How Man Receives the Word of God

Mark 4:1-20

Beginning with the healing of the Centurion’s servant in Luke 7, followed by the discussion of JTB’s questions about whether Christ was/was not the Messiah, and then, through the account of a sinful woman’s coming to Christ in Luke 7:36-50, the underlying focus in these past few weeks has been the ministry and message of Jesus Christ. It was the ministry and message of the Gospel, a ministry and message of reconciliation, where God was restoring lost sinners to Himself through Jesus Christ.

The ministry and message of Christ is just as alive today as it was then, b/c (1) Christ is risen, alive and seated at the right hand of the Father and (2) b/c His Word is alive and active, sharper than any two-edged sword—and is still at work changing the hearts of lost sinners, making them alive in Jesus Christ.

As we look at today’s message, “How Man Receives the Word of God,” we will focus on the Parable of the Sower. While Luke 8 addresses this parable, today we will look at Mark’s parallel account

This message is for both the unbeliever and believer:

For the unbeliever, Jesus is teaching about the heart condition needed for the Gospel to be rooted in order that a person might be born again

For the believer,

We must remember what the Bible teaches about our hearts through the prophet Jeremiah; that it’s deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who can understand it?(Jeremiah 17:9)

We must remember what Paul teaches us about his own heart and apply it to our own lives

Romans 7:15–17 “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree with the law, that it is good. So now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.”

We must remember, that though we’ve been made alive in Christ and by Christ, we still struggle against that “old man,” that old sin nature, and if we are not alert and paying attention, we too can get wrapped up the weeds/thorns, find ourselves succumbing to old hurts/habits in times of trials and temptations

So, no matter where you stand (and I pray it’s with Christ), we need to hear what Christ says to His disciples and apply it our lives. May our prayer be as David’s

Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

(READ MARK 4:1-20)

There is a two-fold emphasis found in the account of the Parable of the Sower;

FIRST—The emphasis of planting the seed (which is the Word of God). It is the lesson to the genuine believer to “to sow,” to “to plant,” or “to carry and share,” the Word of God

No matter where they are

No matter the difficulty or opposition, nor the discouragement

No matter how hard or closed off the hearts of people may be

No matter how shallow/or deceptive the enthusiasm of the poor and needy, or

No matter how entangled others have become with the pleasures of worldliness

SECOND—The emphasis of receiving the seed—receiving the Word of God. It is the lesson to the hearers of God’s Word, those who sit and listen to the teaching and preaching of God’s Word, through personal reading of the Word, or other means. The lesson focuses on the type of “soil”—or heart as person has in receiving the Word of God

Is the soil hard and pavement-like?

Is the soil shallow?

Is the soil encompassed with thorns? or

Is the soil softened and ripe, able to yield and bear fruit?

This morning we will focus on the second emphasis— how a person receives the Word of God.

and to help us with some understanding, let me show you the meaning of some words:

When we talk about “seed” we are talking about the Bible—the Word of God

The Gospel of Matthew teaches us the “seed” is Word of the kingdom (Matt 13:19)

Peter teaches us the “seed” (or Word) is incorruptible (1 Peter 1:23)

Paul tells us the “seed,” or “gospel” bring forth Spiritual fruit (Col 1:5-6)

When we talk about “soil” we are talking about the heart (the soul of a person, not the physical)

When we hear the word “sower” we are talking about the one who shares the Word and is not just delegated to the ministers/teachers/and preachers of the Word, but any genuine believer

———-

I. (v.1-2) Setting and Set-Up

Mark 4:1–2 “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:”

(CONTEXT)

Jesus began a new method of teaching—parables, which literally means “placing a thing by the side of something else for the purpose of comparing” therefore

A parable is a comparison: it is an earthly event pointing out a heavenly truth—a comparison b/t earth and heaven

A parable is a comparison whereby through active thought and effort, the spiritual truth (point) is drawn from the earthly story

The more a person thinks and meditates upon a parable, the more he usually sees the spiritual truth

Jesus was teaching by the seashore

The crowd was “great”—which means very great and indicates the multitude was so great in fact, they overflowed the seashore so much so Jesus was forced to teach from a boat

II. (v.3-9) A simple message—with profound meaning

Mark 4:3–9 ““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.””

(CONTEXT) There are five things Jesus says in this parable—most would be familiar with, but sadly most will not understand (seen in verses 10-13)

The farmer sows some seed that does not take root (there are two kinds of soil that bear no root at all; they differ from the others b/c they NEVER have ANY root)

The seed which falls upon the wayside (or the unplowed/packed down areas); the hard to reach areas which cannot be reached with the plow

The seed which falls upon the stony ground (the rock which lies right underneath the surface of the ground); while it holds water and heat longer and the seed shoots up quick, with not root the scorching sun kills it

The farmer sows some seed that takes root, but does not yield fruit

The seed which falls among thorns; the thorny soil is part of the field and has been plowed—but it is deceptive ground

It “looks” good, yet underneath the soil is a mass of thorn roots ready to spring up

The fact that they are not destroyed in the plowing and that they are already in the ground means they will spring up and choke out the seed

The farmer sows see that bears fruit

The seed falls about good soil; good soil yields fruit and when fruit appears it increases and grows (this is significant as we will see later in this parable)

The farmer sows only a few seed that bear 100% fruit

All seed in good soil bears fruit—yet each “plant” varies in its degree of fruitfulness (this also is significant as we will see later in this parable)

Some “plants” are weak (30% fruitful and 70% unfruitful), others bear only 60% (again, weaker b/c they are 40% unfruitful); yet those who bear 100% of their potential fruit are few and far between

Jesus stresses the importance of this parable

This parable is “heard” only by the spiritual (He who has ears (spiritual) let him hear

Luke’s account states, “He cried out…,” meaning He shouted these words, stressing the importance of this parable even more so

III. (v.10-12) The two-fold response to this parable

Mark 4:10–12 “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.’ ””

The disciple (the follower/the believer) doesn’t merely “hear the words,” they “hear the message with their heart.”

This speaks to receptiveness and a willingness to think and meditate, and receive the message into his/her life

The speaks to the willingness of the disciple to do (obey) exactly what is being taught in the parable, and the result is

God will reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom of God to them

The unbeliever (non-disciple) hears the message, but not with “spiritual ears.” The message is merely heard

This means they unbelievers; “them that are without,” Jesus says; they

This means “them that are without,” are as outsiders—they are without. Why?

Because they do not perceive nor understand, v.12-13, which points to their unwillingness to do so

They are unwilling to receive it—they shut their minds, refuse repentance, and rationalize their behavior

They are more conditioned to the things/ways of this world, with hardened hearts to the truth—and they become more and more so, because of their unwillingness to perceive and understand

IV. (v.13-20) The meaning of the parable is given by Jesus Himself

Mark 4:13–20 “And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 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.””

Jesus’ emphasis is upon the ground which receives the seed; meaning the kind of person (heart) who receives the message of Christ

Note that ALL FOUR grounds we will talk about hear the Word, but receive it differently. How the “seed” is received depends upon the soil (ground) it is sown upon

As we go through these, examine your own hearts, ask God to search you and help you to see the soil of your hearts

(CONTEXT)

The seed by the wayside (this is the unplowed heart and an unplowed heart results in a hardened life)

The wayside heart is

The person who may be present in church, but their mind is aloof & wandering—thinking little about the Word and involving themself in the life of the church even less

The person who wouldn’t dare miss a Sunday, but every Sunday they miss

The person who pays little attention to the Word—as if their hearts were as the hard soil of the ground and the Word merely bounces off

The wayside heart is a heart which has become hardened. How?

Through rebellion—in reacting to some tragedy or circumstance, they blame God

Through falling asleep, not remaining alert & paying attention—they do not consider the Gospel important enough/necessary to merit their attention

Through careless handling of the Word—they treat Scripture/the Bible/God’s Word as an item or additive, or a part of life, rather than life itself; they thing, “The Gospel has a place, just not the place in my life.”

Through deception; what matters is their attendance and being present in church, rather than being

The results of the wayside heart is

Before the person can believe, the devil comes and snatches the Word away; in other words, the person never applies the Word to his/her life, they never live sacrificially for Christ

Biblical examples of this would be

King Herod, who merely enjoyed listening to JTB, or

Judas Iscariot, who merely accompanied Jesus, but was never a disciple of Jesus

The seed on the stony/rocky ground (the second soil which bears not root at all)

This represents the person who gets excited over the Word, going so far as to make a profession of faith, yet

Fails to count the cost;

Fails to consider the commitment, the self-denial & sacrifice

Fails to consider the study, the learning, and the growing

Fails to apply themself to learn Christ

Fails to grasp that the Christian life is narrow and difficult, full of trials/temptations, sanctification and hardship

This represents the person who little spiritual strength has when trials/temptations come,

They cave under the pressure & weight of them

Whatever profession is made is scorched and consumed

(Think of the weeds which grow in the shale/limestone/rock on the side of the road)

What the Bible reminds us of about the trials/tribulations, and sanctification of the Christian life

(FIRST) Following Christ means counting the cost

Luke 9:57–62 “As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.””

(SECOND) Following Christ comes with the understanding of trial/tribulations and the attitude we must have

Romans 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

James 1:2–4 “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

(THIRD) Following Christ understands that God Himself allows these things in order to test/qualify/prove your trust and obedience

Deuteronomy 8:2–5 “And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. Know then in your heart that, as a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you.”

The seed among the thorns-this thorny ground is the wordly heart which results in a strangled life

This “soil” represents the person who receives the Word and honestly tries to live for Christ, who is attracted to the ministry and message of Christ, joining right in, with professing Christ in their daily life, HOWEVER

They are unwilling to cut ties with the world

2 Corinthians 6:17–18“Therefore go out from their midst, and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing; then I will welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty.””

They live a “double-life,” trying to live for Christ yet live in worldliness

They keep on growing, yet giving their mind and attention to the cares, riches, and pleasures of this world

What about the thorns, what are these?

They consist of the cares of this world

They consist of the deceitfulness of riches

They consist of the passing pleasures of this world

They consist of those things of the “lust of the eyes, lust of the flesh, and the pride of life”

They consist of those thorns which are personal to us, as they were to Paul

2 Corinthians 12:7–9 “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

What are the results of this “soil?”

While fruit may appear, the fruit never ripens—it is never able to be plucked because the “thorns” choke the life out of it

What example can we find from Scripture?

Luke 18:18–23 “And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.”

1 Timothy 6:9 “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”

Luke 21:34 ““But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.”

The seed on the good ground—this soil has the root of an honest and contrite heart, which results in bearing spiritual fruit, ripened for the plucking

This represents the person who, when they hear the Word, they keep the word

John 14:21 “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.””

This represents the person who abides in Christ and Christ in them

John 15:5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

(CLOSING/WORSHIP)

A 30,000 foot view of Deuteronomy teaches us somethings about