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Time after Pentecost · Proper 6 · Year B

Mark 4:26-34

Parables of the Growing Seed and the Mustard Seed

June 13, 2027

The Sower, Vincent van Gogh
The Sower, Vincent van Gogh, 1888Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
A sower against a huge yellow sun, the whole field laid in with violet and gold straight from the tube. Van Gogh painted the subject over thirty times, always after Millet.The one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly: these readings all use sowing for giving, and this is the most unstinting painting of it.Vincent van GoghVan Gogh (1853-1890) trained first for the ministry and preached in a Belgian mining district before taking up painting, which he did seriously for only the last decade of his life.Van Gogh Museum, AmsterdamBuilt around the pictures Van Gogh's brother kept, and so the only place to follow his ten working years in order.Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelMark 4:26-34Mk 4:26-34
Epistle2 Cor. 5:1-10 (11-17)2 Cor 5:1-10 (11-17)
Old TestamentEzek. 17:22-24Ez 17:22-24
PsalterPs. 1Ps 1

Overview & Insights

“It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth.” (Mark 4:31)

Two seed parables describe the kingdom of God: seed that grows secretly by itself while the farmer sleeps, and a tiny mustard seed that becomes a large shrub where birds nest. Both stress that the kingdom grows by God's own power.

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Commentary

Commentary on Mark 4:26-34Commentary on Mk 4:26-34 Working Preacher

Luther Seminary exegesis of the seed parables and the hidden growth of God's kingdom.

Mark 4:26-34 CommentaryMk 4:26-34 Commentary Center for Excellence in Preaching

Reformed, sermon shaped reading of the kingdom growing on its own from a tiny seed.

Mark 4: The Parables of the KingdomMk 4: The Parables of the Kingdom Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's verse by verse evangelical commentary on the whole chapter.

Mark 4 CommentaryMk 4 Commentary Precept Austin

A deep gathering of quotations, word studies, and cross references worked verse by verse.

Mark 4:26 CommentariesMk 4:26 Commentaries BibleHub

Aggregates classic commentaries such as Barnes, Gill, and Ellicott on the passage in one place.

Mark 4, Expository NotesMk 4, Expository Notes StudyLight

Thomas Constable's expository notes on the growing seed and the mustard seed.

Background & Word Study

Book of Mark OverviewBook of Mk Overview BibleProject

An animated walk through Mark's structure and themes to place the parable chapter.

Mark 4:26 Greek InterlinearMk 4:26 Greek Interlinear BibleHub

Greek word by word with parsing and Strong's numbers for close study of the passage.

The Church Fathers

Catena on Mark 4Catena on Mk 4 Catena

Patristic comments gathered verse by verse on the seed and mustard seed parables.

Podcast

#969: Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Ord. 11B) – June 16, 2024 Working Preacher (Sermon Brainwave)

Luther Seminary’s homiletics roundtable on this Sunday’s appointed texts, including Mark 4:26-34.

Art & Music

Art in the Christian Tradition Vanderbilt

A curated image index for the readings of the day across the history of Christian art.

Study Hub

The Text This Week: Proper 6 B Textweek

A curated index of commentaries, art, and sermons for the day's readings across traditions (a few links may be dated).

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