Parable of the Sower

Hear, O Israel

Commands to Listen

Moses in Moab

Deut. 5:1

Deut. 6:4-5

Deut. 9:1

Deut. 20:3

Deut. 29:4 - Emphasis

Judgment Over Lack of Listening (My People Don’t Listen)

Jeremiah 6:10

Ezekiel 3:7

Isaiah 30:8-11

Isaiah 6:9-10 - Draw out whole passage | Note that there is a special irony here because Isaiah asks: “How Long O Lord?” and the answer seems to be: until everything is burned down until only Jesus remains.

Jesus (i.e. the holy seed/stump) is now standing before His people

Mark - Jesus wants to be Known

Mark 4:3 - Listen, behold (Double Imperative)

Mark 4:9 - Jesus starts and ends with the imperative to hear!

Mark 4:14 - The seed in the story is the Word of God (Note Luke specifies as such in Lk 8:11)

Mark 4:13-20 - The soils all relate to differing levels of hearing the Word of God.

Path Hearers

Rock Hearers

Thorn Hearers

Good Soil Hearers

(We will return to these)

[Overarching Note] —> The fact that each of these soils are reached in the first place indicates that there is an indiscriminate nature of the way in which the gospel is spread. Though this point could be overloaded (it’s not like farmers are aiming to spread seeds onto pathways), the sense that one gets is that the gospel is intended to spread over all of the territory which the sower owns.

Thus, the sower could be Christ, or any one of God’s servants.

(1 Co. 3:6)

Different Hearers

Path Hearers

Note that the idea of Satan snatching seed on the path fits well with Jesus’s previous encounter in Mark 3:22-30. Here, Jesus’s opponents slander Jesus’s name and — as warned by Jesus — seem dangerously close to committing a deep blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

These path hearers are diametrically opposed to Christ; they do not receive the Word of God, nor find any immediate appeal.

Rock Hearers

It can be noted here that the word for the “rocky soil” here is πετρῶδες; the word “ground” is implicit within the term, but is often understood by translators to represent a type of ground which seems like good soil on the surface, but beneath the distance which a plow would cover, there would be a layer of rock which would prevent the deep roots necessary for lasting growth.

Note that this is the reason it makes sense that there is an original sense of “joy” (v. 16) which the hearers respond with.

The sense that one gets when reading these words is that there is really a shallowness to this type of belief. This is the kind of belief that is glad to go with Jesus when the music is perfect, emotions are just rightly situated, vibes are good, etc. Yet, this root is never strong enough to actually bear fruit (v. 20) which is the substance of true reception.

John 6:60-66 - People who leave Jesus because His teaching gets too hard.

Thorn Hearers

Contrary to the rock hearers, there is no problem with the depth or quality of soil per se. Instead, what prevents thorn hearers from growing is not a shallowness, but an unwillingness to give up other things.

That is to say, what has been cultivated in the hearts of thorn hearers is a weed or bush which chokes out the word which would implant itself if the thornbush was uprooted.

Rich Young Ruler (Mark 10:17-23)

Good Soil

Last type of soil which is good and ready for the seed of the word.

Result is abundance.

Note that the yield of this crop of has a sense of superabundance; when the Word is implanted in the good soil, it yields a type of fruitfulness which is glorious.

Peaking Over the Shoulders of the Disciples

These experiences of the disciples were never meant to be withheld from others.

Note that as Jesus explains himself to his disciples, we as readers are given this book to respond to Jesus as well.

How Ought We Respond?

Early Notes

Recall:

We have been studying the gospel according to Mark, and have been looking at Jesus’s ministry.

From chapter 1 to the end of chapter 3, Jesus has spoken openly about His self-identity with the Pharisees. There should be no confusion for the Jewish people as to who Jesus is. A couple of points that we could use to point this out is:

Mark 1:1-3

Mark wants us to be aware that Jesus is the Lord Himself come in flesh.

Mark 1:4-8

John stands as the forerunner to the Messiah and has communicated to the Jewish people that a greater prophet is coming who will baptize the people with/in the Holy Spirit.

(John’s testimony sets up Jesus to be the public, knowable, receivable, Messiah, Son of God)

Mark 1:9-11

Mark tells us that at Jesus’s baptism, the heavens were torn apart and that the Holy Spirit descended on him (one could get crown imagery from this), and he was spoken of as God’s beloved Son.

Mark 1:12-13

Mark tells us that Jesus the Son was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. He has fully taken on the identity of Israel onto Himself.

Mark 1:14-15

Jesus proclaims in His messages that the Kingdom of God has come (or is at hand).

Mark 1:16-20

Jesus shows himself to be the master fisher; when he calls, his disciples follow.

Mark 1:21-45

Jesus is healing many who are afflicted with sicknesses and demons in the synagogues.

Poss. side-note on the synagogue

Jesus heals the leper and commands the healed man to present himself to the priests.

As Jesus moves from town to town, he continues to preach. The implication is that he continued to speak of the Kingdom being at hand.

If the Kingdom is at hand, who is the King?

The miracles accompanying the message indicate that it is Jesus.

Mark 2:1-12

Jesus heals the paralytic of his sins.

Pharisees are not slow to pick up what Jesus is saying about himself. When Jesus forgives the man of his sins, they call that blasphemy. Jesus’s response indicates a reversal: if he had been blaspheming, would he be (a) healing, or (b) even able to heal?

Mark 2:23-28

Jesus calls himself the Lord of the Sabbath.

No confusion over who he is referring to here.

Mark 3:6

After Jesus has again challenged the Pharisees over the Sabbath, they have resolved to kill him.

Mark 3:22-30

The Pharisees outright reject Jesus and His teaching by arguing that He is casting out demons by the power of Satan.

Jesus turns this around but creates a warning that they are in danger of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.

Mark 3:35

Jesus aligns himself and His family with the will of God.

Summary

Jesus was public about the coming kingdom

He performed kingdom-based miracles which communicated who He was to the Pharisees.

Jesus forgave sins and called Himself “Lord of the Sabbath.”

The Pharisees and religious officials understood the weight of what Jesus was doing/saying as evidenced by the fact that they called him a blasphemer.

Critical Context

As Jesus moves into this next phase of his ministry, what is critical to make note of is the difference in accepting/rejecting Jesus and the role of Jesus’s parables.

Note - The form of Jesus’s communication is slightly elevated in terms of parables, but Jesus utilized parable examples before chapter 4 (Mark 2:17-22)

The Gospel According to Mark - provides us as readers extra leverage for understanding Jesus’s ministry. As explained above, even before Jesus gets to His ministry, we know who He is. Take note of the fact too that when Jesus is disclosing the secrets of His Kingdom to His disciples, we are being given a privileged seat into viewing and understanding Jesus’s parables.

Text Engagement

As we get into this text, there are probably four basic questions that we will try to answer through this passage:

Q. Why does Jesus begin teaching in parables?

Q. Who is the sower and who/what is the seed?

Q. Who are the people represented by the various soils?

Q. How can I understand this parable and become the type of person who bears fruit for the Lord in the way that he describes in His explanation to the disciples (v. 20)?

V.1-2 (Setting of the Teaching)

Teaching in parables

In a boat, by the sea, big crowd on the shore

(Likely done this before, Mark 3:7-12)

V.3, 9

Listen, Behold! (Two imperatives of ‘listen’ back to back)

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear”

Imperative given by Jesus for listening ears to receive His statement.

Designed to be known by those who seek to understand.

V.3-8

Sower

One who sows the Word (Preacher?)

Seed

The Word (Gospel?)

Path

People with No soil to Receive (These are people as made plain by the “these” statements)

Birds

Satan

Rocky Ground

Ones who receive with joy, but the plant doesn’t take root because of tribulation

No Depth of Soil

No root in themselves (Possibly trying to receive in their own strength? See convenience but don’t desire God in affliction?)

Sun

Trials

No Root

(Above)

Thorns

Choked, No Grain

Good Soil, Produced Grain

Different Harvest Numbers

10-12, 33-34

What kind of sower, sows on paths, in thorns, in rocky ground, etc.?

God looks at the whole earth and claims it all. There is no square inch of ground (i.e. people) that God does not desire. He gives of Himself and makes offering of Kingdom to everyone, but only those who are prepared, good soil will accept the seed and flourish.

The fate of revelation faced with the understanding of the man whose heart is hardened. (William Lane)

The appropriate time of harvest [eschatology]

Luke 8:18 - Take heed how you hear