Mark
4:26-34
With thanks to page sponsor 2015:
Barbara Clark
Faith United Methodist Church
Knoxville, TN
- Reading the Text:
- NRSV (with link to Anglicized NRSV) at Oremus Bible Browser.
- Greek Interlinear Bible, ScrTR, ScrTR t, Strong, Parsing, CGTS, CGES id, AV.
- The Bible Gateway: NRSV, RSV, NIV, NASB, CEV, The Message, KJV, etc.
- The Blue Letter Bible
- The World Wide Study Bible includes commentary & sermons.
- Historical References, Commentary and
Comparative Texts:
- The Five Gospels Parallels, John W. Marshall, University of Toronto.
- XVI.49-52; XVII.10-13, 16, 18; Tatian's Diatessaron (c. 150-160).
- IV.XVIII.3, Adversus Haereses, Irenaeus of Lyons. (c. 180)
- Chapter XX, Chapter XXII, The Prescription of Heretics, Tertullian (c. 200)
- Chapter I, On The Veiling of Virgins, Tertullian (c. 205)
- V.IV, The Refutation of all Heresies (Philosophumena), Hippolytus of Rome. (c. 225)
- X.9, Commentary on the Gospel of John, Philocalia [anthology of Origen prepared by St. Basil and St. Gregory Nazianzen], Origen. (c.230)
- X.4, XIV.12, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, Origen. (c.247)
- From the Catena Aurea, Patristic Commentary by St Thomas Aquinas.
- From the Geneva Notes.
- From Matthew Henry's Commentary.
- From Wesley's Notes.
- From the Commentary on the Whole Bible (Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, 1871).
- "What
the Farm Labourers Can Do and What They Cannot Do: Mark
4:26-29," Charles
H. Spurgeon. From Farm Sermons (c 1875).
- "We need never quarrel with God because we cannot do everything, if he only permits us to do this one thing; for sowing the good seed is a work which will need all our wit, our strength, our love, our care."
- From The People's New Testament, B.W. Johnson, 1891.
- Contemporary Commentary, Studies, and Exegesis:
- Commentary, Mark 4:26-34, James Boyce, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2015.
- "...we have the promise of Jesus that along with the call to repent and believe the good news, God in Jesus continues to equip and shape us as hearers who have all we need as God hears our prayer and the kingdom continues to take shape among us and in our world."
- "Preach the Truth Slant," David Lose, ...in the Meantime, 2015.
- "...in these parables Jesus reminds us that the Kingdom of God comes of its own…and comes for us."
- "Scattered Spores and Mystery Yields," D Mark Davis, Left Behind and Loving It, 2015.
- "The word automatn, which can be transliterated as 'automated', emphasizes the man's complete lack of engineering or even participation in this fruit-bearing."
- "A Life in Parables," Karoline Lewis, Dear Working Preacher, 2015.
- "Jesus tells parables not for explanation but for exploration."
- Lectionary Greek, Rob Myallis, 2015.
- Mark 4:21-34, The Bartimaeus Effect, 2015.
- "Bold Proclamation and Compassionate Justice," Porter Taylor, The Liturgical Theologian, 2015.
- Bible Leads, Christopher Gudger-Raines, Deeply Plaid, 2015.
- Pulpit Fiction, plus podcast. Reflections of lectionary text, pop culture, current events, etc. Robb Mc Coy and Eric Fistler, 2015.
- "Do You, or I, or Anyone Know...?" Patrick W.T. Johnson, Missional Preaching: Equipping for Witness, 2015.
- "The Mustard Seed," David Sellery, 2015.
- "The Potato Kingdom," Melissa Bane Sevier, Contemporary Viewfinder, 2015.
- "Do the right thing. Then just wait. The kingdom will grow."
- "Seeds," Nancy Rockwell, The Bite in the Apple, 2015.
- "What are we seeding? Is it bold enough to bring new color and new form to the earth? Is it varied enough to be truly human?"
- The Center for Excellence in Preaching, Scott Hoezee, resources from Calvin Theological Seminary: Comments & Observations, Textual Points, illustration ideas, 2015.
- "Of David, Twigs, and Seeds - a lesson about the Kingdom of God," Bruce Maples, 2015.
- "The Reign of God: Something New under the Sun!" Janet Hunt, 2015.
- "What experiences of gardening --- of watching seeds sprout and grow --- do you bring to this week's Gospel? How does what you already know about these matters inform your take on this Gospel?"
- Straining against Fences While Seeking the Kingdom, text & podcast, Andrew Prior, One Man's Web, 2015.
- "The Kingdom of Heaven stands over against the Empire of Rome and all the Empires which have followed it."
- "Mysterious marvels of God's Reign," Glenn Monson, Law & Gospel Everywhere, 2015.
- "Jesus is teaching about the reign of God, comparing it to the barely discernible growth of even the smallest of seeds."
- "In Over Our Heads," Alan Brehm, The Waking Dreamer.
- "Investing our lives in the church that seeks to bear witness to God's realm of peace and freedom and justice in this world requires us to step out in faith that what we're doing will eventually bear fruit—even if we may not see it. It means recognizing we're in over our heads, but we can trust that God is working in and through us constantly."
- Evangelio Comentario del San Marcos 4:26-34, por Neddy Astudillo, 2015.
- Concise Exegesis, Richard Donovan, lectionary.org
- Commentary, Mark 4:26-34, Meda Stamper, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2012.
- "The passage as a whole emphasizes the hiddenness and smallness of the quiet beginnings of the kingdom and also underscores the sense in which the sower does not make the kingdom happen by force of will..."
- "The Baffling Reign of God," D Mark Davis, raw translation and exegesis/questions, Left Behind and Loving It, 2012.
- "John Dominic Crossan is very informative on the mustard seed’s output, noting that it is not so ‘large’ as it is ‘invasive’ and therefore its shoots take over (perhaps like the kudzu that is menacing the Southeast of the US.)"
- "On Volunteer Tomatoes and the Kingdom of God," Janet Hunt, Dancing with the Word, 2012.
- "...there is much I have no control over. And thankfully, there is a also great deal in our experience that tells us that God is working even when we can't yet see it..."
- "Mission Possible," David Lose, Dear Working Preacher, 2012.
- "So what if we sent people out this week with a mission, Working Preacher. What if we sent them out to look for those places where's God's kingdom is sneaking in, or spreading out, or taking over little corners of our world?"
- Lectionary Blogging, John Petty, Progressive Involvement, 2012.
- "The Rhythm of Organic Kingdom Growth," Peter Woods, I Am Listening, 2012.
- "Thank God. Mystery will always triumph over our manipulation."
- "What Good Fathers Know: Reflections on the Seed Parables," Alyce McKenzie, Edgy Exegesis, Patheos, 2012.
- "Seeding Metaphors of Kingdom," Andrew Prior, 2012.
- "This is the kingdom of God, a mystery which bears a harvest, and we do not know how."
- "Snowing in Haiti," Rick Morley, 2012.
- "...here in Mark, I think we're challenged not only to learn about the Kingdom of God, but how to communicate it. In word and action."
- Parables about the Kingdom, audio
telling, story in episodes, graphic, audio and written commentaries. Go
Tell Communications, Biblical Storytelling for the Global Village, 2012.
- Radical Gratitude, lectionary-based stewardship, Northwest United Methodist Foundation. (.pdf)
- "Where Are the Birds?" Christian Walther, The Hardest Question, 2012.
- "What will it take to get them to nest in our branches?"
- "Never without a Story," Neil Chappell, a weird thing, 2012.
-
Commentary,
Mark 4:26-34, Sharon H. Ringe, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org,
2009.
- "There is no easy take-home message for us in these parables. They ask that we engage our imaginations to follow the possibilities and incongruities that we distinguish between a world where everything is planned, linear, and logical, to one filled with mysteries and surprises into which a sovereign God invites us."
- A Brief Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 4, Carl W. Conrad. (Click superscript numbers for commentary.)
- "The Kingdom Is Like Seed Scattered," "The Parable of the Mustard Seed," Michael A. Turton's Historical Commentary on the Gospel of Mark, "a complete verse-by-verse commentary on the Gospel of Mark, focusing on the historicity of people, places, events, and sayings in the world of the Gospel of Mark."
-
"First
Thoughts on Year B Gospel Passages in the Lectionary," Pentecost 2, William Loader, Murdoch University, Uniting Church in Australia.
- "Asserting hope can be rather meaningless unless we have some experience of fulfilment in the here and now. Without it it is probably not even possible to hope."
- Exegetical
Notes by Brian Stoffregen at CrossMarks.
- "Is God ruling now or not? Perhaps we are looking in the wrong places -- staring up in the sky for tall trees, instead of looking on the ground for common weeds -- and maybe we do the same thing with people."
- "The Growing Seed and Mustard Bush," Rev. Bryan Findlayson, Lectionary Bible Studies and Sermons, Pumpkin Cottage Ministry Resources. Includes detailed textual notes.
-
Holy Textures, Understanding the Bible in its own time and in ours,
Mark 4:26-34, David Ewart, 2009.
- "As the parables themselves have already explained, the Kingdom of God is not dependant on our getting it right - or even getting it at all! If even the original 12 need extra help because they don't understand, this is a group that I can aspire to imitate!"
- Seed Growing Automatically, Gospel Analysis, Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington. Detailed background and exegesis.
- "Hearing Is Believing," study guide, Robert B. Kruschwitz, (other resources at) "Parables," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian Ethics at Baylor University, 2006.
- Wellspring of the Gospel, Ordinary 11B, Catherine McElhinney and Kathryn Turner, Weekly Wellsprings.
- "Parable of the Growing Seed," "Parable of the Mustard Seed," "Parables of Jesus," "Mark 4: Parables," wikipedia.
-
"Hearing Is Believing," James R. Edwards, (other resources
at)
"Parables," Christian Reflection, The Center for Christian
Ethics at Baylor University, 2006.
- "Jesus? parables cannot be understood by standing apart from them with arms folded in neutral objectivity. They can only be understood by 'entering' into them, allowing their stories to lay claim on us. How do we drop our guard so parables may have their intended effect? The answer, repeated throughout Mark 4, is that we enter parables by hearing."
- Synopsis (English) and discussion of "The Harvest," and "Mustard Seed and Leaven." Focus is on literary relationships of texts. Includes non-canonical parallels and discussion of textual origins. Mahlon H. Smith, Rutgers University.
- Commentary, Mark 4:26-34, James Boyce, Preaching This Week, WorkingPreacher.org, 2015.
- Recommended articles
from ATLAS, an online collection of religion and theology journals, are
linked below.
ATLAS Access options are available for academic institutions, alumni of
selected theological schools, and clergy/church offices. Annotated list of "starting place" articles at ATLAS for this week's texts (includes direct links).
- Ambrozic, Aloysius Matthew, Cardinal,
"Mark's Concept of the Parable: Mark 4:11f in the Context of the Second
Gospel," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1967.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Bishop, Jonathan,
"Parabole and Parrhesia in Mark," Interpretation, 1986.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Crook, Zeba Antonin,
"The Synoptic Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven: A Test-Case for
the Two-Document, Two-Gospel, and Farrer-Goulder Hypotheses," Journal
for the Study of the New Testament, 2000.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Crossan, John Dominic, "Seed Parables
of Jesus," Journal of Biblical Literature, 1973.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Fay, Greg, "Introduction to Incomprehension, the
Literary Structure of Mark 4:1-34," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly,
1989.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Funk, Robert W., "The Looking-glass Tree is for the
Birds: Ezekiel 17:22-24; Mark 4:30-32," Interpretation, 1973.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Heil, John Paul, "Reader-Response and
the Narrative Context of the Parables about Growing Seed in Mark
4:1-34," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1992.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Hoffman, Kathryn
Vitalis, and Mark Vitalis Hoffman,
"Texts in Context: Question Marks and Turning Points: Following the
Gospel of Mark to Surprising Places," Word & World, 2006.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - "Homiletical Helps," Concordia Journal, 2009. (Section on this text begins on page 192)
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Janzen, J. Gerald,
"The Verb PARADIDOMI and the Last Judgment in Mark 4:29,"
Encounter, 2008.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - McArthur, Harvery K., "Parable of the
Mustard Seed," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1971.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - McCool, Francis J., "The Preacher and
the Historical Witness of the Gospels," Theological Studies,
1960.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Neff, David, "Small Is Huge: Why
Jesus Favors Mustard Seed-Sized Ministry," Christianity Today,
2006.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Perkins, Pheme,
"Between Text & Sermon, Mark 4:30-34," Interpretation, 2004.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials -
Petersen, Norman R., "The Composition of Mark 4:1-8:26,"
Harvard Theological Review, 1980.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Schellenberg, Ryan S., "Kingdom as Contaminant? The
Role of Repertoire in the Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven,"
The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2009.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Snodgrass, Klyne, Between Text & Sermon, Mark 4:1-20,"Interpretation, 2013.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Stein, Robert H., "The Parables of Jesus in Recent
Study," Word & World, 1985.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Thiering, Barbara E., "Breaking of Bread and Harvest
in Mark's Gospel," Novum Testamentum, 1970.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Weeden, Theodore J., "Recovering the Parabolic Intent
in the Parable of the Sower," Journal of the American Academy of
Religion, 1979.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Wilder, Amos Niven, "The Parable of the Sower:
Naivete and Method in Interpretation," Semeia, 1974.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials - Willimon, William H., "The Greatest of All Shrubs,"
The Christian Century, 1991.
EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection
EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials
- Ambrozic, Aloysius Matthew, Cardinal,
"Mark's Concept of the Parable: Mark 4:11f in the Context of the Second
Gospel," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1967.
- Sermons:
- "Big Enough," Stephen McKinney-Whitaker, Day1, 2015.
- "The Weakness in Virtue, the Virtue in Weakness," J. Warren Smith, Faith and Leadership, 2010.
- "Noisy Spring," Dr. Kimberleigh Buchanan, Day 1, 2009.
- "Speaking in Parables," Pentecost 2, 18 June 2006, Luke Bouman, Göttinger Predigten im Internet: Every Sunday Sermons based on the RCL by a team of Lutheran theologians/ pastors.
- "The Mustard Seed," Sermons from Seattle, Pastor Edward F. Markquart, Grace Lutheran Church, Seattle, Washington.
- "A Day of Small Things," the Rev. Martha Sterne, Day 1, 2006.
- "A New Perspective," the Rev. Dr. Hugh L. Eichelberger, Day 1, 1996.
- With Children:
- Worshiping with Children, Proper 6B, Including children in the congregation's worship, using the Revised Common Lectionary, Carolyn C. Brown, 2015. 2012. Planning for NINE Weeks of Summer David Stories, Carolyn C. Brown, Worshiping with Children, 2015.
- "Storypath Lectionary Links: Connecting Children's Literature with our Faith Story," June 14, 2015, Union Presbyterian Seminary. 2012.
- "Parable of the Mustard Seed," Illustrating the Stories (lessons, children's sermons), coloring pages, activity sheets, crafts, children's songs. MSSS Crafts.
- "We Grow in Faith and Serve the Lord," Sunday School Lessons: Family Bible Study, art projects, music, stories, etc.
- "Mark 3 & 4 Word Search," Don Crownover's Bible Puzzles.
- Drama:
- "The Kind of Fasting that God Wants," from A Certain Jesus by Jose Ignacio and Maria Lopez Vigil. Ideal for catechetical and liturgical dramatization of today's gospel. Claretian Publications.
- Graphics & Bulletin Materials:
- Clip Art Images: Mark 4:26-34, Misioneros Del Sagrado Corazón en el Perú.
- Images for this week's readings, Pitts Theology Library Digital Image Archive.
- Mark 4:26-34, Liturgical Drawing, Maria d.c. Zamora, Claretian Resources, Philippines. ("Download and use these for free.")
- Commercial Site: The Parable of the Seed / The Kingdom of God Is Like a Mustard Seed, (Film/Visual Liturgy), The Work of the People.
- Hymns and Music:
- Hymnary.org, hymns, scores, media, information.
- At Digital Hymnal (midi files, guitar chords, karaoke files, projection text):
- Fine Arts Images Linked at The Text This Week's Art Index:
- Movies scenes with the following themes, listed at The Text This Week's Movie Concordance:
- Study Links and Resources for the Book of Mark
