Dark Saying: Sower and Seeds
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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: “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.”
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.’ ”
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.”
Context
Context
Context
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.
Mark 4:1
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.
Jesus again beside the sea
This is the third time we see Jesus beside the sea in Mark’s gospel
Each time he has been there it has been a calling story
So we would expect to see a calling story here again
At first glance this does not seem to be a calling story
With the large crowd it looks like it might be a healing story or a teaching story.
Mark tells us that he is teaching v. 1
He then tells us that he is teaching them using parables in v. 2
However if we go down and look at v.9 we will see that this is not only a teaching story but also a calling story
And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Here Jesus is not calling specific individuals to be his disciples as he had in the last two calling stories, but this time he is calling the masses to himself.
Parables
We saw law last week how Jesus talked with the Scribes using parables.
And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?
And he called them to him and said to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan?
We see a shift in the way Jesus teaches - he is now using parables
all of chapter 4 is Jesus teaching using parables
We see this shift that Jesus begins to talk in parables after his life is threatened in 3:6
Jesus begins to talk in parables after his life is threatened.
Jesus speaks plainly - the responds is plain
Jesus says he is the Son of Man (a divine title) and the Pharisees say he’s a blasphemer
Jesus then speaks cryptically - the responds his hidden -
Jesus asks “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill? and the Pharisee’s plot to kill Jesus but they do it in secret.
Jesus speaks with parables - The response is now one of needing clarity - needing to ask questions - and leaving the people either justified or judged.
Jesus speaks cryptically - The threat is hidden
Withered hand -Jesus poses a cryptic question - They respond by plotting together how to kill him.
Now Jesus is talking in parables
Jesus speaks with parables -
Jesus gives us the purpose of him speaking in parables in 4:10-13
Purpose of the parables
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.’ ”
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
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.’ ”
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
Judgement
Parables are nothing new in the bible.
The OT is packed full of parables. And when we look at the OT we begin to see how Parables are used… Mark Horn notes,
The evidence from the Old Testament indicates that parables are reserved for times of judgment. The singer of Psalm 78 says that he will speak a parable or dark saying (Ps. 78:2) and then he goes on to speak of Israel’s sins and the judgments that fell on her because of them. Nathan tells David a parable because of David’s sin and God’s looming judgment on him (2 Sam. 12:1). Gideon’s son Jotham told a parable to the men of Shechem because they had chosen the mass-murderer Abimelech to be their king, and he was prophesying that they would come under judgment for killing all of his brothers (Judg. 9:1–21). Ezekiel tells parables of judgment against Israel (Ezek. 17, 24). Corresponding to this, Jesus tells his disciples that He is speaking in parables because Israel is again in a time of judgment. He appeals to the prophecy of Isaiah and the impending judgment in his time to explain the situation:
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.’ ”
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.’ ”
By quoting Isaiah Jesus tells us the purpose of his parables is to bring judgement on the people.
By quoting Isaiah Jesus tells us the purpose of his parables is to bring judgement on the people.
Yet we see in verse 11 that Jesus has given his people the answer to the parable. He has given them the secret of the kingdom...
But for everyone else outside everything is in parables.
When we think about Jesus being the secret of the kingdom, in that the kingdom is coming in a way that no one was expecting.
Part of the reason no one was expecting the kingdom to come through a carpenter like Jesus is because the OT itself is a parable
The OT is a parables
a Parable is a story that contains both realism and symbolism
Jesus’ parables stories that contain real elements
farmer, soil, seeds, crops, parties, kings, servants, families etc.
Some are not only real but are true
Our parable is true, there really are farmers who sow seeds, and those seeds fall in different places thus having different results
Jesus’ stories also contain symbolism and this is the point of parables
To see that the seed and the soil represent something symbolically
Parable of the seed and the soil
Jesus says,
The seed = the word of God
The soil = those who hear the word of God
also Israel, but we don’t have time this morning to flesh that out
The birds = Satan
The sun = tribulation or persecution
The thorns = Cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things
So as you can see there is rich symbolism here in this parable
So how is the entire OT a parable?
The OT is the story of God’s people - realism
History happend in time and space
History is true and accurate
Real priests, kings and prophets
The OT is the story of Jesus - symbolism
Yet when Jesus interprets the OT he says that they wrote about Him
For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.
For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me.
:
Moses, the author of the first five books of the bible actually wrote about Jesus
Now, if you were to go back and read the first five books would you find Jesus’ name? no.
But you would find Jesus on just about every page
From the word God used to speak all things into existence
to the tree of life
to the better sacrifice of Abel
To Noah and his ark
To Abraham being asleep and YHWH passing through the dead animals as a fire pot
To Isaac being being Abrahams only begotten son
To ram caught in a tree that was the substitute for Isaac
To Jacob and Joseph
And we are not even out of Genesis yet
Let alone the
Sacrificial system
the tabernacle
the Exodus
The rock in the wilderness that sprang water
The Manna from heaven
The scapegoat
The cleansing rituals
again in
And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.
that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”
Here Jesus says that not only Moses but all the prophets spoke of Jesus. What Jesus is doing here is saying that the entire OT is about him
From David and Goliath to The weeping prophet Jeremiah
From the Jonah and Big Fish to
For Example, what does this story sound like?
God sends his earthly presence into a foreign land because of the disobedience of his people
While in this foreign land he goes to war with demonic forces and crushes the head of the false god
While in this land he destroys the enemy and secures salvation for his people
In all of this he also removes the authority of the wicked religious leaders
Does this story sound familiar?
Its found in 1 Samuel 4-6
When the Philistines capture the Ark of the Covenant
This story symbolically is the story of the gospel. Its the story of Jesus.
But not only this story the entire OT as a whole tells the story of Jesus. Therefore the entire OT is a Parable
The gospel of Mark is a parable
I hope you have seen how often the OT has been referenced in this sermon series -
Mark makes the reader or hearer work to understand who Jesus is.
The reason for this is because I want you to grasp what Mark is saying concerning Jesus
Scholar Richard Hays says this about Mark’s Gospel,
Mark makes so many different allusions to the OT without any explanation, thus demanding of the reader to study out the scriptures to know what he is saying.
“The Gospel of Mark tells a mysterious story enveloped in apocalyptic urgency; a story that focuses relentlessly on the cross and ends on a note of hushed, enigmatic hope. Many of the key images in this mysterious narrative are drawn from Israel’s Scriptures; indeed, a reader who fails to discern the significance of these images can hardly grasp Mark’s message
But Mark’s way of drawing upon Scripture, like his narrative style more generally, is indirect and allusive. Mark for the most part works his narrative magic through hints and allusions, giving just enough clues to tease the reader into further exploration and reflection. On rare occasions, he steps from behind the curtain to call the reader’s attention to particularly important intertextual allusion, but for the most part his scriptural references are woven seamlessly into the fabric of the story. The story is intelligible, at one level, for readers who do not hear the scriptural echoes. But for those who do have ears to hear; new levels of complexity and significance open up.”
So Mark is a parable in that there is realism in the historical Jesus in that he was a real person who lived, spoke, healed, taught, was crucified and was raised from the dead.
Mark is a parable in that there is symbolism all throughout Mark that reveals another level of meaning.
Seeing Jesus for who he is is leads us to worship him with renewed minds -
Soloman says,
It is the glory of God to conceal things,
but the glory of kings is to search things out.
It is the glory of God to conceal things,
but the glory of kings is to search things out.
it is glorifying to God to conceal things, and it is our glory to search them out! May we be good kings as we pursue searching out the glories of Christ in ALL the bible!
Jesus himself is a parable
Jesus symbolically reenacts the story of Israel to identify himself as the new Israel of God.
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.’ ”
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.’ ”
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
10-
Judgement
Parables are nothing new in the bible.
The OT is packed full of parables. And when we look at the OT we begin to see how Parables are used… Mark Horn notes,
The evidence from the Old Testament indicates that parables are reserved for times of judgment. The singer of Psalm 78 says that he will speak a parable or dark saying (Ps. 78:2) and then he goes on to speak of Israel’s sins and the judgments that fell on her because of them. Nathan tells David a parable because of David’s sin and God’s looming judgment on him (2 Sam. 12:1). Gideon’s son Jotham told a parable to the men of Shechem because they had chosen the mass-murderer Abimelech to be their king, and he was prophesying that they would come under judgment for killing all of his brothers (Judg. 9:1–21). Ezekiel tells parables of judgment against Israel (Ezek. 17, 24). Corresponding to this, Jesus tells his disciples that He is speaking in parables because Israel is again in a time of judgment. He appeals to the prophecy of Isaiah and the impending judgment in his time to explain the situation:
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.’ ”
Mark 4:12
By quoting Isaiah Jesus tells us the purpose of his parables is to bring judgement on the people.
Yet we see in verse 11 that Jesus has given his people the answer to the parable. He has given them the secret of the kingdom...
But for everyone else outside everything is in parables. ..
What is the secret 'concerning’ the kingdom?
Jesus himself is the secret - the kingdom of God is embodied in the person of Christ.
Jesus himself is a parable because he has come like to poor servant to those who do not know him, and he comes as a ruling king to those who have be shown.
Jesus explains the parables to his disciples
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word.
Mark 4:
Jesus then goes on to explain the parables to his disciples
Jesus gives them understanding
Jesus give us understanding
We will never understand the Secret of the Kingdom unless God comes and opens our hearts and minds
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.
Dark Saying: Sower and Seeds
Dark Saying: Sower and Seeds
The Devoured Seed
And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
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.
The Scorched Seed
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.
Mark 4:5-6
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.
Mark 4:16-
The Choked Seed
Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.
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.
Mark 4:18-19
The Yielding Seed
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.”
Mark 4:8-
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.”