through whom to create community.  It is a powerful reminder that "with God all things are possible" (Matthew 19:26).  As Jesus Himself indicates with the expression, "if you have faith as a mustard seed" (Matthew 17:20, Luke 17:6), this parable may also apply to the tiny bit of faith that begins in us, and the growth that comes through time.  In Matthew's Gospel, this parable is paired with the parable of the Leaven, which certainly seems to illustrate that point (Matthew 13:33).  But wherever we want to start, the Mustard Seed parable tells us that God works through the small, the unlikely, that which doesn't to human eyes and on worldly terms seem so promising.  It is, importantly, God's power working in us and through us that defines what we are capable of, and the mustard seed always reminds us that we aren't alone, or out of luck, nor are we only what the world sees about us on "worldly" terms.  Let us remember the seeds planted in us, and grow in that faith, so that the angels may also come and nest in the shade of our growth.