Mark 4:1-20

Mark 4:1–20 KJV (WS)

1 And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, 3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. 5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. 9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. 13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? 14 The sower soweth the word. 15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. 18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Introduction

Parables were a big part of Jesus’ teaching ministry.

Here in chapter 4, we start to see some of those parables recorded for us.

The first one is very well known.

I can remember learning about this story as far back as I can remember in Sunday School.

There have been a lot of takes on this passage, but the most important take on this passage is Jesus’ take on this parable.

Though it doesn’t always happen, Jesus gives the interpretation of this parable.

It’s one of the most convicting and illustrative parables in the gospels.

It’s so easy to see how we fit into this parable.

Jesus began to teach.

Mark does a good job of setting the scene for his readers by describing what is happening.

Jesus starts off by teaching a small group, maybe just the disciples.

Jesus’ skill as a teacher is a vital part of Mark’s cade for Christ.

If a common carpenter, without formal schooling can teach like Jesus, his ability must have a supernatural origin.

The crowd begins to grow, as word spreads that Jesus is down by the seaside.

Soon there are so many people that Jesus gets into a boat.

Jesus continues to teach as He sits out on the sea.

The people crowd around the edge of the water trying to hear what Jesus is talking about.

Why did Jesus choose to go out on the water to speak to the people?

It could have been that the crowd was so large, He was running out of room to stand.

Consider this, though, did you know that sound travels better over water than over land.

The cool air directly above the water enables the sound waves to travel better making it easier to speak to a larger audience.

Also, the natural slope of the land would create a type of natural amphitheater for more people to not only hear Jesus, but also to see Him.

Jesus uses this opportunity to focus on the teaching aspect of His ministry.

People wanted to see the miracles, but what they needed was His teaching.

Jesus taught them many things through parables designed to illustrate His doctrine.

Jesus wanted to teach these people how God works.

But, He knew that there were some who did not care about any of that, they just came for the spectacle.

So He uses parables to teach the people.

A parable has a deeper spiritual meaning hiding just below the surface.

The greek word parabole has its etymological meaning of setting forth one thing by the side of another, so that they may be compared.

The casual listener will miss it, but someone who wants to understand it, can.

A parable is like stained glass. Some keep their eyes fixed on the glass, others on the light that streams through it.

A parable begins as a picture but transforms into a mirror the longer we look at it.

He explains this in vss. 10-12

So what was the parable Jesus chose to share?

The parable of the sower and the seed.

Jesus begins with the statement “a sower went out to sow.”

It may have been that Jesus saw a sower, but the real inspiration for the parable was the sad state of the crowd that gathered to him.

The Judean image of farming is different then the American one.

In America we think of huge fields and massive combines.

This is not what Jesus’ listeners would have pictured.

They would have pictured a patch to be seeded that was not extensive, and was unfenced.

This is not a piece of land meant to feed the whole city.

This is a piece of land to feed your family.

When a Jew thought of a sower, they would have thought about a man indiscriminately broadcasting the seed.

The sowing of the seed shocks the sensibilities of our efficiency minded age.

The sower had such a little spot of ground to sow, that efficiency did not make much of a difference to him.

He cast the seed and let it fall wherever it may.

Jesus reminds his audience that there are different types of soil that the seed could fall on.

In the parable, the seed that he sowed fell on four different types of soil.

The wayside soil.

Every field would have paths along the outskirts and sometimes through the middle of the planting area.

These waysides would be well worn and often traveled upon.

Soil becomes hard when too many feet tread upon it.

The seed that fell along these paths would be unable to penetrate the soil.

They would lay on the surface until the birds came and ate them.

This soil would not bear fruit because it was too hard.

The stoney soil.

Much of the Judean landscape is stoney ground.

A farmer can try to remove all the stones that he can see.

There will still be stones, unobserved under the surface.

This type of soil looks good on top.

The seed penetrate the top soil.

But, just below, there is a stone that has a dual effect upon the seed.

The stones keep the heat and stimulate the quick growth in the seed.

The seed on the stony soil springs up faster than the seed on the good soil.

The very thing that promotes rapid growth prevents deep-rootedness.

If you remember back to the simple science experiments we used to do in elementary school, you will easily understand the problem here.

Most seeds begin their growth by reaching downward into the soil with a tap root.

The tap root anchors the plant and seeks out nutrition and water.

The stone, will stimulating growth, prevents the root from doing it’s job.

If we could see below the surface, we would discover the truth that the roots do not go deep enough.

The seed needs the sun to live. But w/o roots, the sun becomes the thing that kills it.

The thorny soil

The seeds that fall here, find good soil to bury into.

They begin to grow.

And yet, as they peek above the surface, they meet their enemy.

Thorns or weeds.

These thorns have been hibernating unknowingly.

As the good seed grows, the weeds grow with it.

Their roots fight with each other for water.

Their leaves try hard to rise above each other to soak in the sun.

Eventually the weeds are too much for the good seed, and they prevent it from ever flourishing.

It may live, but it will never produce the fruit that it could have.

The good soil.

In a small family field, this is actually the majority of the soil.

The seed falls here and grows to be a healthy, strong plant.

It bears fruit and depending on the type of plant that is planted it could produce a lot of fruit.

This fruit is not only a blessing to the farmer in feeding his family.

It also provides new seeds to be planted again net season.

Jesus interprets the parable for us.

Later on, after the crowds had dispersed, Jesus’ disciples asked for an explanation of the parable.

Jesus graciously explains the parable to those that had a desire to understand.

It was for their good and ours.

In Jesus’ explanation, the sower is not identified, but the seed is.

The seed is the word.

The sower is the servant.

His anonymity places the importance on the seed.

The word of God is where the power is not in the servant.

It was not his broadcasting genius.

It was nothing to do with him save the fact that he cast it out there.

Jesus defines the different types of soil.

The wayside heart.

This i the heart that has become hardened by over exposure.

It has been tread upon over and over again until it has become hard.

Many would apply this to someone who has heard the word too many times and rejected it.

This is probably true.

The hard soil describes far too many church-goers.

But it could also just be true about life.

Life can harden a person such that the word of God can not penetrate their heart.

Do not pass lightly over the assertion that Satan is active in taking away the word.

If the word does not receive acceptance by the soil, it will quickly be snatched away by the enemy.

Satan knows the power of the word of God.

He does not want it to find a home in our hearts.

The stoney heart.

Notice the two features of this kind of growth: suddenness and joyfulness.

Joy is the result of true acceptance of the gospel, but not the first.

Without consciousness of sin and apprehension of judgment, there is no conversion.

The stony ground is the emotional hearer.

Great enthusiasm is soon replaced when difficulties come.

The same emotions that led to a hasty acceptance also lead to a quick departure.

The thorny heart.

Weeds grow faster than wheat.

Jesus tells us which weeds are most common.

The poor man has cares; the rich man has the illusions of his wealth.

The one is anxious that he has not enough; the other is anxious to lose what he has.

Notice the cares of this world are closely followed by the deceitfulness of riches.

His is a powerless Christianity.

The thorny soil is the distracted hearer.

The good heart.

The word finds soft soil in which to embed itself.

The word is given time to extend it’s root into the heart.

Quick fixes are not sought, but rather long-term stability.

The word is allowed to grow unhindered by weeds and thorns that could choke it out.

So the word produces fruit.

When the word produces fruit, it brings glory to God!

Application

The quality of the soil is the primary lesson of this parable.

The fault is never with the seed, it is always in the soil.

There really isn’t anyway for the sower to mess up either, so long as he is sowing.

Our only obligation is to sow, not to neglect certain soils.

Judging by the surface of the soil, it is often hard to tell what lies beneath.

The response to the gospel is not to be stereotyped or prejudged.

In the three fruitless soils we see the three enemies of God’s work: Satan, the Flesh, and the World.

No man is obliged by temperament or circumstance to be wayside, stony, or thorny ground.

Conclusion

You are the soil that God’s word is planted into.

You choose what kind of soil you are going to be.

You are also the servant sower that has the privilege of broadcasting the seed to others that haven’t heard.

You don’t choose which soil you distribute to.