Mark 4:27 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.

NIV: Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.

NASB: and he goes to bed at night and gets up daily, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know.

CSB: He sleeps and rises night and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how.

NLT: Night and day, while he’s asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens.

KJV: And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.

NKJV: and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how.

In Mark 4:21–22, Jesus tells the disciples that God has several mysteries He will reveal at the appropriate time. These include that Jesus is the Messiah, that He will die to redeem sinners (John 3:14–15), and that His salvation is for Gentiles as well as Jews (Ephesians 3:6). In the parable of the growing seed, He hints at another—the future work of the Holy Spirit. The teacher teaches, but does not know how the message creates spiritual growth in the students. The Holy Spirit, who dwells in believers forever (John 14:16–17), convicts the world of sin (John 16:7–11) and reveals truth (John 16:13), including who Jesus is (John 15:26). Thee Holy Spirit also gives believers gifts to build up the church (1 Corinthians 12) and displays God's attributes through us (Galatians 5:22–23).

This is an important message for evangelists, teachers, mentors, and especially parents. We need to stay connected to the Holy Spirit for our own growth and to make sure we are obeying God as we relate the truth to students, mentees, and children. But we cannot force spiritual growth. "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth" (1 Corinthians 3:7).

Mark 4:26–29 contains Jesus' description of the responsibility of the teacher. Jesus had selected the twelve as apostles to spread the gospel (Mark 3:14). He has explained why He teaches with parables (Mark 4:1–20) and the importance of the act of teaching and the receptivity of the student (Mark 4:21–25). Now He clarifies that it is the teacher's job to speak the truth. However, the spiritual growth resulting from that teaching is beyond the teacher's control (1 Corinthians 3:5–9). Next, Jesus will teach His disciples about the effectiveness of the gospel (Mark 4:30–32). This parable isn't found in the other synoptic gospels, although a similar, extended passage is in Matthew 13:24–30.

Jesus speaks in parables to the assembled crowd, giving them an opportunity to decide how much spiritual truth they want to absorb. The disciples, wanting to learn more, ask Jesus to explain the meaning of the parables He has taught. As Jesus explains these ideas, He demonstrates that a person's spiritual knowledge is based on their willingness to pursue truth. After describing Jesus' teaching in some detail, the Gospel of Mark describes how Jesus calms a storm on the Sea of Galilee.

Mark 3 explores the different ways people react to Jesus' teaching and miracles. They either follow Him, use Him, hide Him, or destroy Him. In Mark 4, Jesus explains why people react the way they do. He uses parables to explain who is serious about learning from Him. The softer a person's heart is, the more truth God will reveal. Soon, the twelve will also spread Jesus' message, although they will not be responsible for the spiritual growth of those who believe. The following chapter returns to depicting Jesus' miracles, including two of His most famous.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.