Is there room in your heart to grow?

Turn in your Bibles to Mark 4:1-20. In the first 3 chapters, we have seen Mark establish Jesus as one who has the same authority as Almighty God. Jesus heals and casts out demons. He breaks the religious rules to welcome the outsiders into the Kingdom of God. But what it this Kingdom of God? It’s in chapter 4 that Mark shifts from showing us how Jesus has authority to giving us a peak into the teaching that Jesus did. For the next two weeks we will learn from Jesus about the Kingdom of God, and then we will actually take a break from Mark for the season of Advent as we celebrate the birth of Jesus. The final Sunday of December, right after Christmas, we will get back to the Gospel according to Mark with Charles as a guest preacher. For today, let’s read what Jesus teaches about the seed and the soil.

Mark 4:1-20:

1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” 9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” 10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“ ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,

and ever hearing but never understanding;

otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

Pray with me.

Up to this point we have seen Jesus doing ministry, preaching the Good News that the Kingdom of God is here, touching and healing the sick and outcast, welcoming outsiders to become insiders. But we haven’t really heard any of what those sermons were or what he was teaching people by the lake, until today! Today we get to hear straight from Jesus what the people heard back in the first century as thousands gathered by the shore to hear him speak.

It was a common practice at the time for Rabbis to speak using parables. Parables are usually short, allegories designed to teach a principle or illustrate a moral lesson. They are supposed to make you think and mull things over so that the story and image stay with you throughout the day. Since he was speaking to a very large crowd of people, Jesus chose parables about the things they could easily identify with: agriculture in this story and next week we’ll see common household items and more farm imagery.

How many here have planted seeds? It’s a remarkably wonderful thing, isn’t it, to plant something and watch it grow. Even year after year I am amazed when I visit friends gardens or watch the ones that Charles has planted. That something so tiny can produce actual food for us to eat or flowers for us to enjoy … it just feels like a miracle each time. Most of the time when we plant seeds we are intentional and purposeful. We might even start seeds of in little cups indoors under a grow light before we move them to the outside.

In this parable however, the sower scatters the seed everywhere. While it might seem like a waste to us, it was the common practice at the time. With no machinery to help, they sow seeds quickly and then they would till the soil by hand, covering all the seeds up. It’s no wonder then that seeds fell on these different types of soil: the path, the rocky places, the thorns, and good soil where it was able to grow and produce a crop. For the people listening, this is Jesus describing normal farming techniques. AND the normal expected harvest. One hundred fold is not miraculous or surprising, though producing even just 10 or 30 fold was more common. This is an average farmer doing average farmer things and getting an good harvest.

So why does Jesus tell this parable? We must remember that his audience is mostly Jewish people, people who probably had most of the old testament memorized since books were not easy to come by then. The first thing that Jesus says is Listen, which is remarkably close to the Hebrew word shema, or hear. The Shema was the main prayer said by Jewish people every day. Shema Israel Adonai Elohim Adonai echad. Hear o Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. So when Jesus begins by saying SHEMA, he is connecting his words now with the words given by God in the past. The people would have known what he’s going to say is important. Jesus ends the parable by saying “whoever has ears to hear let them hear.” This is something that the prophets of old had said, so it was another way of Jesus indicating that he had spoken something akin to what the prophets have said in the past. This parable is significant; it’s a word from God.

The twelve apostles and the other disciples who were with Jesus don’t understand the meaning of the parable. So, they go to Jesus and ask him to make sense of it for them. Jesus replies that the secret of the Kingdom of Heaven has been given to them. The secret! What secret? What does he mean? It’s surprisingly simple. What had the disciples just done? They came to Jesus and asked for help. The secret of the Kingdom is to come to Jesus and ask. Come to Jesus and ask. Then Jesus indicates that those who come to him and ask will be considered the insiders and those on the outside probably will never fully understand. Why? Their hearts are hard.

Do you notice what has flipped here? In the first 3 chapters, Jesus is constantly reaching out to the outsiders and inviting them to be insiders. Outsiders were those the religious leaders had excluded from worship and from fellowship because of their sin, or sickness, or socio economic status. Jesus persistently defies their traditional way of doing things to invite those outsiders into fellowship and into the Kingdom. And here Jesus is clearly stating that those religious leaders and those who will not really follow him will become the outsiders. This Kingdom of God has become home for the outsider.

The curious poem that Jesus quotes next (they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven) is a quote from Isaiah chapter 6. Now, similar to saying “listen” or “shema” like Jesus did earlier, quoting part of an old testament passage would have brought the whole passage to the listener’s mind. Much like if I said “We’re not in Kansas anymore, Toto” or “ding dong the witch is dead” suddenly you’re thinking of the Wizard of Oz, and probably the whole story not just those scenes. So hearing these few lines would have reminded the listeners of the entire chapter. This is Isaiah 6:

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphim, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:

“Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;

the whole earth is full of his glory.”

4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.” 8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” 9 He said, “Go and tell this people:

“ ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;

be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’

10 Make the heart of this people calloused;

make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”

11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”

And he answered:

“Until the cities lie ruined

and without inhabitant,

until the houses are left deserted

and the fields ruined and ravaged,

12 until the LORD has sent everyone far away

and the land is utterly forsaken.

13 And though a tenth remains in the land,

it will again be laid waste.

But as the terebinth and oak

leave stumps when they are cut down,

so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.”

This is what the disciples were hearing as Jesus explains why he teaches in parables. Those who are like Isaiah and recognize their sin will be cleansed and forgiven. The disciples might have been clueless but at least they were humble enough to go to Jesus and ask for help to understand. Isaiah was also humble enough to acknowledge he was a sinful man surrounded by a sinful nation and had absolutely no place being in the presence of Almighty God. Isaiah and the disicples both had hearts of good soil that had room, room for the word of God to grow deep enough to produce good fruit. The secret of the kingdom is to come to Jesus and ask. But if you refuse to come to Jesus with a seeking, open, soft soil heart that recognizes his ultimate authority and undeniable holiness then you might as well be hearing but never understanding, seeing but never perceiving. You are deaf and blind to Who Jesus is and what God is doing in your midst.

Dear ones, we cannot read this account of Jesus with smug hearts. The disciples and the 12 who Jesus had just recently appointed as apostles to go out and preach and heal with his authority did not understand. They had seen miracle upon miracle, witnessed thousands of people coming from hundreds of miles away, and they needed help to understand. BUT they were willing to go to Jesus and ask. Friends, this is the invitation from Jesus for us. When you are in doubt, go to Jesus and ask. When you are confused, go to Jesus and ask. When you think you know it all, go to Jesus and ask. Don’t let your heart be hardened.

I remember as a little girl helping my mom repot a plant. I was surprised to find little white spongey things all through the new soil we were using. She explained that those little white spongey things were added to the soil because they helped the soil to drain better and be looser so that the plant could grow. Good soil has room to breathe. It has room for roots to grow down deep. It’s not too hard or too dense. It’s not full of rocks. Isaiah was good soil. He was open enough to acknowledge his sin and say YES to God’s invitation. He had room in his heart to grow into the prophet God called him to be. The disciples were good soil. Jesus recognized the room in their hearts even though they were just fishermen and tax collectors.

God is not stingy with the Good News. He’s throwing that seed everywhere because the good news is for everyone. The question we are left with today is this: what soil are you? Is there room in your heart to humbly acknowledge your sin and come to Jesus? Is your heart open enough to let the good news in, the good news that invites us to Love God and Love Others and Make Disciples, is there room for that good news to take root and grow and produce fruit? Because dear ones that is the point. Good soil produces good fruit. Healthy things grow. So when we look at this church and we look at our lives, our relationship with God and our relationships with one another…are we healthy? Are we good soil? And IF NOT, please let us humble ourselves and come to Jesus in repentance like Isaiah and ask for help like the disciples.

I’m going to ask Charles to come and lead us in two closing songs. Through Isaiah we got a glimpse of what the presence of God is like. The God of the universe, the Holy Almighty God, invites us today to be good soil and make room in our hearts for the good news to grow.