PARABLES OF THE KINGDOM
Mark 4:21-34
Key Verse: 4:31-32
“It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”
Right now, wars are happening in Europe and the Middle East; many people have been killed or wounded and countless others are living in fear and anxiety. War, I believe, is one of the moments when human sinfulness – especially human evil and crueity – is exposed. Many people insist that war should never happen for any reason. Yet throughout human history, there has never been a time without this most painful reality of war. Peace never comes through military power or political or economic power. Retaliation and revenage never bring lasting peace. True peace comes through sacrifice. The ultimate peace for sinners comes through the sacrfice of Jesus Christ -,His death on the cross as the peace offering. Jesus came into this world to give us peace and to bring the kingdom of God, where God rules with peace and righteousness. There is no remedy for Humanity’s sinfulness and evil except the gospel of Jesus. Only Jesus and the gospel are the answer for the peace of the world. That is why this gosple must be preached to the ends of the earth.
This gospel of Jesus is all about the Kingdom of God. At the beginning of his ministry, Jesus perched the good news of the kingdom of God, saying, “The time has come. The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” (Mk1:15) The kingdom of God has come with Jesus. Healing the sick, casting out demons, teaching the word of truth, and confronting the religious leaders, Jesus demonstrated the reality of the kingdom of God here on earth. The kingdom of God is found in Jesus, with Jesus, and through Jesus. The kingdom comes into us when we repent of our sins, believe in Jesus, and be born again of water and the Spirit. Then, we are ruled by God with his peace, jutice, love, forgiveness, and righteousness. We will be transformed into the image of God and filled with the grace and truth of Jesus Christ.
Let me share the story of one student. Outwardly, he looked like an excellent student with straight A’s. He dreamed of becoming a police officer. But behind this outward success, through social media he indulged in sinful desires, hiding a part of his life that he was deeply ashamed of. One day he realized that if he pursued his dream of becoming a police officer, he would have to open his social media account and his hidden past might be exposed. Fear and shame overwhelmed him. He gave up his dream. On top of that, he experienced sexual harassment and deeply disapired. He dropped all classes and became like a paralized man. God did not leave him in despair. Through Bible study and the word of God, he came to know the grace of Jesus’ forgiveness. He realized that Jesus died on the cross for his sins and that his sins could truly be forgiven. When he accepted this grace, his life began to change. Instead of living in shame and fear, he found new hope in Jesus. Now, with a compassionate heart for students who struggle with similar problems, he has become a witness of Jesus. That is what happens when the kingdom of God comes to us! All men should receive the kingdom of God!! We must all receive the Kingdom of God so that we may live under the rule of God instead of the rule of sin.
In today’s passage, Jesus reveals the secrets of the kingdom of God through parables. Verse 33 says, “With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them as much as they could understand.” Jesus wants His disciples – those who truly follow him – to receive the kingdom of God by understanding the parables. Let us learn the secrets of the kingdom of God through a lamp on a stand, the growing seed, and the mustard seed.
First: a lamp on a stand (21-25).
This part is not a parable, but it explains the purpose of Jesus’ teachings and what attitude we should have toward his teaching. Look at verse 21. “He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand?” What is the purpose of bringing a lamp into a house or a room? It is to give light in the darkness by placing it on its stand. In this metapho, the lamp refers to Jesus himself and His words. John 1:4 says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Jesus said in John8:12, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life”
The world without God and his word is in utter darkness. In the darkness, men are lost. They do not know the meaning and purpose of their lives. Being slaves to sin, they do what they do not want to do. Nothing or Noone can be light in this darkness. The fact that people start wars as if they were children’s games, raining bombs and missiles on one another, reveals how humanity lives in darkness of sin and death. Men cannot help but walk in darkness, stumbling in fear and uncertainty. However, Jesus is the light of the world. His words give us life and light. Jesus’ words give us hope and vision. Zechariah praised Jesus in Luke as the rising sun from heaven who shines on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, guiding our feet into the path of peace. (Lk1:78-79) Like the rising sun, when we accept Jesus and his words, they have power to drive out all the darkness from our hearts. So, we must accept Him and His teaching and let the light shine in our hearts, driving out all darkness such as sin, fear, pride, doubt, guilt, and hopelessness.
Then, what does verse 22 mean? “For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.” This means that Jesus, the light of life, has fully revealed the secret of the kingdm of God. In the past, God’s plan of slavation was in a way hidden and mysterious. But through Jesus and his words, God has now revealed this wonderful secret – Whoever heards his words and believes in him will have eternal life in the kingdom of God. (Ro 16:25-26) Through Jesus, the kingdom of God becomes an “open secret.”
However, strangely the kingdom of God still remains hidden and concealed from some people, contrary to the purpose of a lamp. Look at what Jesus said in verse 23. “If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” This problem was not because Jesus hid the kingdom of God from them. Rather, they could not find the kingdom of God because of the lack of their spiritual desires. They did not put the light on its stand, but under a bowl. Beucase of their pride, ignorance, and self-righteousness, they put the lamp under a bowl or a bed, and therefore the light could not shine on them.
Then, what attitude should we have toward Jesus, the light, the words of God? Look at verse 24-25. “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you -and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” When we hear God’s word, it is easy to let it go in one ear and out the other. If we do that, the word of God does not work in our hearts. We should consider carefully what we hear. It means to hear the word of God, meditate on it day and night, understand it, retain it, recite it, and put it into practice as a good soil.
When we do so, what blessing do we receive? Look again at verse 24b-25. The more we give our attention to the word of God, the more we will understand the kingdom of God. The more seriously we meditate on God’s words, the more the kingdom of God grows within us. As we invest our time and energy in studying and mediateing on his word, God generoulsy reveals the secret of His kingdom. The more we meditate on the words of God, the more we experience the reality of his kingdom in our lives. However, those who only hear, but do not meditate on it, never truly understand God’s kingdom. Soon, even what they heard is taken away from them (25). Spiritually speaking, the rich become richer, and the poor become poorer. In terms of spiritual growth, there is no neutral ground. Please do not be a spectator! We are always either growing or degenerating; we never stand still. Our spiritual growth is determined by how serioulsy much we meditate on the word of God. Two people may hear the same message or study the same Bible passage. But one grows spiritually while the other becomes harder in heart. This difference totally lies in their attitude toward the word of God. “Consider carefully what you hear!” should be our basic attitude that we must have before the word of God.
One of the precious spiritual legacy of UBF is Testimony Writing. Reflecting on ourselves in the light God’s word requires serious effort, time and sometimes painful self-examination and repentance and decision of faith. This is how we consider carefully what we hear – with self-denial, devotion, and even hardwork. One shepherd collected his notebooks in which he had written reflections for a year, then they filled an entire box. There is a saying that they decided who would be a Bible messenger by weighing their daily bread reflection notebooks. That was how we worked hard to hear and to receive one word of God. Without these processes, one cannot grow into an independent Bible teacher who possesses many treasures of the kingdom of God – such as the way of salvation, the way of victory, the way of happiness. Those who meditate on the words of God day and night discover these treasures one by one, and grow to be excellent Bible teachers who handle the word of God correctly. In this way, we can lift up the light of Jesus to shine into the darkness of the campuses. Therefore, let’s carefully consider the word of Jesus.
Second: the parable of the growing seed (26-29).
Jesus told two parables to describe what the kingdom of God is like (26a) – the parable of the growing seed (26-29) and the parabel of the mustard seed (30-34). Look at verses 26-29. What truth can we find about the kingdom of God in this parable?
First, the kingdom of God begins with teaching the word of God. As we learned from the parable of sower in the previous passage, the seed refers to the word of God. Jesus said, “A man scatters seed on the ground.” This means that a person proclaims the gospel by preaching and teaching the word of God to others. That is how the kingdom of God begins. God advances his kingdom through those who teach the word of God diligently. That is why Paul gave a final charge to Timothy: “Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season…” (2 Ti 4:2). In Romans 10, Paul testified that “If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” How could this work of salvation begin? It is by hearing the word of God! However, if no one preaches, how can they hear? “How can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Salvation work begins when the word of God is preached and heard. Therefore, when we go out to the campus, we must remember that the kingdom of God is being planted through our preaching the word of God though we might be rejected. Even if we do not see visible fruit from our outreach and bible teaching, the kingdom of God will begin when we diligently and faithfully preach and teach the word of God. Otherwise, there will no work of God..
In 1912, Dr. William Leslie, a medical missionary, went to live and minister to tribal people in the Congo. He taught children how to read and write, and had many Bible studies. But, after 17 years, he had a conflict with the tribal leaders and had to return to the U.S. He was discouraged–believing he failed to make an impact for Christ. He died nine years after his return. 84 years later in 2010, the Ramsey mission team visited the place where Dr. Leslie had served, and made an amazing discovery. In each of the eight villages scattered across 34 miles, they found a church. In one village, there was even a 1000-seat stone. This church got so crowded in the 1980s that a church planting movement began in the surrounding villages. Today, there is a network of reproducing churches hidden like glittering diamonds in the dense jungle. Each village has its own gospel choir. They write their own songs and even hold singing competitions from village to village. One man faithfully scattered the seed of God’s word and bore abundant fruit, though he did not see it in his lifetime. Wherever the seed of God’s word is scattered, there the kingdom of God grows.
The second thing we learn is about the power of the kingdom of God. Look at what the farmer does. He sows the seed and then waits. He sleeps, rises and sleeps, night and day, and simply waits. In verses 27-28, Jesus said, “Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain…” A farmer cannot cause the seed to sprout or grow or ripen. All the farmer can do is plant the seed on suitable ground and wait. Then, the seed, which has life in itself, begins to grow. The farmer does not know how it grows. This is a mystery. But it is God who makes the seed sprout and grow step by step. Jesus explains the process: “First the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head.” When the harvest is ready, the farmer simply goes out and harvests the crop.
Often we do not see what God is doing. It may appear to our eyes that nothing is happening. But all the time the seed is at work; God is at work to produce a harvest. All we need to do is trust and pray and wait patiently for God to bring the harvest. God is the main actor for the growth of the kingdom of God while we are the supporting actors who have to join God’s kingdom of work. We need to trust God who is always at work, and be patient. Impatience is actaully unblief. I repent of my impatience regarding our Dream Team. Often I wonder whether what I am doing is making any difference – serving, praying, sharing and doing whatever God calls me to do. But I realize that it is not I who makes things happen; it is God. My impatience is actually a form of unbelief. The seed of the kingdm of God has the power to grow all by itself when it is planted. It is because God himself is working hard for the growth of His kingdom God. So, I can scatter the word of God with faith, expecting a harvest in God’s time. Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the prophet time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Many research studies show that young people leave the church when they go to college beccause they have not embraced the Christian faith deeply. We often face this spiritual reality when students reject the gospel. Yet, we do not have to worry about it because we believe that God is at work for the growth of His kingdom in Amerinca. What we have to do is simply to scatter the word of God diligently, to co-work with God by preparing an enviroment of faith and to trust that God will bring the harvest in his time.
Third: the parable of the mustard seed (30-34).
To describe the kingdom of God, Jesus told another parable. Look at verses 31-32. “It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade” Botanically, a mustard seed is not the smallest seed in the world. The smallest seeds are orchid seeds, as small as dust. But to the Jews in the time of Jesus a mustard seed was known as the smallest one. So Jesus used it to explain an important nature of the kingdom of God.
When this smallest seed is sown in the ground, it grows into a huge plant, reaching 10 to 20 feet in height, with branches so big that birds can build their nets in them and take shelter there. What Jesus is emphaszing is what the smallest seed becomes, the largest plant of all garden plants. The smallest seed refers to the kingdom of God in its beginning – small, weak, and seemingly insignificant. Yet, it grows and becomes the largest plant. This big plant also refers to the kingdom of God. Birds perching in the shade refer to weary people all over the world who come into the kingdom of Christ and find salvation and rest.
God’s kingdom starts very small, but grows and gives great influence to the whole world. The gospel ministry of Jesus started small like one seed of the kingdom sown into the field of this world. He was born as a small, helpless baby and laid in a manger. Compared to the Roman Empire, he seemed to be nothing. Then, he began his ministry by calling a few disciples. After His death and ressurection, this small ministry expanded from Jerusalem to Judea and Samurai, and then to Asia, Rome, Europe, and eventually to the whole world.
Our UBF ministry also bega small in Kwang-Ju, South Korea through Dr. Samuel Lee and Mother Sarah Barry. But this small ministry expanded to Seoul, South Korea, Asia, Europe, North America, Latina America, CIS, Africa, Oceania, and the Middle East. UBF is one of the largest Missionary sending ministries in South Korea with around 1500 Missionaries in around 90 countries.
How could this happen? It is not by our strength or wisdom. It is through the power of the kingdom of God that works through the word of God. Through small 1:1 Bible studies and raising one disciple of faith at a time, we have scattered and planted the seed of the word of God. Then, the seeds have grown and produced abundant fruits of salvation. This great work of God will begin whenever and wherever we plant the word of God.
The kingdom of God is like a person teaching the word of God until it is planted in people’s hearts. When the seed is planted, it grows and bears fruit. The kingdom of God is like the smallest mustard seed, which grows into the largest garden plant. Its beginnings look insignificant, but it grows until it influences the whole world.
Our NJ ministry seems small, like a mustard seed. However, it has the great potential power of the kingdom of God. Why? Because we are scattering and painting the seed of the word of God through 1:1, IBS, Outreach, Saturday BS faithfully, trusting the power of the kingdom of God. Especially for the last 7 years, God has blessed our GLEF to plant the word of God among the next generation. I can see the kingdom of God growing in each person -Deam Team, Vision, Innovation, Young Leaders. Let us scatter the word of God with our small 1-1 sbible study, campus students group bible studies. The kingdom of God may continue to grow in us and become great, so that 50,000 Rutguest students may come and find shelder in its shades through us. Let’s consider carefully what Jesus has said to us.