Parables, The Parables of the Seed, Mark 4

What are parables?

“A parable is a story from real life or a real-life situation from which a moral or spiritual truth is drawn.” Boice

What are the rules of a parable?

Things to know to correctly read a parable in the Bible:

Direct discourse between characters in a parable is always significant When reading a parable the emphasis is on the end of the parable. Parables are not allegories, hidden messages, or historical accounts. Parables are not deeper than they read. The point of a parable is directly related to its context, and aimed at those who are hearing it.

This means to rightly understand the parable you have to make sure you understand the point Jesus was making to those who heard it in person. This is why the context of the parables are so important, and why the writers of the gospels provide the setting and situation for us.

Jesus taught in parables to make one impactful truth in the moment to those who heard it.

The parables were a fulfillment of prophecy

Mark 4:10-12, Jesus says that through the parables Isaiah’ prophecy will be fulfilled.

The parables reveal those who have rejected Christ

The parables don’t make sense to those who have rejected the truth about Christ. They are the ones who are looking for the Messiah, but missing the truth standing in front of them. They are the ones yearning to know the mystery of God’s kingdom, and yet they are missing out on its beginning.

The parables are light to those who believe

The parables are exciting, encouraging, and enlightening to those who do believe. On the heels of being rejected by the Pharisees and other religious leaders Jesus begins the process of encouraging those who believe through parables.

And, like we mentioned before, to rightly understand the parables we must understand who Jesus was talking too and why He was making the point to them.

Jesus was talking to a crowd made up of those who believed in Him, those who had rejected Him, and those who were still unsure. The Jews were looking for the Messiah to come and usher in the Kingdom of God. But, the Jews did not understand how God would establish His kingdom through the Messiah. As such, those who rejected Jesus also missed the manner in which God was building His kingdom.

Jesus begins teaching about the kingdom here in Mark 4, and at first He teaches us the way the kingdom begins.

4 Truths About the Kingdom of God:

1. The kingdom of God begins in the hearts of those who hear the Gospel, accept it, and bear fruit.

Mark 4:3–9 (ESV)

3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Mark 4:13–20 (ESV)

13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

Four Hearts: 3 Bad & 1 Good

The first three soils demonstrate those who reject Christ

The “Hard” Heart

This is the heart that is calloused and not open to the truth about Jesus. It’s like hard ground that you can’t plant a seed in.

The “As Long As It’s Easy” Heart

This is the person who says I like the way this sounds and says I’m all in until it goes against the crowd, draws attention, and results in some kind of persecution.

The “I haven’t really surrendered” Heart

This is the person who says I want Jesus, but I am not willing to let go of the world. Holding on to the world is more than wanting material stuff. This person walks away from God by being focused on the world and its trials rather than on Jesus. This person is also enticed and lured away by the temptations of the world, but it is also more than that.

The “I’ve counted the cost” Heart

The fourth soil reveals the signs of true faith- perseverance and fruit.

Jesus has been teaching about who He is and the kingdom of God. He has made it clear who He is and what He has come to do. He has also made it clear that His kingdom is different than many expected. In Matthew 10-12 Jesus has prepared them to face persecution, experience division, and to be tempted by the world and its lesser offerings.

The fourth heart is the one that hears and understands.

This is in contrast to the hard heart. This is the one that knows the truth about Christ and understands what Christ is calling Him too. This is the person who trusts Christ as He has revealed Himself, and believes that following Him will be worth it, but that it will also come with sacrifice and denial in this world. The I’ve counted the cost knows what it is giving up and what it is gaining.

2. The Kingdom of God grows in ways that you don’t see at first

Mark 4:26–29 (ESV)

26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

Ultimately we know that the kingdom of God grows because of the Lord and not because of us.

We have responsibilities for spreading the Word and tending to the garden… but the growth is the result of the unseen…

3. The Kingdom of God has humble beginnings, but in the end it will fill the earth

Mark 4:30–34 (ESV)

“30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 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.” 33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.”

4. The Kingdom of God is centered on a humble Savior/King.

Like the humble mustard seed that represents the beginning of the Kingdom… just like its Savior…

Who had humble beginnings

Zechariah 9:9 (ESV)

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Who saved us through an act of humility

Philippians 2:8 (ESV)

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

The saving work of Christ on the cross that exalts the Father

Who then calls us to live according to His humility…

Philippians 2:1–7 (ESV)

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.

As citizens of the Kingdom of God…

We humble ourselves and exalt King Jesus

The fourth soil

Following the example of Jesus

Our goal is the goal of Jesus- the glory of God in all the earth and it begins in our own hearts.

We trust in the way the Lord grows the church when those who are working are faithful with the Gospel

I mean that we accept the ebb and flow of God’s providence and purpose… and we recognize that in a fallen world there will be times where faithfulness doesn’t equal higher numbers.

God promises to prune for growth, and that means there will be times of great harvest and there will also be times of preparation for what the Lord is doing.

Planting and Watering both involve the Word

Are we spreading & planting the seed?

Are we tending to the garden?

We anticipate multiplication and growth, but we never let go of humility

This spans across all of our ministries and Sunday school classes. This means that though our SS classes often start smaller, we do expect them to grow because they are the places where we put new people who are saved or who God brings to our church family.

This applies to the big picture and means we even multiply the church, not just the ministry of the church.

This means we understand it’s not only in our hands… which leads to church planting and church revitalization. I believe it means that we should invest in starting or revitalizing churches that are humble in their beginnings. (They must be churches that have a desire to be a church that reaches the nations

My dream of having a residency, institute, and revitalization program here at HBC one day…

We are called to make the invisible kingdom visible in our midst.

Through humility and faithfulness

Our lives and our church are a visible demonstration of what is invisible…

Commentary, Notes, & Quotes:

Rather, the seed is so harmless and negligible that the farmer at first may be unaware of its growth. “He does not [even] know how” it happens.

James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 142.

Ezekiel 17:22–23 (ESV)

22 Thus says the Lord God: “I myself will take a sprig from the lofty top of the cedar and will set it out. I will break off from the topmost of its young twigs a tender one, and I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain. 23 On the mountain height of Israel will I plant it, that it may bear branches and produce fruit and become a noble cedar. And under it will dwell every kind of bird; in the shade of its branches birds of every sort will nest.

Referencing and pointing to Jesus

Jeremiah 23:5–6 (ESV)

5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

As with the preceding parable, the advent of the kingdom is not something humanity brings about but something God gives. The greater point, however, is that the kingdom of God arises from obscurity and insignificance

James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 145.

But as in the previous parable, the emphasis lies on its small, obscure beginnings. It is now hidden and easily overlooked. Had Jesus desired to emphasize the power and glory of the kingdom of God he could have told a parable about a cedar, which was a symbol of might (Ps 80:10; 9:10; Zech 11:2) and splendor (Cant 1:17; Jer 22:23). But the mystery of the kingdom is not present in the cedar; it is present in a tiny mustard seed. “What appears to be the smallest is nevertheless the greatest. In that which is hidden, the foundation of a work is laid that will encompass the whole world.”79

79 A. Schlatter, Die Evangelien nach Markus und Lukas, 48.

James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 145.

In parts of the Old Testament, birds represented messengers of Satan. This has led some interpreters to speculate that this is a negative parable. Some think that this parable represents the lost mission of the church. The church was intended to be an itinerant movement. By becoming institutionalized (becoming rooted), the bush grew large and acted like a tree. Therefore, some interpreters think this parable warns against church growth. The actual text, however, does not bear out this kind of interpretation. The bush is seen as giving good things to others. The text speaks of what God can do with small beginnings. It is an assurance of harvest. The birds of the air may represent different nations (see Ezek. 17:23; 31; Dan. 4:12). Perhaps Jesus was telling the disciples to get ready—that many different people would become a part of his kingdom. The parable may be interpreted as a reference to worldwide mission and growth.

Rodney L. Cooper, Mark, vol. 2, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000), 71.

The OT prophets occasionally use the image of birds nesting in branches to allude to the inclusion of the Gentiles in God’s chosen people (Ps 104:12; Ezek 17:23; 31:6; Dan 4:9–21).80 This offers a clue to v. 32, “the birds of the air can perch in its shade.” In addition to the surprising growth of the kingdom, the parable of the mustard seed contains a hint of God’s grace to all peoples. This may explain its anchor position in chap. 4, for it would have signaled to Mark’s Roman Gentile readers that their inclusion in the kingdom was foreordained by the Lord. “Out of the most insignificant beginnings, invisible to human eyes, God creates his mighty Kingdom, which embraces all the peoples of the world.”81

80 A similar idea is preserved in Joseph and Aseneth, a Jewish novella dating from perhaps the time of Mark: “And your name shall no longer be called Aseneth, but your name shall be City of Refuge, because in you many nations will take refuge with the Lord God, the Most High, and under your wings many peoples trusting the Lord will be sheltered” (Jos. Asen. 15:7).

81 Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus, rev.ed., 149.

James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Leicester, England: Eerdmans; Apollos, 2002), 145.

Come Adore the Humble King by Matt Papa

Come adore the humble King

Lowly in the manger

Fall before His majesty

Hail the little Savior

Hope what hope no tongue could tell

God has come with us to dwell

His name is Emmanuel

O praise the humble King

Come adore in humble state

He the song of angels

Join the wise who call His name

And with all creation

Who oh who would condescend

God unknown now calls us friend

Love that none could comprehend

O praise the humble King

Come adore the King who came

To our world to save us

Born to heal our prideful race

Crown us with forgiveness

Fall oh fall before the one

Who in mercy left His throne

Christ the Lord God’s only Son

His glories now we sing

O praise the humble King