Andrew discusses the mystery of spiritual growth. The parable is stated in Mark 4:26-29. “The Power of the Seed” Mark 4:1-20 February 4, 2007 SCRIPTURE INTRO: We’re about to read one of the most famous passages in Scripture— the Parable of the Sower. (Luke 8:4-15) Some of Jesus' parables are longer and others are very short. The parable of "The Growing Seed" stresses the divine power within the Word a. The parable of the sower is an example. b. A small, almost unnoticed, parable of Jesus is the parable of the growing seed. The Parable of the Growing Seed – Mark 4:26-29 – Inductive Bible Study Mark 4:26-29 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil ; 27 and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day , and the seed sprouts and grows — how, he himself does not know. Similar to the better-known parable of the sower at the beginning of this chapter, Jesus talks about the kingdom of God as coming through scattered seed. Jesus doesn’t need our cleverness. It is called "The Growing Seed" and is recorded in MA 4:26-29 The setting of this parable appears to be the same occasion in which Jesus told, The parable of "The Sower” -MA 4:1-20 and The parable of "The Mustard Seed" - MA 4:30-32 So it must have been at about the time in Jesus ministry when He begins to teach publicly in parables. Off goes the sower to bed, and the seed gets on with growing from the earth. A "good and noble heart" cannot bear fruit by itself! According to Jesus, "The kingdom of God is as if [a person] would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. For others, the lesson is about Christ who has sown and in time will come to reap; the rest of the story refers to the invisible work of the Holy Spirit in the church and in the disciple. This particular parable, so simple a picture and yet so full of meaning only appears in Mark’s Gospel. Taken from Mark 4 (The Parable of the Growing Seed), Rev. Some commentators have viewed this parable as a further explanation of the parable of the sower – which comes just before the parable of the growing seed. This is the only parable of Jesus that is recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Note: The Parable of the Growing Seed is found only in the Gospel of Mark, and Mark indicates that it was told in the context of two other well known parables, the Parable of the Sower, which precedes it earlier in the context, and the Parable of the Mustard Seed, which immediately follows it. For those who really want liberation, we have to understand these principles. "Every act of love and service that we offer, every comforting or encouraging word, each time we share something of our faith with others is like a seed sown" Mark 4:26-34 . This parable of the growing seed is a very short story. Clearly, then, the task given to all of us is to sow the seed by preaching the Word. The sower in the parable sows the seed, but the growth happens without any fancy strategies. 773.240.3900 He had just explained that the seed is the Word of God (v. 14). He doesn’t need our fancy programmes of …