Illustrations of the Kingdom (Mark 4:26-34)

In 1906 during the Welsh revival, a 20-year-old man, Watkin Robers, heard the gospel. In response to what he heard he went to India to the Hmar people, who at the close of the 19th century were considered the “worst of the head hunters.” He spent five days teaching the word of God before he was forced to leave. But the seed was planted in the heart of Chawnga. Through amazing circumstances Chawnga’s son, Rochunga Pudaite, translated the New Testament from Greek into the Hmar language. Then he went on to found Bibles for the World. This is part of the mystery of the Kingdom that Jesus described in the parable of the seed.

Jiang Qing told foreign visitors, “Christianity in China has been confined to history sections of the museum. It is dead and buried.” Jiang didn’t understand the mystery of the Kingdom. She didn’t know that seeds of the Kingdom had been planted by a small Norwegian woman named Marie Monsen in the heart of a young girl. She was unable to read or write. The only thing she knew was that Jesus loved her. She shared the gospel with her son. Brother Yun experienced great persecution for his faith, but went on to speak to thousands internationally with the gospel message.

My grandmother died over fifty years ago. It was important to my grandmother for her to share God’s word with me. If I close my eyes I can still see her propped up on her rod iron bed. In my memory I can hear the love in her voice as she read aloud to me. The Bible verses I memorized so long ago still speak loudly to me today. It’s been a long time since I’ve heard my grandmother’s voice, but the seeds she sowed in my heart are still alive.

Many have scoffed at the power of God’s word. Voltaire once said, “A hundred years after my death the Bible will be a museum piece.” After Voltaire’s death the Geneva Bible Society purchased his home and used it for distributing Bibles. Within those distributed Bibles was the parable Jesus told about the seed.

“The Kingdom of God is like this,” He said. “A man scatters seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he doesn’t know how. ...” And He said: “How can we illustrate the kingdom of God or what parable can we use to describe it? It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown in the soil, is smaller than all the seeds on the ground. And when sown, it comes up and grows taller than all the vegetables, and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade” (Mark 4:30-32).