Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 4:28
For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
28. of herself ] = of its own accord, spontaneously. It is used of the gate of St Peter’s prison opening of its own accord in Act 12:10.
first the blade ] There is a law of orderly development in natural growth, so also is it in reference to spiritual growth; comp. 1Jn 2:12-14.
after that the full corn ] or rather, then (there is) full corn in the ear.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself – That is, it is done without the power of man. It is done while man is engaged in other things. The scope of this passage does not require us to suppose that our Saviour meant to say that the earth had any productive power of itself, but only that it produced its fruits not by the power of man. God gives it its power. It has no power of its own. So religion in the heart is not by the power of man. It grows he cannot tell how, and of course he cannot without divine aid, control it. It is by the power of God. At the same time, as without industry man would have no harvest, so without active effort he would have no religion. Both are connected with his effort; both are to be measured commonly by his effort Phi 2:12; both grow he cannot tell how; both increase when the proper means are used, and both depend on God for increase.
First the blade – The green, tender shoot, that first starts out of the earth before the stalk is formed.
Then the ear – The original means the stalk or spire of wheat or barley, as well as the ear.
The full corn – The ripe wheat. The grain swollen to its proper size. By this is denoted, undoubtedly, that grace or religion in the heart is of gradual growth. It is at first tender, feeble, perhaps almost imperceptible, like the first shootings of the grain in the earth. Perhaps also, like grain, it often lies long in the earth before there are signs of life. Like the tender grain, also, it needs care, kindness, and culture. A frost, a cold storm, or a burning sun alike injure it. So tender piety in the heart needs care, kindness, culture. It needs shelter from the frosts and storms of a cold, unfeeling world. It needs the genial dews and mild suns of heaven; in other words, it needs instruction, prayer, and friendly counsel from parents, teachers, ministers, and experienced Christians, that it may grow, and bring forth the full fruits of holiness. Like the grain, also, in due time it will grow strong; it will produce its appropriate fruit – a full and rich harvest – to the praise of God.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 28. Bringeth forth – of herself] . By its own energy, without either the influence or industry of man. Similar to this is the expression of the poet: –
Namque aliae, NULLIS HOMlNUM COGENTIBUS, ipsae
SPONTE SUA veniunt. VIRG. Geor. l. ii. v. 10.
“Some (trees) grow of their own accord, without the labour of man.”
All the endlessly varied herbage of the field is produced in this way.
The full corn] , FULL wheat; the perfect, full-grown, or ripe corn. Lucian uses , EMPTY fruit, for imperfect, or unripe fruit. See Kypke.
The kingdom of God, which is generated in the soul by the word of life, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, is first very small; there is only a blade, but this is full of promise, for a good blade shows there is a good seed at bottom, and that the soil in which it is sown is good also. Then the ear-the strong stalk grows up, and the ear is formed at the top; the faith and love of the believing soul increase abundantly; it is justified freely through the redemption that is in Christ; it has the ear which is shortly to be filled with the ripe grain, the outlines of the whole image of God. Then the full corn. The soul is purified from all unrighteousness; and, having escaped the corruption that is in the world, it is made a partaker of the Divine nature, and is filled with all the fulness of God.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
28. For the earth bringeth forthfruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the fullcorn in the earbeautiful allusion to the succession of similarstages, though not definitely marked periods, in the Christian life,and generally in the kingdom of God.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself,…. Without any further help, or cultivation from the husbandman; though under the influence of the sun, dews, and showers of rain from heaven: this is said, not to denote that man of himself, upon hearing the word, can bring forth the fruit of grace in himself; he cannot regenerate himself, nor quicken, nor convert himself; he cannot believe in Christ, nor love the Lord of himself; nor repent of his sin, nor begin, or carry on the good work; he can neither sanctify his heart, nor mortify the deeds of the body; or even bring forth the fruits of good works, when converted. For all these things are owing to the Spirit, power, and grace of God: men are regenerated according to the abundant mercy of God, of water and of the Spirit, by the word of truth, through the sovereign will and pleasure of God; and they are quickened, who before were dead in trespasses and sins, and were as dry bones, by the Spirit of God breathing upon them: conversion in the first production, is the Lord’s work; “turn thou me, and I shall be turned”: faith in Christ is not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; and so is repentance unto life; love is one of the fruits of the Spirit, and in short, the whole work of grace is not by might, nor by power of man, but by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts; who begins and carries on, and performs it until the day of Christ: the work of sanctification, is therefore called the sanctification of the Spirit; and it is through him the deeds of the body are mortified: and indeed, without Christ, believers themselves can do nothing at all; even cannot perform good works, or do any action that is truly and spiritually good. But the design is to show, that as the earth without human power, without the husbandman, under the influence of the heavens, brings forth fruit; so without human power, without the Gospel minister, the word having taken root under divine influence, through the sun of righteousness, the dews of divine grace, and operations of the blessed Spirit, it rises up and brings forth fruit:
first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear; which, as it very aptly describes the progress of the seed from first to last; so it very beautifully represents the gradual increase of the work of grace, under the instrumentality of the word, accompanied with the Spirit and power of God. Grace at first appearance is very small, like the small green spire, when it first shoots out of the earth: light into a man’s self, his heart, his state and condition, in the knowledge of Christ, and the doctrines of the Gospel, is but very small; he is one of little faith, and weak in the exercise of it: faith is but at first a small glimmering view of Christ, a venture upon him, a peradventure there may be life and salvation for such an one in him; it comes at length to a reliance and leaning upon him; and it is some time before the soul can walk alone by faith on him: its experience of the love of God is but small, but in process of time there is a growth and an increase; light increases, which shines more and more unto the perfect day; faith grows stronger and stronger; experience of the love of God is enlarged; and the believer wades in these waters of the sanctuary; not only as at first up to the ankles, but to the knees and loins; when at length they are a broad river to swim in, and which cannot be passed over.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Of herself (). Automatically, we say. The secret of growth is in the seed, not in the soil nor in the weather nor in the cultivating. These all help, but the seed spontaneously works according to its own nature. The word is from (self) and desire eagerly from obsolete . Common word in all Greek history. Only one other example in N.T., in Ac 12:10 when the city gate opens to Peter of its own accord. “The mind is adapted to the truth, as the eye to the light” (Gould). So we sow the seed, God’s kingdom truth, and the soil (the soul) is ready for the seed. The Holy Spirit works on the heart and uses the seed sown and makes it germinate and grow, “first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear” ( , , ). This is the law and order of nature and also of grace in the kingdom of God. Hence it is worth while to preach and teach. “This single fact creates the confidence shown by Jesus in the ultimate establishment of his kingdom in spite of the obstacles which obstruct its progress” (Gould).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Of herself [] . Lit., self – acting. It occurs in only one other passage of the New Testament, Act 12:10; of the city gate which opened to Peter of its own accord.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) ”For the earth bringeth forth fruit of her-self,” (automate he ge karpophorei) ”The earth bears of its own accord or nature,” spontaneously, self-moved, without external help. The term bears (Gk. pherei) conveys the idea of bearing, conveying, gently in an unhurried manner, as 1Co 3:6-7.
2) ”First the blade,” (proton chorton) “First in order a grass-like blade,”
3) “Then the ear,” (eiten stachun) “Then, following that in order, an ear,” formation of the early fruit, 2Pe 1:4-8.
4) “After that the full corn in the ear,” (eipen pleres sitosentostachui) “Then, after that in order, mature corn in the ear,” corn fully mature or ripe, fit for reproduction. Gradually Christian growth, and maturity in men, in the church, is here compared with corn, 1Co 3:6-8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
THE DEVELOPMENT OF A CHRISTIANS LIFE
Mar 4:28-29.
EVOLUTION is a theory which is suggested by the gradations of natural life, but is far from being proved; in fact, it is clearly disproved by those same gradations. We cannot accept all that Henry Drummond said touching the evolution of physical life, but we do agree heartily to his assertion, That the phenomena of the spiritual world are in analogy with the phenomena of the natural world, requires no re-statement. Since Plato enunciated his doctrine of the Cave, or of the twice-divided line; since Christ spake in parables; since Plotinus wrote of the world as an image; since the mysticism of Swedenborg; since Bacon and Pascal; since Sartor Resartus and In Memoriam, it has been all but a common place with thinkers that the invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made.
Carlyle said, All visible things are emblems. What thou seest is not there on its own account. * * * Matter exists only * * to represent some idea and body it forth. Without discussing whether that be so, we will all agree that our Master was able by parables drawn from Nature to illustrate, parallel and impress the experiences in grace. And while this little parable of the corn-stalk was used by him in illustration of the growth of the Kingdom, perhaps no one will deny that it as perfectly applies to the evolution of a Christians life.
Sometime since a man gave a brief talk on the childhood of the soul, the manhood of the soul, and the paternity of the soul, illustrating by the call of Samuel as reported in the third chapter of the book bearing his name; and also by the speech of the volunteer, Isaiah, Here am I; Here am I, send me; and his later statement, Behold I and the children whom the Lord hath given me. The talk was brief, and evinced little preparation on the part of the speaker, but the underlying thought greatly impressed us, and strongly suggested the text, First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. We wish to do three things, if possibletrace the parallelism between the evolution of the cornstalk and that of a Christians life; impress the processes by which this evolution is accomplished, and in the end to show how beautifully these processes wrought, and how perfectly this parable is illustrated in the life of the true Christian.
THE BLADE.
For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade (Mar 4:28).
Every farmer easily understands this figure. There is a period in the earliest life of the corn-stalk when only a single shoot appears. To be sure in that tiny bundle there are wrapped embryonic leaves or blades, but they do not appear. In looking upon the shoot you seem to see a single blade and you know that the growth has begun. Mother Earth has quickened the grain and there is more than the pulse of lifethat life voices itself in growth and becomes evident to the eyes of men. There is no earnest of the end, no harbinger of the husbandmans fruit until this beginning is made. And the same truth applies with reference to the soul. There is no promise of the prophet so long as the child Samuel is shrouded in darkness and sound asleep. In that darkness and in that slumber he may be growing in body, for sleep is a tonic, and night is suited to the storing up of physical energies. But in slumber and darkness the soul makes no beginning.
Gods call is essential to its childhood. As the warm ground quickens the grain and causes it to put forth a blade, so the call of God must energize the soul that has been dead in trespasses and in sins, and wrapped in the darkness of unbelief, and the record is that the Lord called Samuel. That voice meant to Samuels soul what the voice of Jesus meant to Lazarus bodylife; only with Samuels soul it was the beginning, while with Lazarus body it was the resumption. And it was the very beginning of which Christ spake to Nicodemus when He said, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Men sometimes talk about the natural good in man, about the latent germ of righteousness which only needs to be cultivated a little that it may break forth into beauty. But Gods prophets, including His own Son, taught no such thing. They believed in natural law in the spiritual world, and consequently that the soul had its beginning in birth; that it was a new creation in Christ Jesus. First the blade. God forbid that we should ever depart from that doctrineFirst the blade. Samuel was the symbol of the childhood of the soul because the voice of God has broken his slumber, and he answered, Here am I. It is only a childs answer. It is only the lisp of an infant, but, thank God, it is the beginningit is the blade.
Louis Albert Banks tells how a little child listened to a minister preach a plain sermon from the text, And they brought him to Jesus. On her way home she said to her father, I like that sermon very much. Well, queried the parent, whom are you going to bring to Jesus? She thought a moment, and then lifting her little face to his, replied, I think, papa, that I will just bring myself to Him. First the blade.
First the infant answer, Here am I.
A beginning once madea ready response to Gods call insures His revelation. You know what the blade does. It responds to the touch of the sun; it responds to the down-pour of rain; it responds to the mild kiss of the dew-drop, and its very response is what we call its growth. The soul that responds to God is a growing soul, growing in knowledge of the truth; and to it God will give more and more of His revelation, even as the sun grants more and more of its light to the expanding stalk. It is written in the Word, If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching (A. S. V.).
I knew a brilliant lawyer to be converted by putting that text to the test. It brought him from the darkness into the light. And, better still, it led him from light into light; for, having learned that God revealed Himself to the responsive soul, he kept open mind and open heart for God, and the Father poured His truth into him, and His revelations through him. I sometimes wonder whether the child Samuel furnishes a full solution to the mystery of the present-day boy-evangelists. If they are as capable as current reports at times indicate, is it a mystery of nature, or merely an evidence of grace a proof that God is in search of men who are willing to be mouth-pieces for Him? And when He finds even a child who is willing to be for Him what the plain pipe is to the reservoir, a transmitter of blessings, a carrier of the Water of Life, He accepts him, and gives him such revelations as astound the unbelieving and the unwilling.
You know it is a significant fact that when Christ made choice of His Apostles, who were to be the prophets of His Gospel, He selected from the unlettered a majority of them. And the only satisfactory explanation of His conduct in the matter is the circumstance that He must have seen in these responsive souls who would make the best mediums of His Word and will. Just how; far God carries this revelation, when He finds a mind more and more responsive, I do not know. And, if I did, and dared to say, many would doubt. If you read Arthur Piersons Miracle of Missions, you will remember his report of William Murrays work for the blind of China, how that man of God wrought day and night, and with every considerable system of mnemonics to reduce those more than four thousand intricate Chinese characters in some such way that the blind might learn them, and come to read the Word of God through the sense of touch. But his endeavors were in vain, and the half million blind Chinese seemed destined to remain in the dark touching the Truth of God. He had often prayed for guidance in the matter, and asked to be made the medium of truth to these people. One day he laid down for a rest, and as he closed his eyes, he saw outspread before him a system of mnemonics of which the world had never heard, and by which he was able to reduce those 4000 characters to 408 distinct syllables. That is what God did for a man who was anxious to be a medium, to the people, of the Divine mind. And if you would know what was done through him for the blind of that country, follow Pierson in his further report of this same modern miracle. If, in the childhood of the soul, man would only learn to say, Here am I, as the young corn-shoot says to the wind, to the rain, and to the sun, spiritual development would be as rapid and as easily marked as farmers note the growth of their fields of corn. The blade is a beautiful thing, but it loses its beauty unless it is pushing on toward
THE EAR.
First the blade, then the ear. The ear as employed here is not to be regarded as the mature fruit of the corn-stalk, but as that point in the process where cob and grain are formed; but neither is perfectly filled. It is the crucial time for corn. And when the soul has passed its infancy and begins to take permanent shape; begins to give promise of manhood in Christ Jesus, it approaches also the time of the utmost concern. I think Isaiah stood in that position when he heard the voice of the Lord saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us? It was Gods call for a man and that very call involved all the problems incident to the man-approaching period in the souls development. Isaiahs answer indicates his appreciation of this act, Here am I, send me.
In the evolution of a corn-stalk the ear-period is a dependent period. Those who are familiar with the fields will tell you so. In the early season the corn is not so much dependent upon sun and rain. It can endure considerable drouth and suffer little from either heat or cold, and in the later season, when the grain is hardened, it is indifferent alike to cloud and sun. But in the earing season, it is not so. The rains must fall upon it, and the sun must deal gently with it, or fruitlessness will be the result.
But no ear of corn was ever so dependent upon sun, air, or ground, as the forming soul is dependent upon God. Perhaps Jesus meant that when He spoke to His disciples in the 15th of John. They were not babes then. They had been with Him for three years; they had sat at His feet and learned of Him. They had become preachers by His appointment. They had seen even the devils subject unto them. They must have felt that they were approaching the stature of men in Christ, and by that very consciousness, they may have been tempted to trust themselves. And so Jesus said to them,
I am the True Vine. * * As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in Me.
I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without Me ye can do nothing.
If a man abide not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered (Joh 15:1; Joh 15:4-6).
What a lesson on the dependency of the soul, at a very time when it is tempted to trust in its own strength. As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him; rooted and built up in Him. There is one truth that can never be too much emphasized and that truth is mans dependence upon God. Silence concerning that fact is an irreparable mistake, if the minister makes it; and failure to see it is fatal alike to preacher and layman.
The earing period is also the potential period. It is the time when the stalk contains its utmost of power, and I think also it is the time when the soul contains its utmost of power. A mans happiest days may be his later ones, when the fruits of his life are so evident as to cheer his heart and make him glad. But a mans days of power date back of that time to a period when everything is formative with him; when his own character was taking on its permanent shape, and when everything he touched he transformed. Just as the stalk at earing-time transforms light, heat, moisture, and even the granite rocks into golden grain, so the soul in its approach to a full stature in Christ Jesus ought to transform everything it touches into fruits for God, and it will, if it be rooted and grounded in Him, for all things are possible to him that believeth.
The earing time is also a time when the Divine plan is being perfected. If you walk through the corn fields in late summer you find the fast-filling ears conforming to a type. That type represents a Divine plan, for God has appointed what the cornstalk shall produce. And, in Christ Jesus the soul finds a pattern toward which it approaches in proportion as it attains unto manhood. And I insist that that pattern is never approached by any other than the Christianthe man who has his development in Christ Jesus, the evolution of whose life is in consequence of the indwelling Christ.
You may remember that Mozley has illustrated this thought by his two picturesthe one a cultured worldlian, the other a growing Christian. He says, Take an ordinary man of the worldwhat he thinks and what he does; his whole standard of duty is taken from the society in which he lives. It is a borrowed standard. He is as good as other people are. He does in the way of duty what is generally considered proper and becoming among those with whom his lot is thrown. He reflects established opinions on such points. He follows its lead. His aims and objects in life are taken from the world around him, and from its dictation. On the other hand there is a certain character and disposition of mind of which it is true to say, Thou canst not tell whence it cometh or whither it goeth. There are those who stand out from among the crowd * * with an impress upon them which bespeaks a heavenly birth; and he goes on to show that society does not account for them. The spirit of the world does not explain them and the only explanation possible is the one the Apostle Paul gave, namely, that God is working in them both to will and to do of His good pleasure, and again, that they are created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God had before ordained that they should walk in them. It is such characters, few in number as they are, that keep the Church of Jesus Christ commanding the respect of the world, and that save Christianity from having Ichabod written above it.
John Watson spake truly when he said, There are three steps in the Santa Scala which the race is slowly and painfully ascending: Barbarism, where men cultivate the body; civilization, where they cultivate the intellect; holiness, where they cultivate the soul. The brutal crowd may applaud the successful prize-fight; the cultured may praise the accomplished scholar; but Gods commendation is reserved for him who, through Jesus Christ, attains unto holy living.
Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley
(28) The earth bringeth forth fruit of herself.Stress is laid on the spontaneity of growth; and the lesson drawn from it is obviously one at once of patience and of faith. It is not well in the spiritual husbandry, either of the nations of the world or of individual souls, to be taking up the seeds to see whether they are growing. It is wiser to sow the seed, and to believe that sun and rain will quicken it. Thus, the words find an interesting parallel, like, and yet different, in the precept of Ecc. 11:6, In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand.
First the blade, then the ear.Following the same lines as before, we have (1) three stages in the growth of the Church of Christ in the field of the world, and (2) three like stages representing the influence of the new truth on thoughts, purposes, acts, in the individual soul.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
Ver. 28. First the blade, then the ear ] And the husbandman looks upon it with delight, in the hope of a harvest; so doth God take in good part our weak beginnings, while we strive to be better: his blessing is upon our very buds,Isa 44:3Isa 44:3 . The first springs in the womb of grace are precious to him, Eph 2:1 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
28. ] No trouble of ours can accelerate the growth, or shorten the stages through which each seed must pass.
It is the mistake of modern Methodism, for instance, to be always working at the seed, taking it up to see whether it is growing , instead of leaving it to God’s own good time, and meanwhile diligently doing God’s work elsewhere: see Stier, iii. p. 12. Wesley, to favour his system, strangely explains . . . . exactly contrary to the meaning of the parable “that is, has it continually in his thoughts.”
] then (there is) full corn in the ear: if as [15] , then the corn (is) full in the ear.
[15] The CODEX CANTABRIGIENSIS, or BEZ, so called because it was presented by Beza in 1581 to the University Library at Cambridge; where it is now exposed to view in a glass case. He procured it in 1562, from the monastery of St. Irenus at Lyons. It is on parchment, and contains the Gospels and Acts, with a Latin version. Its lacun, which are many, will be perceived by the inner marginal letters in this edition. It once contained the Catholic Epistles: 3Jn 1:11-14 in Latin is all that now remains. It was edited with very accurate imitative types, at the expense of the University of Cambridge, by Dr. Kipling, in 1793. A new edition carefully revised and more generally accessible was published by Mr. Scrivener in 1864, and has been collated for this Edition. In the introduction some ten or twelve correctors are distinguished, whose readings are found in the notes at the end of the volume. The text of the Codex Bez is a very peculiar one, deviating more from the received readings and from the principal manuscript authorities than any other. It appears to have been written in France, and by a Latin transcriber ignorant of Greek, from many curious mistakes which occur in the text, and version attached. It is closely and singularly allied to the ancient Latin versions, so much so that some critics have supposed it to have been altered from the Latin: and certainly many of the phnomena of the MS. seem to bear out the idea. Where D differs in unimportant points from the other Greek MSS., the difference appears to be traceable to the influence of Latin forms and constructions. It has been observed, that in such cases it frequently agrees with the Latin codex e (see the list further on). Its peculiarities are so great, that in many passages, while the sense remains for the most part unaltered, hardly three words together are the same as in the commonly received text. And that these variations often arise from capricious alteration, is evident from the way in which the Gospels, in parallel passages, have been more than commonly interpolated from one another in this MS. The concurrence with the ancient Latin versions seems to point to a very early state of the text; and it is impossible to set aside the value of D as an index to its history; but in critical weight it ranks the lowest of the leading MSS. Its age has been very variously given: the general opinion now is that it was written in the latter end of the fifth or the sixth century .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 4:28 . ( and from absolute , to desire eagerly), self-moved, spontaneously, without external aid, and also beyond external control; with a way and will, so to speak, of its own that must be respected and waited for. Classical examples in Wetstein, Kypke, Raphel, etc. , beareth fruit, intransitive. The following nouns, , , are not the object of the verb, but in apposition with ( ) or governed by , understood ( , quod ex petendum , Fritzsche). , this change to the nominative (the reading of [27] [28] ) is a tribute to the importance of the final stage towards which the stages of blade and ear are but preparatory steps = then is the full ear . Full = ripe, perfect , hence the combination of the two words in such phrases as quoted by Kypke from Philo. The specification of the three stages shows that gradual growth is the point of the parable (Schanz).
[27] Codex Vaticanus (sc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.
[28] Codex Bezae
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
of herself. Greek. automate = automatically. The word occurs only here and Act 12:10. Galen (quoted by Wetstein) says it means “Not as being without a cause, but without a cause proceeding from us”. “God clothes the grass”. The explanation is in 1Co 3:6, 1Co 3:7,
the. the = a. a.
the full corn = full corn.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
28.] No trouble of ours can accelerate the growth, or shorten the stages through which each seed must pass.
It is the mistake of modern Methodism, for instance, to be always working at the seed, taking it up to see whether it is growing, instead of leaving it to Gods own good time, and meanwhile diligently doing Gods work elsewhere: see Stier, iii. p. 12. Wesley, to favour his system, strangely explains . . . . exactly contrary to the meaning of the parable-that is, has it continually in his thoughts.
] then (there is) full corn in the ear: if as [15], then the corn (is) full in the ear.
[15] The CODEX CANTABRIGIENSIS, or BEZ,-so called because it was presented by Beza in 1581 to the University Library at Cambridge; where it is now exposed to view in a glass case. He procured it in 1562, from the monastery of St. Irenus at Lyons. It is on parchment, and contains the Gospels and Acts, with a Latin version. Its lacun, which are many, will be perceived by the inner marginal letters in this edition. It once contained the Catholic Epistles: 3Jn 1:11-14 in Latin is all that now remains. It was edited with very accurate imitative types, at the expense of the University of Cambridge, by Dr. Kipling, in 1793. A new edition carefully revised and more generally accessible was published by Mr. Scrivener in 1864, and has been collated for this Edition. In the introduction some ten or twelve correctors are distinguished, whose readings are found in the notes at the end of the volume. The text of the Codex Bez is a very peculiar one, deviating more from the received readings and from the principal manuscript authorities than any other. It appears to have been written in France, and by a Latin transcriber ignorant of Greek, from many curious mistakes which occur in the text, and version attached. It is closely and singularly allied to the ancient Latin versions, so much so that some critics have supposed it to have been altered from the Latin: and certainly many of the phnomena of the MS. seem to bear out the idea. Where D differs in unimportant points from the other Greek MSS., the difference appears to be traceable to the influence of Latin forms and constructions. It has been observed, that in such cases it frequently agrees with the Latin codex e (see the list further on). Its peculiarities are so great, that in many passages, while the sense remains for the most part unaltered, hardly three words together are the same as in the commonly received text. And that these variations often arise from capricious alteration, is evident from the way in which the Gospels, in parallel passages, have been more than commonly interpolated from one another in this MS. The concurrence with the ancient Latin versions seems to point to a very early state of the text; and it is impossible to set aside the value of D as an index to its history;-but in critical weight it ranks the lowest of the leading MSS. Its age has been very variously given: the general opinion now is that it was written in the latter end of the fifth or the sixth century.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 4:28. , of its own accord) This is not to the exclusion of cultivation of the land, the rain from heaven, and the suns beams. [But there is also intimated a freedom of increasing and growing, either in good or evil, granted by the Lord of the land to the man.-V. g.]-, the blade) the grass-like young shoot; so in the commencement spiritual virtues [graces] are scarcely to be distinguished from natural ones.-, then next) Marvellous is the process of the successive increase: this shall hereafter be made manifest.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
the earth: Gen 1:11, Gen 1:12, Gen 2:4, Gen 2:5, Gen 2:9, Gen 4:11, Gen 4:12, Isa 61:11
first: Mar 4:31, Mar 4:32, Psa 1:3, Psa 92:13, Psa 92:14, Pro 4:18, Ecc 3:1, Ecc 3:11, Hos 6:3, Phi 1:6, Phi 1:9-11, Col 1:10, 1Th 3:12, 1Th 3:13
blade: Mat 13:26
Reciprocal: 2Th 1:11 – fulfil
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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This shows that everything in God’s creation is accomplished by growth.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 4:28. This verse presents the main points of the parable, first: The earth beareth fruit of herself, as if from a self-acting power. The growth in nature is according to certain laws which act independently of mans agency, though the agency of God who established these laws and acts through them, is not denied. The same is true in the kingdom of grace; spiritual growth is independent of human agency. That Gods power is involved, appears from the whole tenor of Scripture. While, therefore, the main lesson of the parable is about spiritual things, that lesson rests on an analogy of nature, assuming that in nature God operates through the laws He has established. The growth of the kingdom of God, in general and in individuals, is according to a development which is natural, i.e., in accordance with certain laws in the realm of grace, which are analogous to what are called natural laws, and like them acting with a certain spontaneousness; though Gods constant energy is present in both. The mistakes opposed by this truth are: first, expecting growth without any seed; secondly, taking up the seed to see how it grows, i.e., perpetually exacting a certain kind of experience, and testing discipleship by unwise and premature measures; thirdly and chiefly, trying to make the growth according to our notions, instead of according to Gods law of development, and thinking our care and anxiety can accomplish this. A particular form of this error is met by the next clause: first the blade, then, the ear, then the full corn in the ear. The maturity of the Church or of individual Christians does not come at once. The repeated then marks the gradual progress better than after that The same word is used in the Greek in both clauses. The lesson is therefore one of patience. While we are not to press a particular meaning upon these three stages, the parable plainly implies that we must be careful not to mistake the blade from the seed of grace for ordinary grass, still less to think the immature ear will never be ripe grain. Indeed, as there is germination, we know not how (Mar 4:27), before the blade appear, we should not be discouraged if we notice no results, still less expect that we can tell how or when the germ begins to develop.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
4:28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit {i} of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
(i) By a certain power which moves itself.