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MARK 4:32 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
Mark 4:31Mark 4:33
“But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.”
Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, and puts out large branches, so that the birds can perch in its shade — the contrast between the smallest beginning and the largest result is the parable's central claim. The mustard plant (Brassica nigra) can grow to over three meters in a single season — an extraordinary expansion from a tiny seed. The birds nesting in its branches echoes the great tree imagery of Ezekiel 31 and Daniel 4, both of which use the image of a great tree sheltering birds to describe a kingdom that welcomes and provides for all peoples. The kingdom that begins as the smallest possible thing becomes the sheltering place for all nations.

Church Fathers on Mark 4:32

Most brief indeed is the word of faith; Believe in God, and thou shalt be saved. But the preaching of it has been spread far and wide over the earth, and increased so, that the birds of heaven, that is, contemplative men, sublime in understanding and knowledge, dwell under it. For how many wise men among the Gentiles, quitting their wisdom, have found rest in the preaching of the Gospel! Its preaching then is greater than all.

Theophylact · 11th century

Or else, that seed is very small in fear, but great when it has grown into charity, which is greater than all herbs: for 'God is love,' [1 John 4:16] whilst 'all flesh is grass.' [Isa 40:6] But the boughs which it puts forth are those of mercy and compassion, since under its shade the poor of Christ, who are meant by the living creatures of the heavens, delight to dwell.

Pseudo-Jerome · 5th century

Again, the man who sows is by many taken to mean the Saviour Himself, by others, man himself sowing in his own heart.

Bede · 8th century
Read all 6 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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Mark 4:32 — Community Reflections | HolyStudy