The Gospel of Mark Part 15
The Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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This will be our third lesson in this series within Mark’s gospel centering on the parable of the Sower, the Seed, and the Soils.
I. The Setting
II. The Sower
III. The Seed
IV. The Soils
A. The Wayside Soil
B. The Stony Soil
C. The Thorny Soil
We have looked at the Setting (Jesus teaching a crowd from a boat on Galilee), the Sower (Jesus Himself), the Seed (the word of God), and the Soils - of which we have studied three - the Wayside, the Stony, and the Thorny soil - all of these representing a type of heart
“What kind of heart (or mind) do I have?”… “How do I respond to the seed?”
It is important to remember that whichever type of heart (soil) we have, it is not necessarily permanent. We can have a soft, good soil heart one day and then change to a stony or thorny soil the next day. It is an ongoing process to maintain a good soil heart.
Today we will dive in to the Good Soil
IV. The Soils
A. The Wayside Soil
B. The Stony Soil
C. The Thorny Soil
D. The Good Soil
8 But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
Unlike the wayside. this soil was soft.
Unlike the stony soil, this soil was deep.
Unlike the thorny soil, this soil was cleared.
This was GOOD ground!
We finally have some fruit - a bumper crop, actually!
This kind of harvest was unheard of in ancient times.
For every one seed that was planted, 30, 60, or even 100 more seeds were produced…a tremendous ratio!
An average harvest in the ancient world of Israel was probably around 7 or 8 fold, and a really good harvest was 10 times which is still not anywhere near the lowest number of 30! (never-mind 60 or 100!)
Let’s take a look at Jesus’ explanation:
20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
Jesus ended this parable with the challenge that those with ears to hear should hear. This is the same word used here in verse 20.
Those who are listening for the truth will hear the truth, so when the seed of God’s word is sown in their hearts, they hear it without resistance.
The stony and thorny soils also heard the word - they believed it but struggled to grow to maturity, due to tribulation or persecution in the case of the stony soil, and due to anxiety, deceitful riches, and other cares in the case of the thorny soil.
But the Good Soil does grow to maturity which is shown by the fruit it bears.
D. The Good Soil
Hears the Word
Mark 4:20 (NKJV)
20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word...
Three out of the four hearts (soils) heard the word - Jesus said He who has ears to hear, let him hear…and they heard!…they believed the word, hence the new life that sprang up!
The Stony, Thorny, and Good soils all heard the word - not just a hearing like heard the sound of His voice, but hearing WITH INTENTION - listening and allowing the word to penetrate the heart.
But, unlike the other two soils, the good soil goes farther:
D. The Good Soil
Hears the Word
Accepts the Word
Mark 4:20 (NKJV)
20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it...
This heart takes the word in not only to germinate the plant, but also to take it wholeheartedly - to yield to it’s work of growth in the heart…to make sure the stones and thorns stay out of the soil…to cultivate it, meditate on it, study it.
Unlike the stony or thorny heart, this heart wants nothing else in the way of the growth of the plant. This is a heart that desires fruit - desires a GREAT harvest!
The fruit is the goal!
The seeds get planted with an end-goal in mind - HARVEST!
D. The Good Soil
Hears the Word
Accepts the Word
Bears Fruit from the Word
Mark 4:20 (NKJV)
20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:...
This was brought up last week, but it needs to be expressed very clearly: We do NOT produce the fruit anymore than the farmer produces the corn. You don’t see the farmer out in the cornfields, trying to manipulate the stalks of corn to produce more ears, he’s not somehow reaching his hand into the plant or the seed to somehow make it more productive - the only thing the farmer can do is create the right environment for the seed to grow - he cultivates the soil, he fertilizes it, plants the seed, waters it, keeps the weeds from growing and the bugs from eating it…but he is at the mercy of the seed (and God sending the rain and sun) to produce the crop.
Similarly, we are not able to force fruit to grow in our hearts - we are responsible for the conditions in which it grows, which is why we have asked this question in every lesson on the soils:
“What kind of heart (or mind) do I have?”… “How do I respond to the seed?” … “What fruit am I producing?”
So the good soil BEARS FRUIT from the word - let’s talk about the fruit itself.
The text leaves the reader to decide what the “fruit” actually represents, so it seems to include a range of possibilities.
3. Bears Fruit from the Word
The Fruit of Conversion
13 Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.
3. Bears Fruit from the Word
The Fruit of Conversion
The Fruit of the Harvest
35 Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! 36 And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together.
3. Bears Fruit from the Word
The Fruit of Conversion
The Fruit of the Harvest
The Fruit of Obedience - Holiness
22 But now having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life.
3. Bears Fruit from the Word
The Fruit of Conversion
The Fruit of the Harvest
The Fruit of Obedience - Holiness
The Fruit of Generous Giving
28 Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain.
3. Bears Fruit from the Word
The Fruit of Conversion
The Fruit of the Harvest
The Fruit of Obedience - Holiness
The Fruit of Generous Giving
The Fruit of the Spirit
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
3. Bears Fruit from the Word
The Fruit of Conversion
The Fruit of the Harvest
The Fruit of Obedience - Holiness
The Fruit of Generous Giving
The Fruit of the Spirit
The Fruit of Service
10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Let’s turn to another passage that we will park in for a time as we consider this principle of bearing fruit:
<open Bibles to John 15>
John 15 Notes:
This is a passage about DISCIPLESHIP, not SALVATION…Jesus is speaking to the 11 believing disciples.
<READ>Verse 1: Jesus, as the true Vine, is the source of life, and the Father is the Master Gardener of the vineyard. This confirms that the context in this passage is people who have already placed their faith in Jesus.
<READ>Verse 2: Notice the phrase, “in Me” - that is a description of a believer in Jesus, a Christian. There are two types of Christians names here: unfruitful Christians and fruitful Christians.
The unfruitful Christians are “taken away” by the Father.
Sin for the believer, has consequences!
19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.
7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?
29 For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s body. 30 For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
God will discipline His sons and daughters…He will cut them off from the privilege of fellowship and service when they refuse to abide in Jesus.
Some believe that every believer will always produce fruit, but that is not the case - Jesus warned the believing disciples against UN-fruitfulness, letting them and us know that for the Christian, an unfruitful life was possible, but comes at a heavy cost. (cf. John 15:5 - “without Me you can do NOTHING.”)…and branches that do NOTHING are chastised.
The word “taken away” can also mean “lift up”, which could reference a ministry of encouragement that the Father would work in this person’s life to bring them closer to the light and fresh air so that they could hopefully bear fruit again.
Take another look at John 15:2 -
Notice that the fruitful Christian receives from the Father, not chastisement, but pruning.
The branches that produce fruit often need to be carefully pruned or trimmed to accelerate the fruit production process.
Sometimes this pruning is painful. Sometimes we don’t like how it feels, but God knows we need it so that we can produce even more fruit.
3 And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; 4 and perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. 4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
Trials have purpose - they can prune away the things that are keeping us from producing more fruit.
Let’s conclude this verse:
Mark 4:20 (NKJV)
20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
Now we see the HARVEST!
Again, we notice the high yield of this harvest!…But we also see the varying degrees of harvest.
Not every believer will bear the same amount of fruit - 30x, 60x, or 100x.
Even among those that bear fruit, there are varying levels of fruit production…meaning that there are varying levels of maturity.
If we go back to John 15 - we see that the way to bear fruit is to abide in Christ.
<read John 15:4>
Again, the branch cannot bear fruit if it is not ABIDING in the vine…so we cannot bear fruit if we are not ABIDING in Christ.
This speaks of a healthy connection between the vine and the branch. Jesus is not telling the 11 disciples to believe in Him, for they do believe and are “clean”. (cf. John 13:10-11 and John 15:3)
Jesus is telling them (and all believers including us) that the key to a fruitful Christian life is to ABIDE in Him.
“abide”: μένω menō = to be in close and settled union
Jesus’ command here is for us to remain close to Him - to remain in constant union with Him…that is how we are fruitful.
Without Jesus, we can bear no fruit, and to the degree that we abide with Him, we will bear fruit accordingly.
Read John 15.5>
Two observations as we consider how to abide in Christ - how to keep the soil of our hearts fertile for spiritual growth:
How to Abide in Christ:
Abide in the Word of God (John 15:7)
Walk in Obedience (John 15.10)
To the degree that the Word abides (to be in close and settled union) in us and to the degree that we walk in obedience is the degree that we will abide in Christ and to the degree that we abide in Christ is the degree of our fruitfulness.
“What kind of heart (or mind) do I have?”… “How do I respond to the seed?” … “What fruit am I producing?”