October 28, 2005

JESUS TAUGHT THEM WITH PARABLES

Mark 4:1-34

On the shore of the Sea of Galilee, approximately one mile west of the town of Capernaum, there is a small cove. The cove is almost perfectly semi-circular in shape. From the rocky shore, the terrain rises in a gentle, grassy slope, forming a natural amphitheater. While it is impossible to prove it with certainty, many believe that this was the site where Jesus taught one of his most famous parables, the parable of the Sower. In fact, it is commonly called, “The Sower’s Cove.” The acoustics of the area are quite amazing. Acoustical tests have been made at the site that demonstrate that an audience of 5000 to 7000 people seated on the surrounding slopes could easily have heard Jesus as he taught from a boat just offshore.

When Esther Ruth and I visited the area on our trip 10 years ago, it was a deeply moving experience to stand there on the shore and picture the scene, with Jesus in the boat and the slopes covered with people. How easily he could have lifted his hand and pointed to a farmer in a nearby field and begun his teaching, “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.”

As picturesque and evocative as the physical setting is, there is another setting that is even more important to keep in mind if we want to understand Jesus’ teaching that day. That is The Spiritual Context: the historical setting and the emotional and spiritual dynamics represented in the audience that had gathered. I would especially highlight three components in the crowd.

First, there is the large, enthusiastic and curious crowd. This crowd has been following Jesus for some time now. Just read back through the first three chapters of Mark, and see all the references to “large crowds.” They came from the entire region. Their motives were mixed. Some were curious. Some were sick and wanted healing. Others were eager to decide for themselves whether this teacher could possibly be the Messiah.

Secondly, there are the hostile religious leaders, the teachers of the law, the Pharisees, the representatives of the religious power establishment in Jerusalem. Last week we saw that they had passed a point of no return in their response to Jesus, when they accused him of doing his miracles by the power of Satan. (If you missed last week’s sermon, you might want to get a copy or read it on the church website),

Thirdly, there is Jesus’ inner circle; his committed followers. Again, in last week’s sermon we saw Jesus appointing the Twelve who would become his Apostles. There were others who were also committed to Jesus and his ministry who traveled with him. All three groups were in Jesus’ audience that day, and formed the context and spiritual setting for his teaching.

The parable of the sower that Jesus began with that day is simple and true to everyday life. It is the parable of a farmer in his field, planting some kind of grain crop. In the agricultural practices of the day, the fields were not fenced or walled off from each other, but simply demarcated with boundary stones. Foot paths or roads cut across these fields to give access from one field to another and to give through access to travelers. The field would be prepared by plowing with a simple wooden plough drawn behind an ox or donkey. After the ground was broken up, the farmer went up and down his field with a sack of seed grain hanging from his neck, casting the seed out in wide arcs to cover the ground. This might then be followed by another plowing at right angles, to cover the seed with soil.

In the story, very true to life, some of the seeds fell on the packed, hardened paths or throughways that cut across the fields. The soil was extremely hard, impervious to the seed. The birds would swoop down on the path and gobble up the seed almost as soon as it landed. Other seeds fell on, what is called “rocky places.” This does not refer to soil that has loose rocks in it, but rather to soil that lies over top of a substratum of limestone or rock. The soil is very shallow. The seed germinates quickly because the soil is warm. But there is not enough soil to put down roots. Soon, in the hot sun, the little plants wither and die. Other seeds fell among thorns or weeds. Here as well, the seeds geminate and begin to grow. But they are competing for space and soil and nutrients with the thorns and weeds. They are choked and never produce any full heads of grain.

At this point, we may be feeling very sorry for the farmer. What is the point in the exercise? It is all for naught. He will gain nothing for his labor or his investment. But then Jesus tells about the seeds that fall on good soil. These seeds germinate. They put down deep roots. The plants grow and develop and produce a crop. The return is amazing. A single seed turns into a stalk that produces a head of 30, 60 or even 100 new seeds, a return of 30, 60 or 100 fold on the investment.

The farmers in the crowd would have nodded their heads in agreement. “Yes. That’s the way it is for farmers. It’s the seed that falls on good soil that keeps us in business.” But then Jesus adds a phrase that lets them know that there is a deeper meaning to the story. In verse 9: Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” In other words, ponder the meaning of what I am saying.

Now, in Mark’s account, he interjects an explanatory paragraph that is out of chronology. He tells about a later exchange between Jesus and his disciples that took place later after the crowd has dispersed. But he places it here to aid us in our understanding of this first and most significant of Jesus’ parables.

In verse 10 we read: When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. We know from the parallel accounts in the other Gospels that they actually asked two questions. The first is “Why parables?” This was a new thing, a new kind of teaching. Why the change? The second question is, “What does the parable mean?”

Jesus first answers the question, “Why parables?” He answers in verse 11-12 (Read Mark 4:11-12)

What is Jesus saying in these verses? To understand his words, we must keep in mind the historical and spiritual setting of these parables. We must remember the different components in the crowd. There were spiritually receptive people in the crowd. There were people who, like the disciples, had committed themselves to follow Jesus as Messiah, or were prepared to do so. But there were also people who were just curious, or worse, were already openly hostile like the religious leaders. Jesus’ words may sound very harsh to us: “I am speaking to them in parables so they won’t understand and won’t turn and be forgiven.” But let’s remember where we last saw that word “forgiven” in the text. It was back in Mark 3:29: But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin. There were people in Jesus’ audience that day who had crossed a line, a point of no return. The parables, then, according to Jesus, had a dual purpose. They were given to reveal kingdom truth to the spiritually responsive. To those had been given the privilege of understanding the mystery of the kingdom of God, the parables would shed great light and new insight into God’s plan for his developing kingdom and the principles by which it would grow and operate. But for those who rejected Christ’s claims as the Messiah, the Son of God, who refused to believe the evidence of the miracles, Jesus used the parables as a kind of secret language, a code by which he could continue to teach those in his audience who were responsive, without giving away the secrets of his kingdom plan to the unresponsive. The parables were intended to conceal kingdom truth from those who reject the King.

Jesus then goes on to interpret the parable of the sower in verses 13-20. It is a parable about hearing. In various forms, the word “hearing” occurs 13 times in this chapter. Specifically, it is about hearing the word or message of the kingdom of God. Jesus says it in plain language in 4:14: The farmer sows the word. In the parallel passage in Matthew 13:19 calls it the word about the kingdom.

The one thing that all four kinds of soil have in common is hearing. They all hear the word. In verse 15 and the seed along the path we read: as soon as they hear it. In verse 16: Others, like seed sown on rocky places hear the word… In verse 18: Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word… And finally in verse 20: Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word…

So, the message is the same in all the examples. It is the message about the kingdom of God. And all four examples hear the message. They all have the same opportunity. It is in what happens next that we see what Jesus is teaching in this parable. The responses of the different kinds of soil to the seed depict the responses of different kinds of people to Christ and his message.

I want to use a single word to describe each of the different kinds of soil in the parable and therefore the hearts of the different kinds of people who hear the message. The word for the first kind of soil and person is hard. We read about them in verse 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.

The soil along the path is trampled down and hard. The seed cannot enter. These are people who hear, but do not respond. They reject the message. In the story, birds came and ate up the seed. In the interpretation, Jesus tells us that the birds represent Satan. When a person does not respond to the message of the Gospel, Satan finds some way to remove the message from his thoughts and consciousness. The word is not allowed to rest and wait for a more suitable day for germination. It is forgotten and wiped from consciousness.

The second kind of soil and person is shallow. This person has an immediate positive response. Read it in verse 16: Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. At least in part, this explained the large and enthusiastic crowds who surrounded Jesus early in his ministry, but dwindled over time. Look at Jesus’ explanation in verse 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. Jesus’ ministry was already beginning to experience resistance and persecution and opposition. How many of his audience on the sea shore that day would stick with him when the going got really tough?

The third kind of soil and person is cluttered. This person also receives the message. But he adds it to an already crowded life. He never allows the word to prune and weed his life. He never establishes any fundamental priorities. As a result, listen to Jesus’ description in verse 18-19: Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 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. This is why Jesus tells his followers: Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness… If we do not heed that admonition to put God first in our lives, we will ultimately be unfruitful for God’s kingdom purposes.

The final kind of soil and person depicted in the parable is fertile. The soil is soft and receptive to the seed, it has depth for the roots to go down deep and there is room for the seed to grow. They are described in Jesus’ words in verse 20: Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown. It is through such people that the growth of the kingdom of God will come.

That is the parable and its interpretation. But what about its application? This parable is well known and has been preached on many times. In the process, numerous applications have come out of it. I want to tread very carefully this morning and try to put my feet very carefully in the feet of Mark, the writer of the Gospel. He recorded and arranged the words of Jesus under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, thus preserving the desired intent of Jesus himself as he spoke to the crowd by the shore that day. What response was he calling for and desiring?

The first thing I would say, based on Jesus’ own words in the text is simply this: With hearing comes responsibility. When we hear the message of the kingdom of God, the Gospel of Jesus Christ the Son of God, we are responsible for what we do with that message. We can no longer profess ignorance. We are responsible for what we do with the message, and we control our own response. I base this on Jesus’ words in verse 9: He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Everyone in the audience that day had ears. “So listen to what I have said,” is Jesus point. He repeats this in almost the same words in verse 23: If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear. He says it even more clearly in verse 24: Consider carefully what you hear. In other words, you have a responsibility in this. This matter of hearing and responding is absolutely critical. Be very, very careful with what you have heard. What are you going to do with this message?

With hearing comes responsibility. But what exactly is that responsibility? The first responsibility is to receive the message and believe it. This was the response of the good soil in verse 20: They hear the word and accept it. We could turn back as well to Mark 1:15 and Jesus’ early preaching: “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news. This is our first responsibility when we hear the good news about Jesus Christ. Don’t harden your heart to it. Don’t turn away. Don’t put it away to think about later. Receive it and believe the good news.

But there is a second responsibility inherent upon us when we hear the good news and receive it. That is to bear fruit through bearing witness: to make the message known. I see this in Jesus’ words in two ways. First it is inherent in the image of the fruitful plant that produces a crop. It is the image of multiplication. How will the kingdom of God spread and multiply unless the members of that kingdom are spreading the message? But it is also explicitly stated in another parable or figure of speech that Jesus used on this occasion as well as others. It is found in verses 21-23: (Read)

The first interpretive question that arises when we read that is, to whom is he speaking? Is this part of his explanation to the disciples when they were alone? Or has Mark gone back to his record of what Jesus taught to the whole crowd? It is impossible to answer that question with absolute certainty, based on grammatical clues alone. But my conclusion is that he is still speaking to his disciples. He is elaborating on the fruit-bearing image that he has just expounded. Now, I recognize that this image of the lamp under the bushel or the bed was also used in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to the whole multitude. But I believe that Jesus may have often used similar or even the same metaphors in different contexts, depending on the need of the moment. I speak as a preacher, and I know that some of my illustrations or examples have made their way into more than one sermon. So, Jesus is speaking to his disciples, and he is expanding on the responsibility that comes with hearing. The second responsibility is to bear fruit through bearing witness. This is inherent in the image of the lamp on a lamp-stand, is it not? How will we bear fruit, thirty, sixty and a hundred fold? We will not do it by hiding our message, by putting our lamp under a bowl or hiding it under the bed. We can only do it by putting the lamp of our witness on a stand where it can shed light on all who enter the room. That is the second responsibility that comes with hearing.

Next, Jesus elaborates the responsibility that comes with hearing by introducing an important kingdom principle. Let’s read it in Mark 4:24-25. “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued, “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

Clearly, Jesus is continuing to speak about the responsibility that comes with hearing. Consider carefully what you hear.  Here, then, is the principle: Effective hearing of kingdom truth must become enthusiastic investment in kingdom priorities in order to bear fruit. The hearer has an active and important role to play. He is not passive in this process. The truth about the kingdom is not an abstract discussion. It cannot be reduced to an academic debate. It requires a decision and then commitment. What you invest, that you will get back with interest – and even more. And the blessings of knowledge and understanding and abundant life in the kingdom of God will snowball, more and more. Whoever has will be given more. But the opposite is also true. If you withhold that commitment, that investment, even what you have will be taken away. Even what you’ve already learned, even the progress you may have already made toward understanding will fade and be taken away.

I believe this is true of the first time hearer. But I believe it is also a principle that carries on throughout our life in the kingdom. There is a never a time to grow passive, to step back and say, “That’s it. I’ve done enough. I know enough. Now I can coast. Now I can take a sabbatical and let others do the work for a while.” Like fish swimming against a current, we must either swim forward or we will be carried backward. But it is an energizing struggle. The more we commit, the more strength will be supplied as we press forward into the things of God and his kingdom. With the measure we use, it will be measured to us – and even more. This is the promise of the kingdom of God.

Finally, Mark wraps up his account of Jesus’ parables by taking us back out to the Sower’s Cove and the assembled crowd and relates two more of the parables Jesus shared with the multitude. These two parables are parables of growth. They are tremendously encouraging.

The first of these parables is unique to Mark’s gospel. (Read Mark 4:26-29) What is Jesus teaching with this parable? There is a divine mystery to the growth of God’s kingdom that cannot be explained by human energy, efforts or strategies.

The farmer scatters the seed. But he cannot control, explain or predict how, where and when it grows. Likewise, we are to scatter the seed. But we cannot control, explain, or predict how, where and when it grows. Jesus said, “I will build my church…” and build it he will, by his own power and on his own time table and in ways that remain a mystery to us. This truth is at once truly humbling and wonderfully encouraging.

During my time here in Abu Dhabi, I have had the privilege of being a close observer of probably about half a dozen people who have come to Christ from the majority faith. I have carefully worded that statement. I could never say that I have led any one of them to Christ. I can simply say that I was a privileged spectator to a sovereign work of God. I wouldn’t dare try to build a principle and go tell someone else “how to do it.” I don’t have a clue how to do it! Only God can do such a thing. It’s like the farmer getting up in the morning and seeing the plant that has sprung up over night while he was sleeping. It’s a God thing.

The final parable that Mark records is the parable of the mustard seed. Let’s read it from Mark 4:30-32. (Read) It’s a wonderfully simple but encouraging parable of the kingdom of God growing from a tiny beginning into a large garden plant, as big as a small tree. God’s kingdom grows from tiny beginnings. It was a parable his disciples would need when the large crowds melted away, and they would meet in an upper room after Jesus’ death and resurrection, fearing for their very lives. A tiny beginning that would one day spread around the world. This parable is true on the global scale, in reference to the world-wide spread of the Gospel. But it is also true in our own individual lives and ministries. God delights to take very small things, very small beginnings and grow them into significant works for his glory. Don’t be afraid or ashamed of small things. Plant the seed, gather with that small group for prayer, invest yourself in the kingdom of God. Let him take the small thing and make it great.

This is a passage rich in application for different kinds of people. Maybe you are here this morning and you are like one of those in the multitude beside the lake that day. You haven’t made up your mind. You’re curious, noncommittal, wondering what’s in it for you. Listen! Listen carefully! It’s all about hearing and then responding. What kind of soil are you? Ultimately it’s your choice. You decide. Hard soil? Or receptive soil? Be careful how you hear.

Once we have received the word and trusted in Christ, we still have choices to make. What kind of investment are we prepared to make? What priority will we give the kingdom of God and his purposes in our lives? Are we prepared to pay the price and press through the hard times? Or will we prove to be shallow soil, turning away at the first sign of hardship or sacrifice? Or cluttered soil, bearing no fruit? The choice is ours. With the measure we use, it will be measured to us.

Finally, if you are engaged in kingdom work, if you are busy sowing the seed, but sometimes wonder why you’re not seeing more fruit, don’t become discouraged. Remember, even Jesus, the Master Sower, saw most of his seed fall on unsuitable soil. But the good soil will repay all your efforts. The kingdom will grow in unexpected ways and in unexpected places. Small beginnings will result in great dividends for the kingdom of God. Put your lamp on the lamp-stand. Keep casting the seed. The harvest will come.