The Gospel of Mark #11 – “Kingdom Seeds”
Mark 4:21-34
Intro –
1. ILL – In an earlier century, a large boulder laid in the middle of the roadway. Traveler after traveler walked past the boulder, veering off the side of the road to get around it. All the while, they were shaking their head and muttering, "Can you believe that? Someone should get that big thing out of the way. What an inconvenience!" Finally, a man came along and, seeing the boulder, took a branch from a tree and pried the boulder enough to get it rolling and rolled it off to the side of the road. Lying underneath the rock, he found a small bag with a note. The man picked up the note and read it. It read as follows: "Thank you for being a true servant of the kingdom. Many have passed this way and complained because of the state of the problem and spoken of what ought to be done. But you have taken the responsibility upon yourself to serve the kingdom instead. You are the type of citizen we need more of in this kingdom. Please accept this bag of gold that traveler after traveler have walked by simply because they didn’t care enough about the kingdom to serve."
2. I wonder what “bags of gold” we miss out on, simply because we don’t bother to get involved in serving the heavenly kingdom; or are we the type of heavenly citizens our Father wants more of?
3. Today, we will be talking about the “kingdom of God.”
4. Mark 4:21-34 (Read)
5. The thought of a “kingdom” is very prominent in the Bible. The expression “the kingdom of God” is used 68x in the N. T. In Matthew, it is called the “kingdom of heaven” & is used 31x.
6. Jesus taught that we were to seek His Kingdom 1st.
7. Matt. 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
8. Most Biblical scholars regard the “kingdom of God” as the central theme of Jesus’ message.
9. Mark 1:14-15 “14After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God. 15‘The time has come,’ he said. ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!’”
10. The apostles carried on this theme in their own preaching.
11. Acts 8:12 “But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.”
12. Rom. 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,”
13. If this was so important to Jesus & the disciples, then we must understand 2 things…
I. What is the Kingdom of God?
A “kingdom” naturally designates a King. Therefore, the kingdom of God is the reign of God.
When & where is this Kingdom? 3 main theories have been offered.
- Some (C. H. Dodd) have argued that the “kingdom” was fully manifest in the teaching & actions of Jesus on earth & that the Kingdom had no future ramifications whatsoever. It is purely a spiritual kingdom where Christ reigns in the hearts of people.
- Others (Albert Schweitzer & Johannes Weiss) have argued that the “kingdom” was intended to be wholly futuristic & is still yet to come when Jesus returns. It then will be a purely physical kingdom where Christ will literally reign over the earth.
- The most common view of the "kingdom” embraces the truths of both these parties – that the “Kingdom” is both a present reality & a future manifestation. In this view, It is both a spiritual reign as well as a physical reign.
- This is the view I believe the Scripture teaches most clearly.
A. There will be a future manifestation of the Kingdom –
1. There is coming a time when Jesus will literally & physically rule & reign over this earth from His throne in the city of Jerusalem.
2. Numerous verses tell us that the kingdom of God will be a glorious future reality. We know that Christ is a King, and we yearn for the day he will exercise his power in a great & dramatic way to stop human suffering.
3. Dan. 2:44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.”
4. Rev. 11:15 “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: ‘The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.’”
5. Jesus even taught us to pray for the coming of His future kingdom!
6. Luke 11:2 “He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.’”
B. There is a present reality to the Kingdom – Luke 11:20, 17:21
1. Jesus claimed that God’s Kingdom entered human history through His own life, death & resurrection.
2. He also taught that the Kingdom of God could be within us.
3. Luke 17:20-21 “20Once, having been asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, ‘The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, 21nor will people say, 'Here it is,' or 'There it is,' because the kingdom of God is within you.’”
4. Presently, the kingdom of God is not a physical place, but it’s a spiritual realm. The kingdom of God is the place where God rules. If God rules your heart, then that’s where you find the kingdom of God, in your heart!
5. The real question is “Does Jesus rule & reign in your heart?”
II. What do these Parables Teach about the Kingdom? Vs. 21-34
Remember that a parable is “a simple story used to teach a moral or spiritual lesson.”
The purpose of any parable was for Jesus to teach important truths about Himself, the Father & the Kingdom of God.
Also remember, that all of Ch. 4 happened on the same day. Jesus is continuing the teaching that He began in vs. 1-20 when He told the “Parable of the soils.”
A. The light – vs. 21-23
1. Jesus says God’s Kingdom is like a lamp. Now the lamp Jesus is describing here is a small clay oil lamp that was used to light up a room in the ancient world.
2. Jesus says you don’t take one of these clay lamps, fill it with oil, light the wick, and then hide it so it can’t light up the room.
3. Jesus is teaching us that God wants us to let His kingdom light shine!
4. We let the light shine through our words. As we describe how Christ has touched our lives, how his light has healed our blindness. We let it shine through our actions. We also let it shine through our community, the way we live & interact with each other as a church.
5. ILL – A young boy went with his parents to Europe one summer. Part of their tour included visits to the great old cathedrals of the past. As he visited cathedral after cathedral he saw the massive stained glass portraits of the disciples & of other saints. He was very impressed as he stood in these great empty halls looking through the beautiful stained glass windows. Upon returning to his church, he was asked by his Sunday School teacher about the great churches of Europe, & what he liked the most. He thought for a moment and he said, “I loved the sense of awesomeness & the hugeness of who God must be.” “And what is a saint?” his teacher asked next. His mind went back to those massive beautiful stained glass windows and he said, “A saint is a person the light shines through.”
6. That is a good definition of what a believer is supposed to be. We have no light of our own, but like the moon, we are to reflect the light of Jesus to a lost world.
7. John 8:12 “…I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
8. Matt. 5:14-15 “14You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.
15Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”
B. The measure – vs. 24-25
1. Jesus compares God’s kingdom to a unit of measure or a scale.
2. This verse is often misquoted in reference to giving or the consequences of our behavior. While it is true that as we give, God provides for us (Luke 6:38) & that our behavior has consequences (Gal. 6:7) this is not what Jesus is teaching here.
3. The point Jesus is making is how we hear Jesus’ message determines how we understand it.
4. As Jesus told these parables many people came to Him with their own agenda, assumptions, prejudices, & with their own vision of God’s kingdom.
5. How do we listen to Jesus’ message? As we are confronted with God’s Word do we try to fit it into our own agenda & lifestyle, or do we come empty handed & willing to not only hear, but also obey?
6. James 1:22 “Do not merely listen to the word, & so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
7. A person must invest himself into the teachings of Jesus to get anything out of them.
C. The growing seed – vs. 26-29 **Only Mark records this parable
1. Next Jesus compares the kingdom of God to a seed. Remember that the “seed” represents the gospel. Notice that the seed works “all by itself” – vs. 28.
2. Jesus is teaching that the message of the gospel works apart from human effort.
3. Rom. 1:16 “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”
4. 1 Cor 1:18 “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
5. John 12:32 “But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.”
6. Like farmers we’re to plant seeds! God wants us to be faithful to share the kingdom message of His Son, Jesus Christ & to live a life of active discipleship – but we must always remember that it is God who is charge of the results!
7. 1 Cor. 3:6 “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.”
D. The mustard seed – vs. 30-34
1. Finally, Jesus compares God’s Kingdom to a mustard plant.
2. Now a mustard seed is so small that you almost can’t see it & while it’s not the smallest seed in the world, it was the smallest seed that Jewish farmers would plant in their gardens.
3. Yet, this tiny seed grows into a huge bush (6 to 10 ft. high). So what starts out almost unseen grows into a large plant. It’s so big that even birds take shelter in it.
4. Jesus teaches that while it started small God’s Kingdom will triumph over the world!
5. ILL – Helmut Thielicke was a German theologian when Hitler came to power before WWII. Because He was an outspoken critic of Hitler, he was removed from his university post & sent to a small town with instructions to stay in that town. So Thielicke began pastoring a small church in that town & continued throughout the war. Soon, he decided to have his first midweek Bible study. He held high hopes for making an impact in the church, but only 3 people came to his Bible study: 2 elderly ladies & an elderly man. Outside the church he could hear the marching of the battalions of Hitler’s youth who’d swore their allegiance the 3rd Reich. In that moment he wondered at the future of the Christian faith, as it seemed that the faith was dying while the Hitler war machine was growing stronger & stronger every day. Was it really true that the kingdoms of this world will one day become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah? Then Pastor Thielicke thought of this story, the mustard seed that grew into a plant. That gave him encouragement & hope, and of course when the dust settled, it was Hitler’s kingdom that fell, not God’s kingdom.
6. The kingdom that started out in a stable in Bethlehem, will one day rule the world!
7. Rev. 11:15 “The seventh angel sounded his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, which said: "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever.”
Conc. –
1. When we become followers of Jesus Christ, we begin to live under the rule & reign of God. We exchange our earthly lords for the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
2. 2 Questions –
a. Are you a part of the Kingdom of God? Have you received Christ? Are you good soil?
b. Are you living for the Kingdom of God? Are you shining the light of the gospel of the kingdom for all to see? Are you living for Jesus?
