The Parable of the Growing Seed (also called the ''Seed Growing Secretly'') is a parable of Jesus which appears only in . It is a parable about growth in the Kingdom of God. It follows the Parable of the Sower and the

Lamp under a bushel The parable of the lamp under a bushel (also known as ''the lamp under a bowl'') is one of the parables of Jesus. It appears in Matthew 5:14– 15, Mark and Luke . In Matthew, the parable is a continuation of the discourse on salt and light in ...

, and precedes the Parable of the Mustard Seed.

Narrative

The parable is as follows:

Interpretation

This parable can be seen as related to the parable of the Sower,George R. Knight,
Exploring Mark: A Devotional Commentary
', Review and Herald Pub Assoc, 2004, , pp. 107-108. although it does not follow that parable immediately. Seventh-day Adventist writer George Knight suggests that it serves as a "correction provided for any ancient or modern

disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

s who might be feeling discouraged with the amount of fruitless labor they had extended toward those" who failed to hear the message of which the parable of the Sower spoke. Even when the farmer sleeps, the Kingdom of God is still growing. Its growth is due to God, not man,Richard N. Longenecker,
The Challenge of Jesus' Parables
', Eerdmans, 2000, , p. 97. and follows its own timetable.James R. Edwards,
The Gospel According to Mark
', Eerdmans, 2002, , pp. 142-144.

Paul the Apostle Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

describes the growth of the church in Corinth in a similar way: :''I planted the seed,

Apollos Apollos ( grc-gre, Ἀπολλώς) was a 1st-century Alexandrian Jewish Christian mentioned several times in the New Testament. A contemporary and colleague of Paul the Apostle, he played an important role in the early development of the chu ...

watered it, but God has been making it grow''. Weigel lamp on a stand and the growing seed

Unlike the parable of the Sower, the seed here seems to represent the Kingdom of God itself. Klyne Snodgrass,
Stories with Intent: A comprehensive guide to the parables of Jesus
', Eerdmans, 2008, , p. 213. Differences in interpretation result from emphasizing different aspects of the parable, such as the seed, the sower, or the earth. Klyne Snodgrass,
Stories with Intent: A comprehensive guide to the parables of Jesus
', Eerdmans, 2008, , pp. 184-190.

Leonard Goffiné Leonard Goffiné (6 December 1648 – 11 August 1719) was a German Catholic priest who wrote devotional texts which remained influential in his country for two centuries afterwards. Born in Cologne, or according to some, Broich, at the age of ...

answers the question of "why the word of God is compared to seed," writing, "Because as good fruits spring from good seed, so do good works from the word of God; and as it is impossible for any soil not sown to produce good fruits, so neither can men produce the fruits of the Spirit without the seed of the divine Word."

Roger Baxter Roger Baxter (1784–1827) was an English Jesuit, a Catholic missionary in the United States, and Prefect of Studies at Georgetown College. Life Baxter was a native of Walton-le-Dale, near Preston, in Lancashire and studied at Stonyhurst Col ...

in his ''Meditations'' writes, "Christ our Lord is both the sower and the seed itself. He intrusts the soil of our souls with His own precious body and blood. He wishes this divine grain to yield a harvest, not of temporal and corruptible, but of eternal and incorruptible, increase. For " he whosoweth in the spirit shall reap life everlasting." (Gal. 3:8)

References

{{Parables of Jesus, state=expanded Growing Seed, Parable of the Gospel of Mark

Narrative

Interpretation

See also

References