:Parable of the Growing Seed

File:Hortus Deliciarum, Der Sämann.jpg compiled by Herrad of Landsberg at the Hohenburg Abbey in Alsace (12th century).]]

The parable is as follows:

{{quotation|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, English Standard Version}}

This parable can be seen as related to the parable of the Sower,George R. Knight, [https://books.google.com/books?id=8ZumYzrphWMC&pg=PA107 Exploring Mark: A Devotional Commentary], Review and Herald Pub Assoc, 2004, {{ISBN|0-8280-1837-5}}, pp. 107-108. although it does not follow that parable immediately. Seventh-day Adventist writer George Knight suggests that it serves as a "correction provided for any ancient or modern disciples who might be feeling discouraged with the amount of fruitless labor they had extended toward those" who failed to hear the message of which the parable of the Sower spoke. Even when the farmer sleeps, the Kingdom of God is still growing. Its growth is due to God, not man,Richard N. Longenecker, [https://books.google.com/books?id=JojVvncUgk0C&pg=PA97 The Challenge of Jesus' Parables], Eerdmans, 2000, {{ISBN|0-8028-4638-6}}, p. 97. and follows its own timetable.James R. Edwards, [https://books.google.com/books?id=0MjWS_4La_EC&pg=PA142 The Gospel According to Mark], Eerdmans, 2002, {{ISBN|0-85111-778-3}}, pp. 142-144.

Paul the Apostle describes the growth of the church in Corinth in a similar way:

:I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.{{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|3:6|NIV}}: New International Version

File:Weigel lamp on a stand and the growing seed.jpg.]]

Unlike the parable of the Sower, the seed here seems to represent the Kingdom of God itself.Klyne Snodgrass, [https://books.google.com/books?id=kFyt0VhErywC&pg=PA213 Stories with Intent: A comprehensive guide to the parables of Jesus], Eerdmans, 2008, {{ISBN|0-8028-4241-0}}, p. 213. Differences in interpretation result from emphasizing different aspects of the parable, such as the seed, the sower, or the earth.Klyne Snodgrass, [https://books.google.com/books?id=kFyt0VhErywC&pg=PA184 Stories with Intent: A comprehensive guide to the parables of Jesus], Eerdmans, 2008, {{ISBN|0-8028-4241-0}}, pp. 184-190.

Leonard Goffiné answers the question of "why the word of God is compared to seed," writing, "Because as good fruits spring from good seed, so do good works from the word of God; and as it is impossible for any soil not sown to produce good fruits, so neither can men produce the fruits of the Spirit without the seed of the divine Word."{{cite book|title=Goffine's Devout instructions on the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays and holydays|year=1896|publisher=Benzinger Brothers|first=Leonard |last=Goffine|author-link=Leonard Goffiné|url=http://www.sspxasia.com/Documents/The_Church_Year/}}

Roger Baxter in his Meditations writes, "Christ our Lord is both the sower and the seed itself. He intrusts the soil of our souls with His own precious body and blood. He wishes this divine grain to yield a harvest, not of temporal and corruptible, but of eternal and incorruptible, increase. For " he who soweth in the spirit shall reap life everlasting." (Gal. 3:8){{cite book|chapter=Christ the Seed of Eternal Life.|title=Meditations For Every Day In The Year|year=1823|publisher=Benziger Brothers|first=Roger|last=Baxter|author-link=Roger Baxter|location=New York}}

• Life of Jesus in the New Testament
• Ministry of Jesus
• Parable of the Sower

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{{Parables of Jesus|state=expanded}}

{{Gospel of Mark}}

Growing Seed, Parable of the

Category:Gospel of Mark