The Secret of God's Kingship and Kingdom - Part 2

We learned in last week’s study that those who are brought into the kingdom of God are those who get let in on its secret. Mark 4:11, “And he said to them, ‘To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,’” Then in Mark 4:14, we read, “the sower sows the word,", which focuses our attention on the word of proclamation containing the secret of the gospel of the Kingdom of God. The word in view is Jesus' gospel word as he proclaims the Kingdom; it is the decisive messianic word of power through which the Kingdom is disclosed and is demonstrated as having come.

So when the gospel of God's kingship is preached in the world, people will vary in their response to it. Some will barely listen at all, some will respond with initial enthusiasm which has no staying power, and some will lose interest as other concerns compete for their attention. It would be easy for the observer to lose heart in the face of such setbacks. But these parables assures them that God really is in control, and that there will be a great harvest.

The difference between the those insiders and the outsiders is one of revelation. The one group is given the secret, the other is not. The ESV uses the word 'secret' in 4:14 in contrast to the KJV that uses the word “mystery.”

'Mystery' in English suggests something which is puzzling, hard to fathom; but the Greek “mysterion” focuses not so much on the nature of what is to be known, but on who knows it. The 'mystery' religions of the ancient world took their name from their esoteric character: their beliefs and practices were secrets known only to initiates, whose duty it was to guard that knowledge from outsiders. While there is no reason to imagine that Mark's use of the word mysterion derives from a conscious echo of this pagan usage, the sense of secrecy is essential to the meaning of the word. The message of God's kingship is not a 'mystery' in the sense that it is incomprehensible, but it is a 'secret' in that not everyone yet knows it. And to know the secret is something which is 'given' to some and not to others. It is not a matter of superior intellectual ability, but of divine revelation. It is a secret not because it is meant to be kept hidden (as 4.21-25 makes clear), but because no one can know it unless the knowledge is 'given' by God himself.  The secret, we must remember, is the secret of God’s kingship and his kingdom. And the parables of chapter 4 emphasize, as we have seen, that divine government does not operate on human lines. So long as what God is doing is assessed by human standards, it cannot be appreciated or understood. But the kingdom came (definitively) to stay in Jesus’ first coming, it is continuing to come (expansively) now, and it will come finally (massively and decisively) at his last coming!

The Light of Jesus will Not be Hidden – 4:21-25

Mark 4:1-34 consists of four parables. Verses 21-34 comprise the final three of these. The theme of all of them is how God’s kingdom emerges and grows with the appearance of Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, who came to give His life as a ransom for many (10:45). Mark brings these parables together to reinforce the main parable of the soils (4:1-20). These stories drive home the need for the response of faith (hearing) to God’s revealed gospel of the Kingdom Word.

Jesus begins this set of parables with a commonsense illustration about a lamp. Almost all the English translations, render verse 21 with an indefinite article rather than a definite article before the word lamp. Quoting Jesus, it says. Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed?" (v. 21a). However, the Greek text uses a definite article – “the” - and makes the lamp the subject of the sentence.

“There is only one proper way to translate what is in the original Greek: "Does the lamp come in order to be put under a basket or under a bed? Without the definite article, we miss the significance of what Jesus said here. He was not talking about any lamp. He was talking about the lamp. What is that lamp? Jesus is speaking here about the light that has come into the world with the breakthrough of the kingdom of God, and the lamp is Jesus himself” (R.C. Sproul).

The choice of the verb "come": "Does the lamp come for the purpose of being placed under the measure or under the couch? Does it not come for the purpose of being placed on the lampstand?" The use of "come" is interesting, precisely because lamps do not come but "are brought." This then is a reference to Jesus Himself, who has “come as a light into the world” (John 12:46). He is “the light of men” (John 1:4), “the true light” (John 1:9), and the “light of the world” (John 8:12). The question then is how do we respond to this extraordinary Lamp?

Jesus is saying: "I did not come here to be concealed forever. I came here as a lamp that is to be set on a lamp stand, so that the light that I bring may burst forth and manifest itself clearly to all who dwell in darkness. I did not come to be covered with a basket or hidden under a bed. I came to shine forth."

1. If You Hide the Light, You Misuse It – Mark 4:21-23 - The purpose in keeping something hidden is so that one day it can be revealed. Jesus' teaching was never intended to be just for an inner circle of followers. It would be the responsibility of the disciples to communicate the gospel of the kingdom to the world at large (cf. Matt. 28:19-20).
2. If You Hide It, You Will Lose It - Mark 4:24-25 - Verse 24 repeats the call to have listening ears. What follows is a critically important theological principle in the form of a proverb: “By the measure you use, it will be measured and added to you. For to the one who has, it will be given, and from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”

Because God enters the world through the word of the Kingdom proclaimed by Jesus, the matter of one's response to Jesus is of ultimate seriousness. For this reason, Mark introduces the parable of the measure with the solemn caution, Take heed what you hear!

The Kingdom of God Will Grow Because of the King’s Design - Mark 4:26-29

None of the other writers of the gospel use this parable. In it Jesus reveals that “how” exactly the seed grows is a mystery to the farmer. Though it grows by a process he cannot see nor fully account for, he has faith in the growing process. So it is with the Kingdom of God: we work in partnership with God, yet the real work is left up to Him - we trust in a process we cannot see nor fully account for. We sow the seed, but we can’t make it germinate.

There is a Mystery to the Growth of the Kingdom (Mark 4:26-27) - The man is not important; the seed is the focus. The man is passive because the power for the seed to sprout and grow is not in him. The seed has within itself the power of its own generation. We read in James 1:21, “Humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save you.” Plant the word in a “good soil” – a receptive soul and off it goes!

As a part of His advanced teaching by parable, Jesus makes it clear that the sprouting, growing, and ripening of the gospel is a supernatural process beyond the prediction and control of man. Our task is to scatter the seed, nourish the plants, and reap the harvest.

Once it is sown, a process is set in motion that cannot and will not be stopped, even though its growth is a total mystery to us.

There is a Certainty to the Growth of the Kingdom (Mark 4:28-29)

Mark 4:28,  “The earth produces by itself…” “By itself is the Greek word automatē from which we get our word “automatic”. It literally reads, “Automatically the earth bears fruit.” Once the process has begun, it is destined to be completed: blade, ear, grain, harvest. The process that brings about the fullness of the kingdom of God is not spectacular, but it is certain. Even now it is present and growing, whether or not you see it.

God did not design His kingdom to come like a tidal wave or a bolt of lightning, to come quickly and disappear quickly. No, God planted it in the coming of a Galilean carpenter from Nazareth, who gathered about Him a bunch of nobodies. The ways of God are mysterious indeed, but He will be successful.

The “sickle” is often a symbol of the arrival of the kingdom of God and the judgment that will accompany it. Revelation 14:15 says, “Another angel came out of the sanctuary, crying out in a loud voice to the One who was seated on the cloud, ‘Use your sickle and reap, for the time to reap has come, since the harvest of the earth is ripe.’”

Who would have imagined that starting with only a group of 12 men, Christianity would grow to where it is today? But it won’t stop there. It will continue to grow until every people group on the planet is found in the kingdom. God will ensure this growth.

The Kingdom of God May Begin Small, but It Will Grow Large - Mark 4:30-34

The final parable in this chapter is about a single seed, a tiny little mustard seed. The phrase “the kingdom of God” (cf. 4:11, 26) is the unifying theme of the four parables in Mark 4.

Imagine the astonishment of the disciples when they heard that! The Lord was about to describe the kingdom of God. They had visions of a global empire. They doubtless pictured an ivory palace, a majestic throne, a glittering court, ambassadors from earth’s remotest bounds waiting in long lines for an audience, and an invincible army at the command of a powerful, magnificent king. They waited eagerly for the Lord's description of such a kingdom, one in which they would be high ministers of state. Then came the shock.

The kingdom of God," He said, "is like a grain of mustard seed." They must have stared blankly at Him in astonishment. A grain of mustard seed? Why, that was nothing! You could hardly see it; it was so small and insignificant.

True! But it had life! It would grow! The point of the parable lies in the contrast between the size of the seed when it is sown and the size of the plant when it is grown. In each case, the Lord used hyperbole for emphasis. The kingdom of God seems small and insignificant in men's eyes. In the Lord’s day, such was the people’s contempt for it that they murdered its King. But when it is fully grown, when it reaches its full potential, they will be awed by it then!

1. There is a Process at Work in the Kingdom of God that Produces an End Product that is far in Excess of Natural Expectations!

The power of the smallest seed should motivate us to attempt great deeds!

Mustard seed, said to be the smallest of seeds in this parable, is used by Jesus to illustrate the powerful, reproductive potential of the kingdom of God. Mustard seeds, despite their diminutive size are pungent, piercing, irritating, and flavor adding.

Updating the parable to the day in which you and I live, it goes without saying that we live in times in which the little, the few, the weak, are disparaged. If it isn't massive in numbers, mighty in influence; if it isn't big, beautiful (and brawny); if it isn't large, loud and lauded by the masses - it isn’t considered worthwhile yet, God seems to love small things.

Our world is made up of things so small that naked eyes can’t see them – atoms, molecules, quarks, etc. Jesus specializes in using little and ordinary things to do great and extraordinary things! When Jesus wanted to illustrate the power and growth of the kingdom of God, He used the tiniest of seeds, the mustard seed. It was a woman's small gift he praised. "And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. [43] And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, "Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury;" (Mark 12:42-43 NASB).  A little boy with a sack lunch of five small loaves and two little fish is used to feed perhaps as many as 15,000 people! Anyone can feed thousands with plenty of food. Only God can feed them with a boy's sack lunch. And when He does, He gets the glory. Don't ever underestimate the power of small things.

Another point from the parable of the mustard seed is that “Seed power and growth isn't equal to the size of the seed.” If you were to be given an oatmeal flake size giant sequoia tree seed, you could never know by initial and outward appearance that you held in your hand something that had the potential to become the largest (over 300 ft tall) and longest living thing (over 3,000 years old) on the earth. The seed of the kingdom of heaven, which seems so insignificant to the world, has the potential to, and will ultimately, impact the whole world.

So what if you seem to have been born on the wrong side of the tracks; so what if you had such a poor and painful childhood; so what if your education isn’t formal and your church is small – the seed of the kingdom message is God-big and God-powerful; so what if your church or business is small – you have the potential to achieve greatness in God’s sight if you know that it all begins with the right kind of seed and the proper use of it.

In Mark 4:32, Christ is saying that wherever Christianity flourishes, the people who climb in the branches prosper, even though they don't know Christ. America is what it is today because of its Christian heritage. There are many birds in its bush. Not all of them are Christians, but they still receive the benefits. The dignity of life in America, the jurisprudence system, the law, the sense of right and wrong, education, free enterprise, the dignity of women, and the caring of children all rise out of Christian truth. Reform movements throughout history have had their roots in biblical truth. Wherever the Kingdom's influence is felt, there is an environment of protection for those who aren't even in the Kingdom.

A kingdom man does not proclaim a message that generates a spirit of fearfulness, paranoia, negativism, cynicism, gloom and doom, and a desire to be constantly wanting to die and get off the earth and out of the game - is contrary to the word of God - 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.”

Above the voice of spiritual undertakers saying the church is dead, above the persecutor's actions, above the apostasy of many, above the sneers of the scientific and intellectual community, above the infidel's mouth and louder than the skeptic’s pew, I hear the voice of the King saying, "The gates of hell shall not prevail. The kingdoms of this world shall become the Kingdom of our Lord and His Christ.”

Multitudes as the sand of the sea in number shall bow in glad submission to the King of Glory. The Lord God omnipotent reigns now! The Church triumphant is alive and well. The Gospel is still the power of God! The Spirit and the gifts are ours!

I close with the words of the late Dr. Greg Bahsen as he declares that the Great Commission to make disciples of all nations is going to be fulfilled: What kind of success should we expect to see in terms of this growing kingdom where Jesus makes every enemy the footstool of His feet prior to His return, raising us from the dead, and bringing the end of history to bear. The Bible tells us that the success that we are going to see is all encompassing, just as broad as the scope of sin. If Jesus came into this world to deal with the problem of sin, then we should believe that his kingdom deals with sin in all its manifestations. Jesus did not come into the world simply to save our souls for all eternity. Praise God, He did that - this is where it all begins to be sure. Nevertheless, Jesus also wants to defeat Satan and the effects of sin in every area of life. Has Satan been active in politics? Has he been active in economic affairs? Has he been active in the arts and sciences, in industry, in family life, in sexual matters? On and on we go. Has sin not infiltrated all the nooks and crannies of life?

Jesus comes to make His blessings flow as far as the curse is found. As far as the curse of sin has affected this world the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is going to reverse that. Therefore, Jesus is going to reverse the curse in politics, He is going to reverse the curse when it comes to our sexual affairs, our family affairs, our financial affairs, our artistic affairs, our industrial affairs. It makes no difference. If sin has touched it, Jesus is going to deal with it 1 Timothy 4:8 tells us: “.... godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come."

God is on the move in the world today! Across the face of this planet, like a great tide in its ebb and flow, the kingdom of light is pushing back the frontiers of darkness. We are living at a point in world history of unprecedented expansion of the Christian faith, and huge doors of opportunity stand wide open before us.

Kingdom of God – keep on coming more fully, more globally, more gloriously so that the King of Glory has the reward due to his being the Seed that fell into the ground and died and rose up to bear much fruit! For thine is the Kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever!