Skip to main content

Markan Parables About The Kingdom of God

Secrets of the Kingdom

In Mark 4.21-34, we have two parables specifically about the Kingdom of God which are introduced by a series of injunctions (Mk 4.21-25) which help to enlighten us further about their meaning. In verse 21, a rhetorical question is answered with the implied answer in the negative. No, we don't put a light under a bushel (KJV, 'a bushel' is measuring bowl or basket) or under a bed. Rather a light or candle is placed on a stand or a candlestick.

Jesus says that the secret and the concealed is to be made open and manifest. It would seem that our Lord is referring both to the Parable of the Sower that he has just made plain to the disciples (Mk 4.10-20) but it might be he is making a general statement regarding the way he is revealing things to the disciples. (In the New Testament, a 'secret' usually means something once hidden but now revealed.)


Ears To Hear

This phrase is one characteristic of our Lord and probably refers to what he has just said. It alerted hearers of that time and us today to the importance of what Jesus has just said about the revelation of the secrets of the Kingdom.

It is important to watch what we hear! It's from that that we give to others. As we give, we ourselves will receive more. But to those who listen to the wrong things, even what they have will be reduced. 

The Blade, the Ear, and the Full Grain (Mk 4.26-29)

Seeds are amazing aren't they? Usually they fit easily into our hands but when placed into earth they will produce first roots, then shoots and finally the fully grown plant. Our Lord is speaking of grain grown for food so he finishes with the action of harvesting the fully ripe crop.

Jesus Messiah packs much meaning into few words. We must keep in mind that he is talking about the Kingdom of God which is the Rule or Reign of God; it is the sphere where the will of God is done 'as it is in Heaven' (Matt 6.9-13). Although this world appears to be so inhospitable to the Kingdom Jesus says that the Kingdom's progress is like a seed that gets planted and grows at first secretly under the ground but then it shows itself more and more until it is fully ripe. The reference to the sickle and the harvest are end-time symbols (Rev 14.14-20). So the Kingdom continues to grow all through this present dispensation until the time of the end.

Mustard Seed Kingdom

Interestingly, according to a great sermon I heard on Sunday from our Vicar, the second parable has certain similarities with the first parable above.

God is the God of small beginnings! We can think nothing is happening with regard to a particular matter but God's angel's are always busy. While Peter was languishing in gaol the angel was on its way to secure his deliverance. At the end of the Acts, Paul is in Rome after appealing to Caesar and it's salutary to ponder the last two verses of the book (Acts 28.30f).

Paul stays there for two whole years! Imagine that! Paul preaches the Kingdom of God to all who are interested and he does this at the heart of the mighty Roman Empire 'quite openly and unhindered' (RSV). Kingdom preaching by an apostle in Rome appeared as something small.

We feel that we are doing nothing of value and then God acts to place someone in our lives for a new purpose. It's seems small at the time but later we look back and praise the Lord for his goodness. We must not despise the day of small things (Zech 4.10).

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God's Proof of His Love-While We Were Still Enemies

I've just come across an excerpt from a wonderful book I have, The Divine Forbearance or The Dynamics of Forgiveness (2001) by Paul T. Harrison 1 . I want to focus on some points he makes from Rom 5.1-11 concerning the love of God. In Romans ch 4, the subject is faith: 'the means by which we are rightwised 2 to God' (Harrison, p. 52). But what, Harrison asks, arouses faith; what 'has Christ revealed about God that makes us able to trust Him?' Fire of God Ministries International Church-see http://fireofgodservants.blogspot.com.au And to that question he answers, God's forgiving love . God's love is so faithful and true that we may depend on it absolutely. Why is that so? That is explored in Rom 5.6-11. Our status before God as ungodly sinners (Rom 5.6, 8) in the past meant that we were the 'enemies of God' (Rom 5.10). Think of that! Being an enemy of God means to be subject to his wrath (Rom 5.9) and displeasure. People don't give their live...
3 comments
Read more

Reigning With Christ by F J Huegel

Reigning With Christ by F J Huegel (1963) is a book of only 88 pages yet it is filled with crucial truths of the Christian faith organised around the theme of the enthroned believer . It's fair to say that the theme he concisely addresses in this small book is much neglected today. For the press of technological life with its bustle and speed is such that we can forget that present life, so ' real' to us, is temporary (2 Cor 4.18) and as in the first century, 'the form [Greek, "schema"] of the world is passing away' (1Cor 7.31). It's easy to read this work and though it has 20 chapters, they are short and pithy. However, reading it requires a meditative attitude so as to allow the Spirit to work on our hearts.
Post a Comment
Read more

Christian Atheism!

" The great lesson that our blessed Lord inculcates here...is that God is in all things, and that we are to see the Creator in the glass [mirror] of every creature; that we should use and look upon nothing as separate from God, which indeed is a kind of practical atheism; but with a true magnificence of thought survey heaven and earth and all that is therein as contained by God in the hollow of his hand, who by his intimate presence holds them all in being, who pervades and activates the whole created frame, and is in a true sense the soul of the universe." These pungent words were given to me by an overseas correspondent and come from a sermon by John Wesley (1748) on the 'Sermon on the Mount'. Part of the context for his words apparently were that Wesley originally baulked at the idea of preaching in the open air until he realised that the Lord Jesus had preached outside! But, more especially for our edification is that Wesley fixed on the truth that nothing ...
2 comments
Read more