And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

Mark 4:26-29

This parable is only found in the book of Mark; we do not have a Biblical explanation of it; and it begins with the word “so.” Further, remember that parables are stories used to further illustrate a principle being taught. Therefore, we need to look at the context of Mark 4 to understand what Jesus is teaching us with this parable.

The most important thing to notice is what Jesus plainly says in verse 24:

And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.

Mark 4:24

Jesus is teaching that it is not our job to judge the standing of someone else before God. This was a problem among the Pharisees during Jesus’ ministry and later among the churches in the area of Galatia. These people, in order to feel justified, set a self-made standard of righteousness that they felt they were able to accomplish. This led them to compare themselves to others rather than to Jesus-the True standard for righteousness.

What we will see in this short parable is that the preacher has a job to sow seed. This means he is to faithfully preach the true gospel. The preacher does not decide who is a child of God and who is not. He does not have the knowledge or ability to cause the new birth in someone or to bring about spiritual growth. Therefore, that is not his job!

It is simply amazing to me that so many claim to preach the gospel faithfully but then become fruit inspectors based upon how people receive what they have preached! Jesus tells us to not judge this way, and He provides this parable for us to remind us to just do our job and be assured that God will do His!