Post by foxjj on Nov 4, 2022 21:04:30 GMT
The Kingdom In Parables
Mark chapter four records Jesus teaching concerning The Kingdom of God by way of parables. One may ask why Jesus used parables when even his disciples did not always understand their meaning? Was Jesus trying to conceal His identity to some of His listeners? The answer is both yes, and no. To believe in Jesus is an act of faith. Parables give room for the listener to think through the meaning of what they have heard in the parable. If they accept and believe the spiritual truth within the story of the parable, they have the opportunity of exercising their faith.
Jesus begins the kingdom parables by using the metaphor of the sower and the seeds. The seeds been The Word of God sown in people’s hearts. When describing how people react to the message of The Kingdom Jesus warns how the pressures of life can blind and rob people to the reality of God’s Kingdom. He later explains the message to the 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. 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.” (Mark 4:13-20)
In verse’s 21-23 Jesus teaches how The Spiritual Truth of God’s Kingdom is a light in this dark world: “And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
In Isaiah 9:2, the prophet speaks of people living in darkness: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” This is repeated in Matthew 4:12-17, where the prophecy is credited to be speaking of Jesus and His ministry. In John 8:12, Jesus claims to be The Light that has come into the world: “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Today, let us thank The Father For The Son.
John Joseph Fox.
Mark chapter four records Jesus teaching concerning The Kingdom of God by way of parables. One may ask why Jesus used parables when even his disciples did not always understand their meaning? Was Jesus trying to conceal His identity to some of His listeners? The answer is both yes, and no. To believe in Jesus is an act of faith. Parables give room for the listener to think through the meaning of what they have heard in the parable. If they accept and believe the spiritual truth within the story of the parable, they have the opportunity of exercising their faith.
Jesus begins the kingdom parables by using the metaphor of the sower and the seeds. The seeds been The Word of God sown in people’s hearts. When describing how people react to the message of The Kingdom Jesus warns how the pressures of life can blind and rob people to the reality of God’s Kingdom. He later explains the message to the 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. 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.” (Mark 4:13-20)
In verse’s 21-23 Jesus teaches how The Spiritual Truth of God’s Kingdom is a light in this dark world: “And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear."
In Isaiah 9:2, the prophet speaks of people living in darkness: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” This is repeated in Matthew 4:12-17, where the prophecy is credited to be speaking of Jesus and His ministry. In John 8:12, Jesus claims to be The Light that has come into the world: “Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Today, let us thank The Father For The Son.
John Joseph Fox.