The Way of Parables
Slow down there, buddy.
Jesus tells parables about light, seeds, and growth — simple images drawn from everyday life. But they’re not just metaphors. They’re layered, mysterious, and, in some ways, intentionally veiled.
Mark tells us that Jesus only spoke to the crowds in parables, and then explained everything privately to his disciples. This isn’t about keeping secrets just for the insiders — maybe it’s about the reality that some truths have to grow in us before they can be understood. The kingdom of God is like that. It often begins without our knowledge, kind of hidden, quiet, small, slow. Even misunderstood.
It’s part of what scholars call the Messianic Secret in Mark: Jesus’ identity and mission are not broadcast with a bullhorn. He doesn’t perform for crowds or try to win arguments. Instead, he tells stories — stories that sink in over time and start to grow in us.
Is there encouragement for us here? When we feel like the work we’re doing, or the prayers we’re praying, or the kindness we’re offering seems to go unnoticed?
Jesus is saying: Keep sowing. Keep trusting. What’s planted in faith will grow, even if you don’t know how.
The kingdom is coming — slowly, surely, and often in ways we don’t expect.
Mark 4:21-34
Jesus said to them, “Does anyone bring in a lamp in order to put it under a basket or a bed? Shouldn’t it be placed on a lampstand? Everything hidden will be revealed, and everything secret will come out into the open. Whoever has ears to listen should pay attention!”
He said to them, “Listen carefully! God will evaluate you with the same standard you use to evaluate others. Indeed, you will receive even more. Those who have will receive more, but as for those who don’t have, even what they don’t have will be taken away from them.”
Then Jesus said, “This is what God’s kingdom is like. It’s as though someone scatters seed on the ground, then sleeps and wakes night and day. The seed sprouts and grows, but the farmer doesn’t know how. The earth produces crops all by itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full head of grain. Whenever the crop is ready, the farmer goes out to cut the grain because it’s harvesttime.”
He continued, “What’s a good image for God’s kingdom? What parable can I use to explain it? Consider a mustard seed. When scattered on the ground, it’s the smallest of all the seeds on the earth; but when it’s planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all vegetable plants. It produces such large branches that the birds in the sky are able to nest in its shade.”
With many such parables he continued to give them the word, as much as they were able to hear. He spoke to them only in parables, then explained everything to his disciples when he was alone with them.
Psalm 126
When the Lord changed Zion’s circumstances for the better, it was like we had been dreaming. Our mouths were suddenly filled with laughter; our tongues were filled with joyful shouts. It was even said, at that time, among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them!”
Yes, the Lord has done great things for us, and we are overjoyed.
Lord, change our circumstances for the better, like dry streams in the desert waste!
Let those who plant with tears reap the harvest with joyful shouts. Let those who go out, crying and carrying their seed, come home with joyful shouts, carrying bales of grain!
Prayer
God,
Help me into your pace today. Let me feel the rhythm of your cadence. Help me ignore the noise, except for those things I need to be a part of. I imagine that subset is smaller than I think.
Give me sensitivities toward your kingdom. Help me tell good stories. Give me the patience that stories require. I think maybe this is a prayer for your grace.
By your Spirit & in Christ,
Amen.