Bible Strands
Mark 4:26
Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jesus addresses his disciples with this parable while teaching about the nature of the kingdom. The statement follows his warning about spiritual receptivity in Mark 4:25 and introduces the explanation of the seed's autonomous growth in Mark 4:27.
The words — βασιλεία (basileia) means kingdom, and οὕτως (houtōs) means thus or in this manner. The text establishes a direct comparison where the kingdom of God operates according to the pattern of a man scattering seed.
The thread — The kingdom comparison appears in Matthew 13:24 alongside the parable of the wheat and tares. The seed imagery recurs in 1 Corinthians 3:6 regarding divine causation of growth and in 1 Peter 1:23 regarding imperishable spiritual regeneration.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that the kingdom's expansion depends on God's action rather than human management. It demands a posture of trust in a process that proceeds independently of human control or understanding.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
Cross-references
- Matthew 13:24 Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
- 1 Corinthians 3:6 I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
- 1 Peter 1:23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
- Luke 8:11 Now this is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.
- Isaiah 32:20 Blessed are those who sow beside abundant waters, who let the ox and donkey range freely.
- Luke 8:5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it.
- James 3:18 Peacemakers who sow in peace reap the fruit of righteousness.
- Proverbs 11:18 The wicked man earns an empty wage, but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward.
- Ecclesiastes 11:4 He who watches the wind will fail to sow, and he who observes the clouds will fail to reap.
- Ecclesiastes 11:6 Sow your seed in the morning, and do not rest your hands in the evening, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or if both will equally prosper.