by Tim Crouch

“He also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, through he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.'”

—Mark 4:26-29

The Gospels are full of Kingdom parables. In the majority of the stories He told, Jesus was trying to convey what His Kingdom is like—the way of living that is different from the world’s way.

Mark 4 is a chapter packed with these parables, and the one we will examine here, in verses 26-29, is about a growing seed. It is important to note that when Jesus is asked to interpret the meaning of a story earlier in the chapter, He explains that seeds represent the Word of God. If these seeds of the Kingdom are the Word of God, as His people, we need to learn how to steward them rightly by doing it God’s way, not our way.

Sowing Abundantly in Automatic Dirt

The first thing a good steward of the seeds of the Kingdom does is sow them. But if the seeds are the Word of God, then what does it mean for us to sow them? The theologian Charles Elliott wrote in the 1900s that everywhere you see Jesus talk about the Kingdom, you can apply it at two levels—personally in your own life and broadly in the world. In your own life, please be an abundant sower of the Word. Part of stewarding the seed is planting the Word deeply in our own hearts and living by it. We don’t want to be hearers of His Word only, but doers who sow those seeds in our own lives (see James 1:22). Beyond ourselves, these seeds of the Kingdom are also meant to accomplish God’s purposes in the world.

Let’s also look at a couple of other verses that will shed light on this parable. In 2 Corinthians 9:6, Paul says that sowing abundantly leads to reaping abundantly. The reverse is also true—if you sow sparingly, you will harvest sparingly. I need God’s Word, these seeds, in me. I’m waiting for God to do something miraculous in me, but if I’m not sparing any seeds to share with others, I probably won’t produce much fruit. So, we’re meant to scatter and sow the seeds of the Kingdom abundantly.

In Isaiah 55:10-11, the writer shares that just like the natural cycles of precipitation water the ground and cause the plants to grow and yield fruit, providing enough to eat and also to plant again, so, too, does God’s Word not return void. His purposes will always be accomplished. The farmer in this parable can’t control how much rain the field gets after it is planted, but God takes care of that. And He doesn’t provide just enough for the farmer to live off of—He also provides extra seed for the next field where He wants to see a harvest.

This is the way of the Kingdom. Many of us labor in our own fields—probably not as farmers, but maybe in business, industry, or ministry—and we worry about results as we get things done. But Jesus says, “My Kingdom is an operation where the business plan is guaranteed. When you steward the seeds in the way I tell you, I’ll take care of the rest. You won’t even know how it takes place, but I’ll do it.”

Mark 4:28 says, “all by itself the soil produces grain.” In Greek, “all by itself” is one word modifying “soil,” and the original word is where we get our English word “automatic.” What we view as automatic dirt is God taking care of the parts we can’t see by the work of His Spirit. That’s the nature of sowing in the Kingdom.

God Is at Work Underground

When my wife, Shelly, and I have traveled to new mission fields looking for places where Kingdom seeds can be sown and where the gospel is not well known, we still occasionally run into believers. It is always interesting how people become believers in places where there aren’t enough people walking around talking about Jesus for anyone to really hear and believe. One story we encountered was of a young woman named Galia.*

Galia grew up poor, and at a young age she had to work instead of going to school. As she was out in the fields all day, she got more and more depressed. The only thing bringing her joy was when she would listen to music on the radio at night. Periodically between songs, she’d hear a voice say, “Jesus loves you and gave His life that you may live.” Galia had no idea who Jesus was, but she liked the music, and it brought her joy in a dark time.

After a while, Galia decided she didn’t want to be alive any longer. One day, instead of going to the fields, she went to the river. Climbing on a rock over the water, she threw herself in.

But Galia felt hands grab her in the water and pull her out. She wiped away the water in her eyes and looked around, but no one was there. So, she jumped into the water again, and she was pulled out again. The third time, when the unseen hands dragged her out of the water onto the rock, she was scared and ran home.

At home, her mother said, “Our friends are returning!” Their friends had left the country for work, but they were coming back. Galia was so glad—and when she saw her best friend, a young girl her age from that family, she hugged her tight. As they hugged, her friend whispered in Galia’s ear, “Jesus loves you and gave His life that you may live.” She was shocked to hear the same words she had heard on the radio all those difficult nights. Galia’s friend and her family had found Jesus in the country they emigrated to because there were seed-sowers of the gospel in that field. And Galia’s friend went on to become a sower in her home country. This is how God is at work underground, whether we know it or not, whether we are sleeping or laboring.

Incremental Growth and the Harvest of Sacrifice

So, what does it look like to be a good steward of the seeds of the Kingdom as the harvest is growing? The parable says that the harvest grows incrementally, and when someone goes and sows seed, there are four stages. The first is what I like to call stage zero—what grows underground when God is at work. The second stage is one that farmers call “tillering.” Tillering happens when wheat first pops up through the ground and looks like a blade of grass. Think back to the parable in Matthew 13 when Jesus shares that there are weeds among the wheat—but not to pull them up because until they are further along in maturity, the weeds and the wheat look the same.

The third stage is when the stalk grows tall, bringing the head of the wheat higher so it can get more sun, which makes the harvest ripen. A ripe harvest, with the plant fully mature and with lots of grain on the head, is the fourth stage. In this Mark 4 parable, Jesus is saying, “In My Kingdom, I need you to tend these stalks so they can grow tall. They will produce fruit as the rain of the Spirit falls and the sunshine of My love comes out. When you’ve sown these seeds, it’s going to produce fruit in someone’s life.”

The last thing that Jesus talks about in this parable is the harvest. Once the grain is ripe, the farmer puts his sickle to it because it it ready; the harvest has come. We often associate the word “sickle” with the Grim Reaper, an image of death. In one way, the sickle in this passage is a death image, but in another way, it isn’t. Remember, Jesus said, “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24). Interestingly, the Greek word for “ripe” in Mark 4:29 means “to give over; to give itself up.” It is the same word used by Mark when Jesus yields Himself to capture in Gethsemane. And Jesus calls us to do the same thing, to give ourselves up. But this image is also about the fruit of the Kingdom yielding itself in a harvest because God has been at work both underground and through our efforts.

No More Empty Fields

This is what we are called to—to steward the seeds of the Kingdom without which we wouldn’t know Jesus. God’s intention when He poured seed into your field was not just to feed you but to have you steward the seeds for the next field that needs to hear the good news. Being good stewards begins with giving ourselves up.

We are blessed because someone was obedient to God and sowed seed in our fields, and we found life. And everywhere God brings about a harvest, He gives extra seed for the next field yet to be plowed. Can we live this way, as givers and sowers instead of just receivers?

I don’t know where you are in the story, but maybe the Lord wants to use this word to encourage you to share the gospel with your desk mate at work or to demonstrate His Word through acts of compassion. It might be about tending the stalks of young people that God is calling into service. Or maybe you’re one of those stalks God is calling to go and bear fruit.

I will tell you this—there is not a single field on this earth where God doesn’t intend to bring a harvest. There is not a people, culture, language, society, or subgroup that God doesn’t intend to bear the fruit of salvation. We have all benefitted from someone who planted the seeds of the Kingdom—will we in turn be good stewards by sowing abundantly, prayerfully tending the stalks, bringing in the harvest, and not hoarding the grain but setting aside seed to sow in other fields?

*Name changed.

To view and download this year’s Missions Engagement resources, click here.

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