Post by foxjj on May 3, 2024 6:11:21 GMT
Mark Chapter 4 (ESV)
In Chapter 4 of Mark’s Gospel, we read parables that Jesus told to help His listeners in their understanding God’s Kingdom. Parables are usually stories of ordinary life, used to illustrate spiritual, or moral truths. They can be analogies, comparisons, similes, or proverbial sayings. Not every detail of the parable was meant to have significance.
“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. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them,”
Mark begins with the parable of the sower:
“3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 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. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The people to whom Jesus was speaking would be familiar with the method in which a farmer walked the prepared field, scattering seeds by hand from a cloth pouch hanging around his neck and shoulder. However, all who heard the parable did not understand its intended spiritual meaning:
“10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 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, 12 so that ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”
The quote in verse 12 is from Isaiah 6:9-10 of which his listeners would be familiar. Jesus then explained the parable to His immediate followers:
“13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 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. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 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. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 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.”
By way of this parable, Jesus shows how the condition of our heart is fundamental to the reception of God’s Word - the Gospel message. Life, with all of its distractions, can easily shut out the voice of God calling you and I into a saving relationship with Him. Notwithstanding, through the Grace of God, The Holy Spirit will enlighten a sincere searching heart as Jeremiah 29:13 teaches: “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
After experiencing forgiveness, and the joy of the new life, converted sinner’s eagerly desire to share their experience with any who will listen:
“20 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.””
In the following parable Jesus emphasizes the value of sharing the light of truth that we have received:
“21 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? 22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
Isaiah 9:2 spoke of a spiritual light coming to people who live in spiritual 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.”
In John 8:12 Jesus introduced Himself as The Spiritual Light:
“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.””
Jesus next parable is of seed growing in the ground, just as the seed of faith grows in peoples hearts:
“26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.””
When seeds of God’s truth are sown in our hearts, His Grace and the exercise of our faith, enable the seed to grow. It is God who brings the harvest as Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 3:6: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
The parable of the mustard seed follows:
“30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” 33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.”
Just as a mustard seed is small, the preaching of God’s Kingdom began by one man from Nazareth, which was a small village, in a small province of the Roman Empire. The message spread to become world wide.
In the concluding verses of the chapter, both the human, and the Divine aspects of Jesus are shown:
“35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?””
From a human perspective, it had been a long day of ministry for Jesus consequently, He was weary and laid down to sleep. Amid the storm He showed His power over the elements causing the disciples to ask: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” They knew well the answer found in Psalm 89:8-9:
“8 O LORD God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O LORD,
with your faithfulness all around you?
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.”
This is the same Lord who promised: “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Mathew 28:20.
Today, let us give thanks for the Gospel Message.
John Joseph Fox.
In Chapter 4 of Mark’s Gospel, we read parables that Jesus told to help His listeners in their understanding God’s Kingdom. Parables are usually stories of ordinary life, used to illustrate spiritual, or moral truths. They can be analogies, comparisons, similes, or proverbial sayings. Not every detail of the parable was meant to have significance.
“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. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them,”
Mark begins with the parable of the sower:
“3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 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. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The people to whom Jesus was speaking would be familiar with the method in which a farmer walked the prepared field, scattering seeds by hand from a cloth pouch hanging around his neck and shoulder. However, all who heard the parable did not understand its intended spiritual meaning:
“10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 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, 12 so that ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”
The quote in verse 12 is from Isaiah 6:9-10 of which his listeners would be familiar. Jesus then explained the parable to His immediate followers:
“13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 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. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 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. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 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.”
By way of this parable, Jesus shows how the condition of our heart is fundamental to the reception of God’s Word - the Gospel message. Life, with all of its distractions, can easily shut out the voice of God calling you and I into a saving relationship with Him. Notwithstanding, through the Grace of God, The Holy Spirit will enlighten a sincere searching heart as Jeremiah 29:13 teaches: “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
After experiencing forgiveness, and the joy of the new life, converted sinner’s eagerly desire to share their experience with any who will listen:
“20 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.””
In the following parable Jesus emphasizes the value of sharing the light of truth that we have received:
“21 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? 22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
Isaiah 9:2 spoke of a spiritual light coming to people who live in spiritual 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.”
In John 8:12 Jesus introduced Himself as The Spiritual Light:
“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.””
Jesus next parable is of seed growing in the ground, just as the seed of faith grows in peoples hearts:
“26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.””
When seeds of God’s truth are sown in our hearts, His Grace and the exercise of our faith, enable the seed to grow. It is God who brings the harvest as Paul stated in 1 Corinthians 3:6: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”
The parable of the mustard seed follows:
“30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.” 33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.”
Just as a mustard seed is small, the preaching of God’s Kingdom began by one man from Nazareth, which was a small village, in a small province of the Roman Empire. The message spread to become world wide.
In the concluding verses of the chapter, both the human, and the Divine aspects of Jesus are shown:
“35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?””
From a human perspective, it had been a long day of ministry for Jesus consequently, He was weary and laid down to sleep. Amid the storm He showed His power over the elements causing the disciples to ask: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” They knew well the answer found in Psalm 89:8-9:
“8 O LORD God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O LORD,
with your faithfulness all around you?
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.”
This is the same Lord who promised: “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Mathew 28:20.
Today, let us give thanks for the Gospel Message.
John Joseph Fox.