Day 50 Bible Reading

Exodus 25 & 26, Mark 4: 30-41, Mark 5: 1-20, Psalm 26

Mark 4: 30-32 (ESV)

“And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.””

I love the mustard seed parable, which I posted earlier when we were going through the Gospel of Matthew. After reading a few bible commentaries, I didn’t know that some theologians consider these birds as “emissaries of Satan” because of what Jesus said earlier in Mark 4 in the parable of the soils. The birds devoured some of the seed and Jesus tells his disciples that “Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.”  Some theologians say that the size and status of God’s work are not necessarily a benefit because of our sinful nature.  Was Christ referring to the corruption in the temples in his time? There have been many large Christian churches that end up in the headlines because of their corrupt practices. One thing I do believe is that our sinful nature will come out eventually, no matter how hard we try to push it down, and we have to pray to God to help us detect those “birds” early and keep them out of every growing faith tree.