You Plant, God Grows

One of the biggest evangelism fears Christians have is this:“What if I say the wrong thing?”Or worse—“What if I fail?”

But Jesus told a parable that speaks directly to that fear. It’s often overlooked, found only in Mark 4:26–29, and sometimes called The Parable of the Seed Growing Itself. And it reminds us of something freeing and powerful:

The growth of the gospel is not your job. Your job is to sow the seed.

The Parable in Context

This short parable comes right after the well-known Parable of the Sower. In that one, Jesus teaches us about how different hearts receive the word—some reject it, some accept it for a time, and others grow deep and bear fruit.

This second parable continues the same theme but shifts the focus. Now, Jesus emphasizes what happens after the seed is planted.

Here’s the parable, from Mark 4:26–29 (ESV):

“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.”

What’s the Point?

This farmer does his part—he scatters the seed. But once it’s in the ground, he goes on with life. He sleeps. He wakes. The seed grows—but not because of anything he does. In fact, Jesus says, “he knows not how.”

The message is clear: the power is in the seed, not in the sower.

The seed in this parable represents the word of God (just as it did in the previous parable). The sower is anyone who shares that word. And once the seed is sown—once the message is spoken or taught—its growth doesn’t depend on the skill or cleverness of the speaker.

It’s easy to feel pressure when sharing the gospel. We worry about saying everything perfectly or knowing every answer. But this parable reminds us that God never asked us to cause the growth. That’s His part. Our job is simply to sow the seed—to share the message.

We Don’t Control the Growth

Jesus says, “The earth produces by itself.” The phrase in Greek is automatos—meaning the growth happens automatically, on its own.

That doesn’t mean we’re careless or indifferent. Good sowers can still water the soil, tend to it -- i.e. answer questions, and encourage hearts. But at the end of the day, no one becomes a Christian because we made them. They become one because they heard the word, received it, and let it grow.

You don’t have to dig up the seed to check on it. You don’t need to crack it open to speed things up. You don’t stretch the stalk to make it taller. You let it grow all on it's own.

That takes patience. Sometimes the response takes days, weeks, or even years. But when the seed is planted in a good heart—“first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.” Growth takes time.

The Harvest Will Come

Eventually, Jesus says, the harvest comes. Some think this refers to judgment—and it may be. But more broadly, it’s the point at which the results are revealed. It’s the moment when the fruit shows whether or not the sowing was successful.

And here’s the key: the sower is still not the one producing the fruit. He’s just the one who planted the seed and waited.

So What Does This Mean for Us?

It means we don’t need to fear sharing the gospel.

We don’t need to wait until we know everything. We don’t need to stress about having just the right words. We just need to faithfully sow the word of God and trust that His power will do the growing.

The seed is powerful.The word is living and active.And the soil—the heart of the hearer—is where the growth happens.

So don’t be afraid to speak up. Don’t let fear of failure keep you silent. Sow the seed. And then—like the sower—go to bed. Go about your day. Trust God to do what He promised.

The gospel works.

God gives the growth.

And your part is simply to plant.