Mark 4:26-34 Pentecost 4
Pastor Ron Koehler
Grace—Tucson, AZ
June 16, 2024
A big brother sits with his much younger little brother in the grass looking out over the lake. He tells him a story, and the little guy listens so intently, interested and happy to spend the time with his big brother. He’s his hero, and he wants so much to be like him, so, he hangs on his every word. As we turn to the gospel for today, we find Jesus sitting and telling stories to a lot of people who are fascinated by him and hanging on his every word. He’s actually sitting in a boat on the lake in order to be heard, because there are too many people for him to sit with there on the shore and be heard. They listened intently to him, eager to hear what he had to say. The lakeside stories he told were parables, stories that talked about everyday kinds of things, but that had meanings that soared above those things and expressed spiritual truths. We sometimes call parables “earthly stories with heavenly meanings.” On this day, his stories had to do with the power of God’s Word that grows the kingdom of believers by working in the hearts of people bringing them to faith. Rulers and governments have always come up with their ways of growing their kingdoms. Well, God has a way of growing his. These stories of Jesus help us to understand how he does that. God Grows His Kingdom His Way 1. With His People (26) 2. By His Power (27-28, 30-32) 3. At His Pace (29)
With His People “The kingdom of God is like this: A man scatters seed on the ground.” A simple start to the story, right? A man scatters seed on the ground. Maybe you’ve done that— tossed out some grass seed or sprinkled some wildflower seeds onto the ground so that they pop up in the spring. Even if you haven’t, you can picture it. If you need a visual, check out the stained-glass window right back there (pulpit side, 5th from front). This is easy for us to understand because this scattering or planting is an everyday kind of thing we are familiar with. But this is a parable, so there is something more here. Jesus is the one who scatters the seed, which is his Word, but he does it through people. He uses you. He uses you and me and the person sitting next to you and in front of you. He uses parents and pastors and teachers and missionaries. He used the Apostle Paul and all the disciples. The seed is the Word of God, and he uses people to do his work of scattering it throughout the world.