Pentecost – the Incomplete Feast
Charles Cooper
Part III
Another parable that addresses the work of gathering the harvest, which is the present work of the Kingdom of heaven, is Mark 4:26-29. This particular parable is only recorded in Mark’s gospel and occurs in the seed-parable section. Mark reports,
And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
A survey of the scholarly community indicates little consensus regarding the Lord’s intent in this parable. Some of the Lord’s parables focus on the inception of the Kingdom of God on earth. Others focus on the growth of the Kingdom of God on earth. Still others focus on the culmination of the Kingdom of God as it relates to gathering his kingdom constituents. What then is the point of the parable in Mark 4:26-29? It is our conviction that the point is the same as we have attempted to show previously.
Our job involves the harvest. This is not the eschatological harvest. Rather, this is the business of the Kingdom right now. This is how the Kingdom comes. We are a biblically commanded and necessary part of what God produces. Every day of our lives, we are to be engaged in the harvest. This is our job – our responsibility and privilege – our service for the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus spoke about the completion of the harvest. In the parable of the wheat and the weeds, the harvest is the key point (Matt 13:24-30; 36-43). Notice,
He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”
Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
In this parable, the Lord tells us the exact points that we should understand:
The one sowing the good seed is the Son of Man
- The field is the world
- The good seed are God’s elect
- The weeds are Satan’s elect
- The enemy who sows the weeds is the Devil
- The harvest is the end of the age
- The harvesters are angels
There were other things or people referenced in the parable, i.e., the sleeping, bearing fruit, the servants. Therefore, the things that are defined must be the most important ones we need to know. For our discussion, it is absolutely critical to understand this distinction: the Lord did not say that the harvest was “at” the end of the age, but rather, he said that the harvest “is” the end of the age (Matt 13:39).
Did you notice it? I wanted to see if you caught it. What do the angels do in this parable? The angelic involvement is removing the evil seeds. “The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace.” It does not say in this parable that the angels gather the righteous. It majors on the fact that the angels will remove the wicked out of Christ’s kingdom. THAT IS SO IMPORTANT NOT TO MISS!
The harvest started at Pentecost and will be concluded immediately before the end of the age arrives. The Lord Jesus consistently ties our present work to the harvest time. When it is complete, we celebrate its end. It is therefore my conclusion that the rapture best fits with the culmination of the celebration that began at Pentecost. This is all the more likely, given the complete absence of any possible connection with the first feast of Tishri. We will look at this feast in detail in my next article.
The harvest feast began at Pentecost. The gathering of God’s elect continues. One day, when the last sinner has been called out of the world to Jesus Christ, the once incomplete feast will be incomplete no more. What a day of rejoicing that will be!
