Stories of the Rabbi 6

Mark 4:1-34 Arrival of the parables – A Sower, a lamp, and some seeds.

Some thoughts before hitting the text:

· These sets of teachings were most probably not a single time of teaching but a collection of parables that Jesus told throughout his ministry (much like the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew)

· While Mark quotes Jesus using the imagery in the prior passages, Mark is now describing the parabolic form of teaching that Jesus is famous for. Each parable is meant to address a specific principle.

· It is essential to focus on the main principle of the parables and not get bogged down in the details of the parables – always ask, “What’s the main point?” when reading them.

· Parable of the Sower/ Farmer (4:1-20)

o Vs. 1-2 – Set the scene.

§ Who?

· Jesus

· Large Crowd

§ Where?

· Sea of Galilee

a. The Sea of Galilee (really a lake smaller than Lake Wylie) has steep hills rising from its shores. This location provides a natural amphitheater-type situation in which Jesus, standing in a boat just off the shore, can be heard by many people sitting on the hillside.

· By the shore, standing in a boat

§ What was he doing

· He taught them using parables

o Vss. 3-9

§ Jesus starts the soliloquy with the word “Listen!” ἀκουστός akoustos Vs. 3 and ends with “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” Vs. 9. He is calling the crowd to pay attention to his teaching

· Vs. 4 - The parable of the sower/farmer (ἐπισπείρω epispeirō means to sow or to have sown) begins with the sower planting seed in different types of soil with varying results:

a. The seed on the path – eaten by birds (vs. 4)

b. Rocky, shallow soil – sprang up quickly and died from being scorched by the sun (vss. 5 - 6)

c. Thorns – plants came up and were choked out (vs. 7)

d. Good soil – produced a fruitful crop (vs. 8)

§ In the parable, it appears that the sower is careless about planting the seeds.

· However, in 1st-century Judea, the seed was spread before the field was plowed.

· The seeds were scattered in a wide swath of land so that they could be buried by the plow that would come after.

· The listeners of this parable would not hear this as an irresponsible use of the seeds but as an efficient way of getting seeds to as much land as possible.

o Vss. 10-12 – Why parables?

§ Vs. 10 – The 12 ask him why he uses parables and, in a rare statement, gives them a pretty straight answer.

· Vs. 11 - He first tells them that some will understand and those who will not understand

· Vs. 12 - He quotes Isaiah 6:9

· Those removed from an agricultural lifestyle (Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes) would not get the story’s full impact, but those who were farmers or day laborers would immediately get it.

o Vss. 13-20

§ Vss. 13 - Jesus then does something very rare in the Gospels; he explains the parable (but only to the 12)

§ Vs. 14 – He identifies the sower as “the word.”

· Is it Jesus’ teachings?

· Is it the report of his miracles?

· Is it the Kingdom of God?

· Is it Jesus himself?

· The answer is “yes.”

§ He then moves to the details of the parable:

· Vs. 15 - Seed in the path is like those who hear the word, and Satan takes them

· Vss. 16-17 - The Rocky places mean that some hear and receive the word with joy but do not build any depth to their faith.

· Vss. 18-19 - Thorns are the worries of life that strangle faith in the word being taught.

· Vs. 20 Good soil is those who hear the message, receive it, and build their faith and life on it, reaping a harvest.

o Some have interpreted this parable as God’s divine determination as to who is saved and who is not, but that is not the case. Jesus is letting the 12 know that as they minister, there will be different hearers of the word.

§ The word is Jesus – there will be those who will place total faith in Him and are thus transformed, and there will be those who will choose to live differently, rejecting, withering, or choked.

§ Notice that the seed is spread over a wide area – indicating that it is available for all, but not everyone will take it.

§ Given the context of the prior passages, Jesus is probably referring directly to the Pharisees and others who are more legalistic in their thinking.

· Vss. 4:21-25 - Lamp on a stand

o Vs. 21 Lamps – small clay vessels with a wick in one end and filled with olive oil – meant for giving light.

§ Two rhetorical questions are posited by Jesus – both indicate that it is against common sense to hide light – one lights a lamp to provide light, not to hide it.

o Vs. 22-23 - Those who understand the parables will see the light. The meaning will remain hidden to those who do not understand the parables.

§ Again, it appears Jesus is referring to the Pharisees and the scribes – they have the truth but have hidden it in the legalism of the Law. The disciples (and those who understand the parables) have greater light in Jesus.

o Vss. 24-25 A promise and a dire warning.

§ Vs. 24 – Jesus quotes a common proverb of the day to make his point.

§ Vs. 25 – Those who have embraced Jesus as Messiah will receive salvation and entry into the Kingdom of God.

· Those who reject Jesus, even though they might have a little bit of spiritual truth, are lost.

· Vss. 26-29 The Growing Seed

o Jesus started talking about the Kingdom of God (KoG) and what it is like.

§ Understanding what Jesus is referring to when he mentions the KoG is essential for understanding this passage and others to follow

§ The KoG is something that is already and not yet. Remember, the listeners/hearers of Mark were living in a post-resurrection, post-Holy Spirit baptism world. So, they would have understood the KoG as part of their present state and the hope of their eternal destiny.

§ The 12 at the time Jesus spoke about the KoG would not have understood this since they did not have the context of the resurrection or the delivery of the Holy Spirit.

o Jesus again is using a farming example.

§ This example should key the reader in on the audience that Jesus is addressing.

o The growing seed is how the KoG, though at first unseen, is still active and working so that it will, at one point, be revealed in its fullness.

o Even though the farmer (in this case, the disciple of Jesus) continues to work, they can have faith that the work that they are doing will bear fruit.

o Vs. 29 – This verse is a view of the coming sifting of those who believe and those who do not.

§ Reference Joel 3:13.

· Vss. 30-34 - Mustard Seed

o Again, this is a parable of the KoG being the already and the not yet.

o Tiny seeds can grow into big plants.

o Around Israel, the mustard plant is EVERYWHERE! They are large invasive plants that grow in arid climates.

o From a tiny seed comes a plant that will spread out and penetrate the entire garden.

o The KoG starts small – one life coming to faith – and is invasive to the whole world.

· Vss. 33-34 – Why use parables?

o Vs. 33 - Mark is adding some commentary in these two verses.

o Vs. 24 - Apparently, he clarified all of his teaching with the disciples