Mark 4:28

Mark 4:28. This verse presents the main points of the parable, first: The earth beareth fruit of herself, as if from a self-acting power. The growth in nature is according to certain laws which act independently of man's agency, though the agency of God who established these laws and acts through them, is not denied. The same is true in the kingdom of grace; spiritual growth is independent of human agency. That God's power is involved, appears from the whole tenor of Scripture. While, therefore, the main lesson of the parable is about spiritual things, that lesson rests on an analogy of nature, assuming that in nature God operates through the laws He has established. The growth of the kingdom of God, in general and in individuals, is according to a development which is natural, i.e., in accordance with certain laws in the realm of grace, which are analogous to what are called natural laws, and like them acting with a certain spontaneousness; though God's constant energy is present in both. The mistakes opposed by this truth are: first, expecting growth without any seed; secondly, taking up the seed to see how it grows, i.e., perpetually exacting a certain kind of experience, and testing discipleship by unwise and premature measures; thirdly and chiefly, trying to make the growth according to our notions, instead of according to God's law of development, and thinking our care and anxiety can accomplish this. A particular form of this error is met by the next clause: first the blade, then, the ear, then the full corn in the ear. The maturity of the Church or of individual Christians does not come at once. The repeated ‘then ‘marks the gradual progress better than ‘after that' The same word is used in the Greek in both clauses. The lesson is therefore one of patience. While we are not to press a particular meaning upon these three stages, the parable plainly implies that we must be careful not to mistake the blade from the seed of grace for ordinary grass, still less to think the immature ear will never be ripe grain. Indeed, as there is germination, we know not how (Mark 4:27), before the blade appear, we should not be discouraged if we notice no results, still less expect that we can tell how or when the germ begins to develop.