Kingdom Parables

Intro

my father-in-law is the kind of guy who has a hundred sayings...

He always has something to say and he tells you in a story or a saying…or you know you are going to get some gold when he tells you

When I first started preaching on a regular basis it was at a Sunday night ministry and some weeks there was very little attendance.

So one day there were very few people at our Sunday night service, but I was up to preach and I think I droned on up there for like 45 minutes…just way too long

and he walked up to me after church and I said…well Dave (His name is Dave too) what did you think?

To which he replies

“Have I ever told you about the farmer and the preacher?”

I said no...

and he says well a preacher moves out to the country to set up a new church and he goes and invited everyone in the surrounding countryside...

He is passing out fliers and inviting and he is all excited...

So on Sunday morning, the Preacher is standing at the door of the church and one rancher shows up.

So the preacher waits a bit and walks up to the preacher and he says, I am not really sure what to do, you are the only one who showed up...

and the rancher says, “Well I don’t know much about preaching but I know cattle, and if only one cow showed up, I’d feed him”

So this inspires the preacher and he takes the pulpit and just preaches his heart out. He preaches for an hour and a half that day because he is so inspired by the rancher

so afterwards the preacher goes to say goodbye to the rancher and said, “well what do you think?”

And the rancher says: “Well I don’t know much about preaching, but I know about ranching, and if only one cow showed up, I wouldn't give him all the feed”

Now what do you think my father-in-law was trying to tell me?

Here is my point,

Had he just been nice and said…oh that was great I would have missed some valuable feedback

And had he told me, “it was too long” I think I probably would have dismissed him

But it made me laugh and It made me think...

See this story was a parable.

And we are all familiar with Parables, they are these stories that conceal the truth by not saying it plainly…but they conceal in order to reveal.

Parables sneak truth into the backdoor of your heart

It confronts you and then it sits with you and makes you think

In the book of Mark, we don’t have long extended times of Jesus teaching but what Mark does show are the parables of Jesus

In fact for some reason, Mark doesn’t mind saying, Jesus taught by the lake but then tell a story about what Jesus did rather than what he just taught...

For whatever reason Mark really likes to show the actions of Jesus rather than specific teachings of Jesus

And if you have been really paying attention you will see that we are skipping over a lot of chapter 3 and some really impotrant stuff so not to worry, that will come back up later but for now we are moving on to chapter 4

See Chapter 4 of Mark becomes really impotrant, because it is really the very first time in the book of Mark that we have an extended teaching time from Jesus...

But the parable that we are reading today has 2 common problems But

it is cryptic!

and it is very well known

It is so well known that many people read it and immediately go toward an application...

So in order to resist doing that I want to take you on a little Bible journey before we even get to the parable today so that way when we read it, we will better understand

So flip with me to

Isaiah 6....

Now Isaiah 6 is a significant verse so you have probably heard this before

So we are only reading a couple verses but let me set the scene:

Isaiah is a prophet in Israel and at this time,

Israel has really abandoned God.

So much so that the nations around them are going to invade. They are being surrounded by these world powers that want to crush them

God has made it clear that had Israel simply put God first, this would have never happened

So Isaiah finds himself in God’s throne room and there is this great scene...

Isaiah realizes his sinfulness…God burns Isaiah with a hot coal and makes him clean ...

Then God says hey who should I send? Who should be my spokesperson to these sinful people?

Isaiah says, here I am send me!

We like this because its so motivating…we send out missionaries and new pastors with this verse all the time

So everyone knows that part…But a lot of times the rest of Isaiah 6 is not preached on because its kind of depressing

Isaiah 6:9-10 (NIV)

Isaiah 6:9–10 NIV

He said, “Go and tell this people: “ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

What? This is the message that God needed to get out?

Isaiah’s message is to make the heart of israel calloused?

what? I mean we don’t preach this much because it doesn’t seem like God’s grace and truth

But see the role of a prophet is to reveal the word of God to Israel

So what God is saying is go speak my word, the truth to a people who are entrenched in a lie…I mean if they really wanted to see the truth they could turn and be healed…But they are going to keep rejecting what you are saying

Its almost as if God knows that at this point, his people will not repent

Human nature hasn’t changed much! Recent studies have shown that when you speak directly to someone who is entrenched in a position and you try and convince them of your way then it actually works to further entrench them in their position

It doesn’t change their mind...

So the mission of God is for Isaiah to preach the word of God to a people who will never accept it!

And they are not going to hear you because if they did hear you then they would turn from their sin and they would be healed

See the reason why this verse and another one we will look at today is really tough to grapple with is because it looks like God is saying, Go confuse people so they wont repent…and thats not true, thats not what God wants…

What God is doing is sending Isaiah the bearer of truth to them even though it is a mission that is slated for failure

So what’s Isaiah’s response?

Isaiah 6:11–13 NIV

Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the Lord has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken. And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”

So this gets interesting…God tells Isaiah to preach till everyone is gone and the trees are cut down and then he gives him a kind of riddle at the end

there is a Holy Seed in the stump...

In other words what God is doing is leaving open this future hope

Even though all of Israel is exiled and lost

Even though the trees are all cut down

There is a holy seed in the stump!

And through the book of Isaiah, Isaiah refers back to this seed and stump a bunch, especially when he is referring to the messiah

Isaiah 11:1 says that a shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse and then there is this little poem that springs up in Isaiah 55...

Jesus is the holy seed!

But lets look at 2 verses in Isaiah 55 for a second....

Isaiah 55:10–11 NIV

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

So just like rain waters the earth and make seed and makes it grow

The word of God is sent and it accomplishes things

The word of God is compared to a seed and a sower....

God has a purpose for this world and he accomplishes his purpose by sending his word

And his word is like seed

So right now we need to keep a couple things in mind

Isaiah was one of the most widely read prophets, It was wildly available and people knew the book

Isaiah sets up this idea: Go to the lost causes of Israel! Preach to people whose hearts are already hardened…If they actually listened then they would actually do well but they are not going to

And Isaiah sets up the idea that there is this seed and this sower…And they are all kind of wrapped up into the person of Jesus

And Jesus ultimately is the fulfillment of the prophets…Most of his parables have their origins in the prophetic books of the Bible...

So all of that to say, flip with me to Mark 4 and lets read some of Mark...

Mark 4:1–9 NIV

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

So if you were among Jesus’s first hearers you probably would have scratched your head a bit…

We went to hear the teacher Jesus because he has been healing everyone and amazing the whole nation

and he talked about farming??

But what Jesus is doing is very sly....He isn’t just telling a moral story…He is revealing who he is

He tells this cryptic story and what is not obvious really until you go home and think about it is that

Jesus is the seed and the seed is the word of God

and then when you start putting everything together and really thinking about this parable at one point Isaiah 6 pops up in your brain and then you go oh yeah…God is going to cause a holy seed to sprout in Israel...

I mean Jesus links us to Isaiah when he says ...whoever has ears to hear, they should really listen

I mean he kind of sounds like Isaiah…but what is Jesus saying…How do we get to the multiplying seed? that sounds good!

So it isn’t totally clear what Jesus is saying but then look what happens next

Mark 4:10–12 NIV

When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, “ ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”

I mean now its obvious, Jesus is just quoting Isaiah 6 straight up...

But its counter intuitive, Doesn’t Jesus want people to turn and be forgiven?

I mean Jesus is being intentionally vague and cryptic...

But by Quoting Isaiah 6 we get this idea of what is happening…This is almost the key to the whole parable

Jesus even says that there are some who are inside and he explains the parable to them and that means there are some who are outside

Now remember, Jesus’s parables conceal in order to reveal

Up until this point who are “inside” of Jesus’ ministry? Those who accept his word right?

His disciples

Sinners

Tax collectors

people who are usually on the outside of society

They are all like the seed that has fallen on good soil…They are getting healed and their life has been absolutely changed

But who is outside of Jesus’ ministry?

The insiders of Israel are now outsiders in Jesus’ ministry

The Scribes and Pharisees..

the religious elite.

So what Jesus is doing by speaking this way is intentionally thinning the herd of the massive groups who are coming to listen to him...

But on the other hand this cryptic thing that Jesus says is so key to understanding everything about Jesus: Because in Quoting Isaiah Jesus is making a point that his ministry is prophetic

He is here to confront the hard hearted of Israel

He is here to speak truth to a people who are entrenched in a lie

And those who are entrenched in the lie wont budge

But those who desperately want truth will flourish

See only faith will help you see Jesus rightly

And the “insiders of israel” the Rabbis the scribes the pharisees will don’t have this faith and so they will won’t turn and be forgiven

But the sinners, the tax collectors the ones who are being healed will have the bold faith that is required to receive the word of God and then go and do amazing things as a result

The difference between the lost seed and the fruitful seed is faith

I mean we are about to in the next couple of weeks go into really controversial territory

Jesus heals a woman who is bleeding for 12 years

He goes to gentile territory and has a whole mission to them

And the gentiles will have this incredible faith

Jesus who is the seed and the word of God falls on good soil

But in the synagogue…They are so entrenched in the law…That the seed falls on bad soil

See Mark placing this parable here is really explaining the ministry of Jesus and showing that the difference between people having this amazing abundant life and rejecting Jesus is simply faith!

So this is one of the rare parables where we get an explanation from Jesus as to what he is talking about so lets go there now

Mark 4:13–20 NIV

Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

So lets look at what Jesus is saying:

Don’t you understand this parable? Well No Jesus sorry, its hard!

The parables are about the Ministry of Jesus

Jesus is the word and the seed

Do you get it? In Isaiah 6 God says everything is going to be cut down but out of the stump of the old tree a new seed will grow.

That Seed is Jesus

And Jesus isn’t Just a seed, he is the word…Isaiah 55 says that God will send his word just like a seed and that word will not return void

The Opening words of the Gospel of John tell us that the word became flesh and dwelt among us...

Jesus is the word and the seed and he is going around israel creating insiders: Those with faith and outsiders: those with no faith

The parable is announcing Jesus’ prophetic presence in the world

You fit in the parables:

When Jesus explains the parable he shifts to us to our own discipleship

You can only be fruitful in your life with Jesus to the extent that you allow the Word of God into your life.

The only way that you can truly be a fruitful disciple of Jesus is through faith

The first seed : Satan Snatches it up…There are two kingdoms at Play…Mark makes this very clear…That if your faith is not settled in Jesus then what you hear about Jesus will just be snatched up and produce no fruit in your life

Still some of us listen to the word of God and we allow the troubles to grow bigger than the messiah and we focus more on our worry rather than our faith…This is Rocky ground Faith doesn't flourish here

Still there are others of us who hear the word of God and honestly it sounds great but our true allegiance is given to our money and our jobs and its like we try to allow that Seed from God to spring up but we wont hand over our fixation on money because we like the power that comes with it…In Mark 10 we are going to see this rich young ruler…he has this exact problem

But there are others of us who are criticized for being overly simplistic and just having this child like faith in Jesus and for those people, they become spiritual giants…For those people they get that Seed that Jesus is sowing and God does an incredible work in their life

Response:

So…I’ve preached a long than usual message this morning…And when two or three of you inevitably walk up to me and say…Let me tell you a story about a preacher and a rancher....You wont even need to tell me the story…Because I have ears to hear…I already know...

Just like that

Jesus is telling Israel: I am the holy seed…I am the word of God…If you have faith to believe then amazing things are possible in your life

Jesus telling this parable is provoking imagination of israel into faith…

He is making a bold claim about who he is if you have ears to hear it...

Communion

On the first Sunday of the month we celebrate communion

Its a meal for those who have faith and Jesus and those who want to put their faith in Jesus

Its a meal that celebrates exactly who Jesus is...

The lamb of God

Mark 14:22–24 NIV

While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many,” he said to them.