Slices
Prepare
‘Are we weak and heavy-laden, cumbered with a load of care? Precious Saviour, still our refuge. Take it to the Lord in prayer…’* Do that now.
*Joseph Scriven, ‘What a Friend We Have in Jesus’, 1855
Bible passage
The parable of the growing seed
26 He also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces corn – first the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 As soon as the corn is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.’
The parable of the mustard seed
30 Again he said, ‘What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.’
33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
Explore
Charles Spurgeon (1834–1892) apparently said, ‘When you go through a trial, the sovereignty of God is the pillow upon which you lay your head’, and the Puritans used to say something similar: ‘Providence is a soft pillow for anxious heads.’** Sometimes in life we might feel like everything is going well, there is no stress, we feel close to the Lord and all is right in our world. But such times are usually fleeting and rare. Usually, all of us have a mixture of things going on.
In these parables of the kingdom, there is reassurance. In good times or bad, the kingdom of God is at work in the world, and also in us (v 27). It has taken root; it is growing like a seed and it won’t stop (vs 31,32). Our sin can’t stop it; our good deeds can’t enhance it. Sometimes this growth feels good, sometimes it feels painful, but at all times we can know and trust that ‘… he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus’ (Philippians 1:6).
**Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, 1869
Respond
Ask the Lord to reveal to you how he is working in your life in the good, and even in the hard things, to form you into the likeness of Jesus. And ask him for grace to keep going.
Deeper Bible study
Give thanks for growth you have seen in yourself and in others.
Mark’s Gospel is often said to have a particular focus upon suffering and it is thought that this may be because his first readers faced persecution.1 Although we may not suffer in the same way these early Christians did, none of us leads a trouble-free life in this fallen world. We can all point to times when Jesus did great things in our lives but also to other times when troubles loomed and God seemed distant. God’s kingdom has broken into our lives through Jesus but, until he returns, the world is still plagued by evil. Mark reflects this tension between ‘the now and the not yet’ of the kingdom in Jesus’ life too: he believes that Jesus’ healings, exorcisms and teaching make it clear who Jesus really is. However, he also shows us that many, including religious leaders and members of Jesus’ own family, rejected his ministry. Mark also describes Jesus’ caution in revealing his identity: teaching those outside his inner circle only in parables, silencing evil spirits when they declared him to be God’s chosen one and asking people not to tell others of their healing.2 Although he came to reveal God’s kingdom, he had to do this carefully, in a world where many would oppose and misunderstand him.
The parables in today’s reading must have encouraged Mark’s original audience in their suffering and can encourage us too. It’s easy to despair when we see church numbers dwindling and when we find it tough being Christians in an unsympathetic world. These parables encourage us that, no matter how unpromising things may appear, nothing can stop the miraculous growth of the kingdom. The mustard seed, despite its tiny beginnings, could grow up to become a tall tree. So, let’s not lose hope, for nothing can stop the progress of God’s kingdom.
Share with God any ways in which you feel disheartened and thank him that he is at work even when we struggle to see it.
1 John Drane, Introducing the New Testament, Lion Publishing, 1999, p198 2 Mark 1:25,34,43,44; 3:11,12; 5:43; 7:33–36
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Isaiah 51,52; Hebrews 9
Pray for Scripture Union
Please pray for Scripture Union’s work with national mission partner Artless Theatre Company. Together they have produced The Grumpy Owl and the Joy of Christmas, a new booklet to accompany a play from Artless to introduce children from the 95 to the true story of Christmas.
