Why Some People Never Get It
The Gospel of Mark • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Transcript
Introduction:
Introduction:
This morning we are going to discuss and study the reason people have a hard time believing the Word of God whether it be the actual words of Christ or the Bible itself.
As we will see there are 4 types of responses to the Word of God.
To become hard-hearted towards the Word
To fail to allow the Word to root itself in our hearts
To allow the cares of this word to choke the Word in hearts
To be fruitful and grow in learning and understand of biblical truth.
Recap:
Recap:
Unforgivable sin// not being forgiven
As a church body, we are family.
Jesus prioritized the relationship of those “inside” over those “outside.”
We must learn how to love our physical families while being yoked to Christ.
Obedience isn’t a prerequisite of being in the family of God, but it is a product of being in the family of God.
Sometimes it might be easy to compartmentalize our studies and fail to see how they flow into each other.
vv. 1-9) The Presentation
vv. 1-9) The Presentation
[1] It seems to me that Jesus really liked to teach by the sea, and he would often use a boat as His place of teaching. It gave Him a place to speak away from the press of the crowds, it provided good acoustics and a lovely backdrop.
9 So He told His disciples that a small boat should be kept ready for Him because of the multitude, lest they should crush Him.
Pastor David Guzik would point out that, “When Jesus taught from a boat, surely it was a new thing.” Could you imagine the other rabbis critiquing, “you cannot teach from a boat, teaching is reserved to the synagogue or some other appropriate place.”
Plenty of other excuses could be given too. However, Jesus knew that teaching from a boat would suit His purposes well enough.
[story of reading through books of the Bible] God is not confined to one pattern of doing things, blessed are the flexible for they shall not be broken.
[2] Jesus would teach by using parables, or as we might call it “illustrations.”
Jesus’ parables were stories that were “cast alongside” a truth in order to illustrate that truth. His parables were teaching aids and can be thought of as extended analogies or inspired comparisons. “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.”
Jesus would use something close to, 35 parables in the Synoptic Gospels alone. That is Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John’s gospel is different. If you have questions about that I’d love to talk with you after the service about it.
Essentially Jesus will use these parables, a system of instruction that are specifically designed to sift the wheat from the chaff among his hearer.
Other teachers might glory when great crowds follow them, but not so for Jesus; he knew only too well the mixed motives of the human heart.
24 But Jesus did not commit Himself to them, because He knew all men, 25 and had no need that anyone should testify of man, for He knew what was in man.
Here is an unusual teacher; who’s parables are designed to test rather than to illuminate, and to test, not the intelligence, but the spiritual responsiveness of his hearers.
As we will see next week:
25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
This directly ties into this parable as we will see in minute, since spiritual insight into the meaning of one parable will lead to further insight into the meaning of other parables. On the flip side, failure to understand will lead us further and further into the fog, until we are completely at a loss.
So it gets boiled down too, you will either hear or you won’t. To see the spiritual truth is the proof that we have received the illumination of the Holy Spirit who along can open our spiritual eyes.
Parables of Jesus were memorable stories intended to provoke kingdom learning and living.
Ultimately, in a sense this parable is the key to all the other parables, for it deals with our reception of all of his teaching:
13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
A good general rule for interpreting a parable is that they are typically conveying one central truth. Therefore, we should not try to find a spiritual meaning in every fine point, recognizing that some details are only the ‘background’ of the parable.
[3] It is very possible that the subject of this parable was suggested by the sight of an actual sower at work on the hillside of above the lake.
[my time in Israel, mount of beatitudes sparrows]
[4-8] For some pastors they find it fashionable to blame the sower in the story for the poor harvest that it yields. And points to the indiscriminate nature of the sowing as the reason; but to adopt this attitude is to grossly misunderstand the whole purpose of the parable as well as to ignore a great theological truth.
God sends rain on the just and the unjust alike:
45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
And sends his word to all, whether they will hear or whether they will not hear:
4 For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ 5 As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse—for they are a rebellious house—yet they will know that a prophet has been among them.
Family, we are not called to praise or blame the sower for the choice of their methods: the parable is concerned with fact of the seed falling on different sorts of ground. The hard heart, the shallow heart, the over-cluttered heart, and the good heart, all are in fact present, whenever the Word of God is preached.
This does not merely refer to the initial preaching of the gospel or the initial response of faith, but to all subsequent preaching too. The whole of Christian life is one of continual and progressive response to fresh spiritual revelation.
[9] Let him hear: this cryptic phrase is a warning to the hearers that the parable requires thought and action in response, lest we dismiss it lightly without applying its truth to our own hearts. After all, that is what three groups of those described in the parable had done, and doubtless what the majority of the hearers of Jesus on this occasion would also do.
Something truly remarkable about this parable is the pair of instructions to listen that frame it: Jesus said, Listen and He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Both of these verbs are in the imperative mood. They are not invitations or declarations.
They are commands, and no other parable in this Gospel is framed at both ends with an order to listen. These two commands indicate that this parable is of special importance.
Application
vv. 10-12) The Purpose
vv. 10-12) The Purpose
Simple the parable may be when the explanation is known, but it puzzled the disciples enough for them to seize the first opportunity, when they were alone with Jesus, to ask its meaning.
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
This verse adds that they enquired wonderingly as to why he used parables to teach. I believe it is rather clear that even the disciples found Jesus’ method taxing too.
Yet only by the use of parables could there be that process of spiritual sifting that would be either eternally rewarding or eternally baffling, according to whether those who listened had ears to hear or not, that is to say, whether or not they earnestly desired to understand God’s ways. If their will was rightly directed, then intellect would present no problem:
17 If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.
[11] The answer is given in rather solemn words, designed to make them realize how privileged was their position as disciples of Jesus Christ, and it introduces some of the deepest theological mysteries of the whole NT.
God had been pleased to reveal to this little group the ‘mystery of the kingdom’ still hidden from others.
They could talk with Jesus face to face, and ask for explanations of what puzzled them, whereas to those outside, the only explanation would be by another parable, which will test them.
To some level there is a judgment for those who hear and yet fail to appropriate: their capacity for apprehension and appropriation of spiritual truth steadily dwindles until it disappears. On the other hand, the more of God’s revealed truth that we assimilate, the more our capacity for assimilating further truth will grow.
I must warn you: further, spiritual perception of God’s truth is perilous: it only condemns you unless you act upon it. Increased knowledge merely bring increased responsibility:
48 But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
In the Bible, a mystery isn’t something you can’t figure out. It is something that you would not know unless God revealed it to you.
[12] Family it is vital for us to understand that because spiritual truth is not a set of isolated intellectual propositions to be learned and mastered, but a whole to be comprehended by that sudden flash of spiritual insight which is the revelation of the true nature of Jesus made to us by God:
29 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
Peter answered and said to Him, “You are the Christ.”
For those outside, all must be in parables, but some will say, “how is that fair?” It is because it would be useless to teach them deep spiritual truths until they had grasped the entry level things.
Hear me, in any parable there was enough to lead the thoughtful, questioning souls forward, as Jesus states in verse 20, those sown on the good soil would hear and receive the word, and would transmute that truth into life.
Jesus also is quoting a passage from Isaiah 6:9
9 And He said, “Go, and tell this people:
‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
Jesus explained why He used parables here. In teaching by parables, Jesus offered His hearers the opportunity to dig deep and find the truth, or to turn a blind eye to an interesting story. It is possible that they might therefore avoid a greater condemnation for having rejected a clearly understood truth.
Jesus didn’t use these teachings to blind people, but because they were blind.
“Therefore Jesus used the parabolic method, not in order to blind them, but in order to make them look again; not in order to prevent them from coming to forgiveness, but in order to lure them toward a new attention.”
Jesus did this so that their guilt may not accumulate, the Lord no longer addresses them directly in explicit teachings during the period immediately preceding His crucifixion, but in parables.
In light of this, how blessed are those who do understand the parables of Jesus. Not only do they gain the benefit of the spiritual truth illustrated; they also display some measure of responsiveness to the Spirit.
vv. 13-20) The Particulars
vv. 13-20) The Particulars
[13] Jesus gives warning that this parable is, as it were, a ‘parable of the parables’, for it describes in vivid picture the reactions of his hearers to the whole system of parabolic teaching. It is not only the simplest of the parables; it is therefore the key to all of them, as this verses clearly states.
[14] Jesus, Himself is the sower and he is sowing the good seed of the word.
[15-20] So lets get into it:
15 And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.
[15] Some people are like the ground on the pathway. This was hard ground because people walked on it all the time and beat it down into a path.
People like this are hard to the word of God, and they allow no room for the seed of the word in their lives. These are those that are unmoved and untroubled by the Word.
It is important to see that Satan doesn’t want the word of God to take root in a person’s heart. Like a bird swooping down and snatching a seed, he wants to remove the seed of the Word from the soil of a person’s heart.
Hard hearts must be plowed up before they can receive the seed, and this can be a painful experience–Wiersbe
3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Break up your fallow ground,
And do not sow among thorns.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
Reap in mercy;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the Lord,
Till He comes and rains righteousness on you.
16 These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble.
[16-17] Some people are like the ground that is rocky but covered with a thin layer of topsoil. They receive the seed of the word with a flash of enthusiasm that quickly burns out. This is a superficial response to the Word. These are those that receives the Word with gladness; it would be better if they received it with deep repentance and contrition
This hearer isn’t attacked directly by Satan, but by tribulation and persecution. Jesus knew that many have an immediately favorable reaction to the Word of God, however they give it up quickly when it becomes difficult to follow Jesus. These claim to be a Christian as long as it is popular to do so, but perfection exposes his unreality.
“The religion that is born of the mere excitement will die when the excitement is over.”—Spurgeon
18 Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
[18-19] Some people are like the seed that fell among the thorns. They receive the word but allow the interests and cares of this world to choke it out. It could be said that this soil is too fertile. The Word of God grows there, but so does everything else. And everything else soon begins to crowd out the Word of God. It is the unfortunate truth that these have lost interest in spiritual things.
22 But he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
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.”
[20] Some people are like the good ground, and they accept the word, and bear fruit, thus fulfilling the purpose of the seed.
This parable shows that when the word is received as it should be, something happens—fruit is produced. If nothing happens, then the word is not being received as it should.
Application:
Application:
people responding to the message we are to preach:
Giving out the news of God’s kingdom is like sowing seed on carious kinds of soil. At Jesus’ first coming and in this present Age kingdom is largely veiled in the face of satanic opposition and human unbelief. But despite this, God’s rule takes hold in those who accept Jesus’ message and His rule manifests itself in spiritual fruitfulness.
Mark The Parable of the Soils Explained (4:13–20)
Everyone hears the same word initially. The good soil, however receives the word in a way that the other three do not. The Greek word translated “accept” (4:20) is an intensive verb that can also mean “acknowledge as true” or even “love.” This is a parable about hearing, and out of the large crowd that came to listen, one smaller group can be distinguished from the rest. It was composed of those who accepted what they had heard and acknowledged that they did not understand it. Presumably, the rest of the crowd either reached the same conclusion or decided that the parable had no significance. Those who became disciples, however, did something else. They acted upon what they heard and asked what it meant.
How we receive the Word of God:
The Deceived (Mark 4:15)
The seed on the path represents a deceived person whom Satan continually hinders.A person who is close-minded and hard-hearted struggles to accept biblical truth.
The Shallow (Mark 4:16-17)
The seed on the rocky ground represents a shallow person who fails to establish roots with which to grow.A person who doesn’t establish roots will be unable to withstand hard seasons as a believer.
The Distracted (Mark 4:18-19)
The seed among the thorns represents a distracted person who gets caught up by the world.The world and the Word can’t both possess your affections at the same time.
The Fruitful (Mark 4:20)
The seed among the good soil represents a fruitful person who hears, accepts, and shares the Word.The health of your devotion can be determined by the fruit of your ministry.
Which description best summarizes your spiritual life over the last 6 months?
Deceived
Shallow
Distracted
Fruitful