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The Parable of the Growing Seed
Jesus taught by illustrations and parables drawn from nature and
from the familiar events of everyday life.... In this way He associated
natural things with spiritual, linking the things of nature and the life
experience of His hearers with the sublime truths of the written word.
And whenever afterward their eyes rested on the objects with which
He has associated eternal truth, His lessons were repeated.
One of Christ’s most beautiful and impressive parables is that of
the sower and the seed. “So is the kingdom of God,” He said, “as if
a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise
night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth
not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade,
then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.”
Mark 4:26-28
.... He
who gave this parable, Himself created the tiny seed, gave it its vital
properties, and ordained the laws that should govern its growth; and
He made it a living illustration of truth in both the natural and the
spiritual world.
The truths which this parable teaches were made a living reality
in Christ’s own life. In both His physical and His spiritual nature
He followed the divine order of growth, illustrated by the plant, as
He wishes all youth to do. Although He was the Majesty of heaven,
the King of glory, He became a babe in Bethlehem, and for a time
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represented the helpless infant in its mother’s care.
In childhood, Jesus did the works of an obedient child. He spoke
and acted with the wisdom of a child, and not of a man, honoring
His parents, and carrying out their wishes in helpful ways, according
to the ability of a child. But at each stage of His development He
was perfect, with the simple, natural grace of a sinless life. The
Sacred Record says of His childhood, “The Child grew, and waxed
strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon
Him.” And of His youth it is recorded, “Jesus increased in wisdom
and stature, and in favor with God and man.”
Luke 2:40, 52
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