Mark 4:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

NIV: As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."

NASB: Now when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.'

CSB: As soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come."

NLT: And as soon as the grain is ready, the farmer comes and harvests it with a sickle, for the harvest time has come.'

KJV: But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

NKJV: But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The application of the parable of the growing seed is the work of the Holy Spirit in evangelism and spiritual growth. The teacher spreads the gospel, the students hear it, but it is the Holy Spirit who causes the message to make a difference in the lives of the hearers.

That difference includes a better understanding of who Jesus is (John 15:26) and why we need Him (John 16:7–11), a change in character (Galatians 5:22–23), and insight into the Scriptures (John 16:12–13). The culmination of all this change is that we will join in God's work of changing lives by teaching people about Jesus' gospel (Matthew 28:19–20).

In Scripture, "ripe grain" refers to a situation that has come to full fruition. In Joel 3:13, the "ripe harvest" is the full measure of evil God can stand before He destroys the nations. In the New Testament, ripe grain typically denotes new God-followers. The harvest refers to the end times when Jesus will come and take His followers from the corrupted world.

Although Mark 4 seems to infer that people who reject Jesus' message will be geographically separated and free to live as they choose, Matthew 13:24–30 adds detail to Mark's account. It says that once the seeds are sown, an enemy comes along behind and plants weeds in the field. This represents Satan putting various temptations and barriers in our path, designed to keep us from accepting and growing in Christ. Jesus warns that following Him may lead to split families (Luke 12:53) or even the necessity of distancing oneself from family (Mark 3:31–35).

This does not mean that a believer must categorically and completely separate from a family member who doesn't follow Christ or who causes issues. Jesus teaches that we should value reconciliation (Matthew 5:23–26), bear insults with grace (Matthew 5:38–40), and love those who persecute us (Matthew 5:43–48). This love is to be patient, kind, forbearing, and hopeful (1 Corinthians 13:4–7). God will not remove troublesome people from His followers until the end times. To separate believers now would remove Christian influence from the world. Christians cannot follow the command to spread Jesus' words if we're never around anyone who hasn't already heard them!

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.