Mark 4:1-34

SCRIPTURE ANNOUNCEMENT

Mark 4:1-34.

SCRIPTURE INTRODUCTION

We have been going through the Gospel of Mark.

Mark has emphasized from the beginning the teaching and healing of Jesus…

Which tell us that He is the Son of God… the Messiah.

Last week, we saw all sorts of different opinions about who Jesus was.

The crowds who were coming to Jesus to be healed…

The demons who were being cast out by Jesus …

The apostles who were willing to follow Jesus…

His family who was concerned about Jesus…

The scribes who accused Jesus about blaspheming…

All of these people have their own opinion about who Jesus is, and today Jesus is going to show why some believe His message, and others don’t.

SCRIPTURE READING

Mark 4:1–9 ESV

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 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. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Introduction

In learning how to preach good sermons, you are taught to use illustrations to help make a point more clear.

We do this in life all the time.

When someone doesn’t understand what we mean, we use an illustration/analogy/example to help them understand.

Can you think of a time when you used an illustration/analogy/example to help someone understand what you were saying?

Jesus used a lot of parables during his ministry.

Some people tend to think of them as illustrations to make something clearer.

But this is not the case! Often times we find the disciples asking what they mean.

So what is the purpose of parables???

They are meant to veil God’s truth, but when we…

When we accept God’s Word, our eyes are opened

Mark 4:10–13 ESV

And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that “ ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’ ” And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

The purpose of the parables is to veil the truth!

We tend to think of parables like illustrations… they help make something MORE clear.

Jesus is saying that it is actually the opposite… parables veil His message.

This shows that God must remove the veil.

2 Corinthians 3:14–16 ESV

But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed.

2 Corinthians 4:1–6 ESV

Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

3 Causes for the veil:

God’s Word is veiled

Satan has blinded them

Their own unbelief

Only when someone places their faith and hope in Christ, is the veil removed, and they can know the truth.

The disciples believed in Christ, so He blessed them to know more.

Those outside describes those who don’t believe in Christ, and they are not permitted to know more.

This explains why faith seems so obvious to us, but not others. “Why don’t they get it?”

I have thought before, “Why wouldn’t you believe in God? You have nothing to lose. He offers His grace to anyone who will believe by faith. Why wouldn’t you do that if you could have eternal life?”

The reason it does not seem logical to them is because there is a veil:

Whether it is from God, Satan, or their own hearts.

What do you guys think of this passage?

When we accept God’s Word, we bear fruit

Jesus goes on to describe the conditions of the heart that either prevent someone from believing the truth, or allow them to accept it and bear fruit.

Mark 4:14–20 ESV

The sower sows the word. 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. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 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. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 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. 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.”

Hard Soil

The seed can’t penetrate

Satan takes it away

Rocky Soil

Immediately accept it, but there is no root.

When trials come the immediately fall away.

Must not truly believe… we do what we believe. If you believed it was true, you would stick it out.

Standing in line for 5 hours in the rain for a concert…

you would do that if you were confident you were going to get to see your favourite artist.

Thorny Soil

Hear it, but it is choked out by other “more important” things.

Again, shows unbelief.

Good Soil

Hear it

Accept it

Bear fruit

The fact that they remain committed to God and are bearing fruit show they truly believe.

What kind of soil is in your heart?

The only way to be sure that truly believe, is whether or not we are bearing fruit for God’s kingdom.

When God’s Spirit is working together with God’s Word in your heart, there will be a harvest.

When we accept God’s Word, we share it with others

Mark 4:21–25 ESV

And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

We would never put a lamp under a basket. That defeats the purpose.

Interestingly, we now become the sowers.

If we truly believe God’s Word, we begin to bear fruit through sharing our faith.

When we walk by faith in God’s Word, we will increase and grow in our understanding of God and His Word.

If we do not obey and walk by faith, the knowledge you think you have will be taken away.

Think of the religious leaders… they knew God’s Word better than anyone, and therefore thought they knew God.

But they completely missed God, and so the truth they thought they had was taken away.

God gave the authority of His Word to the NT church.

When we accept God’s Word, we wait for God’s harvest

Mark 4:26–29 ESV

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.”

We can’t explain how or why God works in people’s hearts, but He is the one that must do the work.

We cannot change people’s hearts… that is God’s work.

Mark 4:30–32 ESV

And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 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.”

When God does produce fruit… it explodes in ways we couldn’t expect.

His fruit is far more effective than anything we could produce.

When we accept God’s Word, He teaches us

Mark 4:33–34 ESV

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

The disciples continually came to Jesus for a deeper, richer understanding of His teaching.

Through their faith in Him, He teaches them, increasing their understanding.

Our faith is not about having all the answers, but drawing near to Christ and seeking His heart.

Today these passages were a real struggle for me.

I prayed to God… “I don’t understand! Help me to understand and faithfully teach Your Word!”

As we faithfully pursue God, He opens our eyes to His Word, so that we can understand it, and bear fruit through it.