{"id":700,"date":"2026-02-13T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=700&2026"},"modified":"2026-02-10T17:00:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T00:00:04","slug":"the-ignorant-farmer-mark-4-26-29","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/the-ignorant-farmer-mark-4-26-29\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ignorant Farmer: Mark 4:26-29"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"spoiler spoiler-style-2\"><div class=\"spoiler-title\">Focus Passage: Mark 4:26-29 (NIrV)<\/div><div class=\"spoiler-content\">\r\n<p><sup>26\u00a0<\/sup>Jesus also said, \u201cHere is what God\u2019s kingdom is like. A farmer scatters seed on the ground.  <sup>27\u00a0<\/sup>Night and day the seed comes up and grows. It happens whether the farmer sleeps or gets up. He doesn\u2019t know how it happens.  <sup>28\u00a0<\/sup>All by itself the soil produces grain. First the stalk comes up. Then the head appears. Finally, the full grain appears in the head.  <sup>29\u00a0<\/sup>Before long the grain ripens. So the farmer cuts it down, because the harvest is ready.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<p class=\"passage-read-more\">Read <a href=\"http:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Mark 4:26-29&amp;version=nirv\" title=\"Read the passage on BibleGateway.com\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"hyperlink-underlined\">Mark 4:26-29<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n<p>One of the topics Jesus seemed to like using for parables was the topic of farming. In a number of places in the gospels, we can read Jesus using this occupation to help teach the crowds about spiritual truths. In Mark\u2019s gospel, we read a parable about farming that sounds similar to other farming parables, but is also pretty unique.<\/p>\r\n<p>In this parable, Jesus begins in verse 26 by saying, \u201c<strong>Here is what God\u2019s kingdom is like.<\/strong>\u201d This preface tells me that everything that is about to be described will symbolically relate to God\u2019s kingdom. A good percentage of Jesus\u2019 parables begin this way, so we can conclude that this subject is something that Jesus wants us to understand.<\/p>\r\n<p>Jesus then continues by sharing the illustration. \u201c<strong>A farmer scatters seed on the ground. Night and day the seed comes up and grows. It happens whether the farmer sleeps or gets up. He doesn\u2019t know how it happens. All by itself the soil produces grain. First the stalk comes up. Then the head appears. Finally, the full grain appears in the head. Before long the grain ripens. So the farmer cuts it down, because the harvest is ready.<\/strong>\u201d (v. 26b-29)<\/p>\r\n<p>What strikes me as odd in this parable is that in almost every other parable were God\u2019s kingdom is represented, God shows up as one of the characters. In this parable, the most likely character to represent God is the farmer, but Jesus describes the farmer has being ignorant about how grain grows \u2013 and since God knows everything, this doesn\u2019t seem to fit.<\/p>\r\n<p>But perhaps there is an element of mystery in a being created with free will. While God can step outside of time and see the future and the past, when He is within time, in the moment we are experiencing right now, I wonder if He experiences surprise or excitement when we do something unexpected.<\/p>\r\n<p>In this parable, God plants seeds in our hearts, and He tries to give the right set of circumstances to help these seeds grow. At the end of our lives, when we have fully \u201cripened\u201d, God will harvest us.<strong> This is because our current life is simply a preparation stage for the life to come.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<p><strong>I wonder if the farmer\u2019s ignorance is because God has chosen to allow us the freedom of choice regarding salvation. I wonder if God has purposely limited Himself to allow us to choose whether we will grow the seeds He has planted in our hearts. If we grow the grain He planted, and produce \u201cfruits of the spirit\u201d, then when we are ripe, we will be harvested and brought into the future life in heaven to live with Him forever!<\/strong><\/p>\r\n<div id=\"aj-wrap-up--700\" class=\"aj-wrap-up\"><p><em>This thought was inspired by studying the <strong>Walking With Jesus<\/strong> \u201cReflective Bible Study\u201d package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, <a class=\"underline\" href=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/\" title=\"Check out Reflective Bible Study!\">click here<\/a> and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!<\/em><\/p><p><em><a class=\"underline\" href=\"javascript:void(0);\" onClick=\"rbs_aj_inline_subscribe(this, '700');\">Subscribe<\/a> to this blog and never miss an insight.<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of the topics Jesus seemed to like using for parables was the topic of farming. In a number of places in the gospels, we can read Jesus using this occupation to help teach the crowds about spiritual truths. In Mark\u2019s gospel, we read a parable about farming that sounds similar to other farming parables, [&hellip;]","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-text"],"nelio_content":{"autoShareEndMode":"never","automationSources":{"useCustomSentences":false,"customSentences":[]},"efiAlt":"","efiUrl":"","followers":[2],"highlights":[],"isAutoShareEnabled":false,"networkImageIds":[],"permalinkQueryArgs":[],"series":[],"suggestedReferences":[]},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Ignorant Farmer: Mark 4:26-29 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/the-ignorant-farmer-mark-4-26-29\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Ignorant Farmer: Mark 4:26-29 - Reflective Bible Study Gospel Adventure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"One of the topics Jesus seemed to like using for parables was the topic of farming. 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