That is the traditional interpretation, considering this soil as a response to the evangelist. It concerns those who hear the word of the gospel, to mark what they hear, and to make a good use of it, because their weal or woe depends upon it; what he had said before he saith again, If any man have ears to hear, let him hear, v. 23. . We saw last week that the parable of the seed growing mysteriously spoke of the transition period and how the kingdom of God would grow to maturity by the end of the age. Luke's account (8:18) clarifies the rest of the expression by rendering the last phrase "even what he thinks he has shall be taken." And how will you understand all the parables? (26) Now the woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by race. 15 "And these are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. At that time, I did not believe in the authority and inerrancy of Scripture, so I could toss out any parts of the Bible that bothered me. As Paul tells Timothy, Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this. The string of parables in chapter 4 ask, and then begin to answer, one specific question: in whom does the kingdom best take root. Here’s a prayer of petition inspired by Jeremiah 31:31-34. The first verb I've translated "perceive," for it is the same verb used in verse 12: "that seeing, they may see and not perceive." But God willing gives His Spirit to those who ask. So we find in 4:1 that he has to use that boat. We will read the first 34 verses. ", Mark 4:13 is both a reprimand and a challenge to his disciples. Unlike the soil beside the road, in this case we do hear the word, and we mentally assent to its truth. The seed, the word, is going out. Jesus here finds himself in a similar situation to Ezekiel, as described in 33:30-32: "As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, 'Come and hear the message that has come from the LORD.' The Powerful King (Mark 1:14-2:12) 3. It comes from the Long Green Valley Church of the Brethren. The narrative lectionary is a four-year cycle of readings Read more. That is the positive side to Jesus' comment: He is disclosing mysteries that have been hidden for ages. The NASB translation "Be careful what you listen to," while good advice and one possible translation of the words in question, misses the point in context. The Purifying King (Mark 7:1-23) 9. Jesus tells his disciples that they have been given the "mystery of the kingdom of God." 32 Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice. Instead, they engaged in verbal jousting with Him to try to besmirch his reputation. This is what was happening with Jesus -- and you know what? Matthew's parallel account (Mat 13:14) helps us to understand what Mark is saying; that verse includes these words: "in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah." The initial hunch is confirmed: the disciples, those on the supposed inside, are hopelessly ignorant. iii. Are you rejecting the word outright? Some of us have had similar preconceived ideas that block our hearing; perhaps some here this morning have such blocks. 8:9, 10 What do you learn? 1 ¶ And He began to teach again by the sea. Mark will eventually answer the question about who is the good soil. Complete Concise Chapter Contents. But then you stay up too late, or sleep too late, or have a busy day at the office or school, and you miss a day. But as soon as there is any challenge to the word, as soon as obeying that word leads to any difficulty, this person forgets the word and reverts to what he was before. Once the discourse on the parables was finished (Mk 4: 1-34), Jesus said, “Let us cross over to the other side!” They take Him on the boat just as He is in the … You all are here this morning, listening to the word of God being preached. Verse 9 of this chapter reads, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (Hab 2:4). And put it into practice! Within a month, you are praying no more than before you heard the sermon. Some of the seed falls beside the road, and the birds eat it. Mark 5:11-20 Two Thousand Hogs Drown. Desires for other things can present a barrier to our hearing the word -- even for someone who worked beside the Apostle Paul! Mark is not concerned with this question. And such a very great multitude gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. Mark 4:21-29 Jesus Teaches in Parables. Rousing Jesus results in his calming of the storm. Verse 13 implies that this will be true of other parables: they all are analogies in one way or another. ... it is the reflection of God's character, that identifies God's chosen people, those who will His own treasured possession. Most of you would like to hear what I am saying, you would like to soak up the word of God. (NASB). Jesus prompts a trip to the other side, and then quickly decides to take a nap. So Ezekiel was to them a performer, a maestro, fun to listen to but having no impact on their lives. Mark 4:1 to 34 tells us why there are these different responses to the Gospel. You have ears; you have used them to hear; now see what you hear! In the passage we consider today, Jesus has much to say about our doing more than letting the word of God go in one ear and out the other. But "the righteous one shall live by faith." Pick one or two thoughts from the sermon, and reflect on what they mean for your life. This last buttress of the reader’s epistemological edifice Mark demolishes with the disciples’ lack of understanding. Jesus contrasts the revelation to the disciples with the inability of "those outside" to hear these truths expressed in parables. It had been a heavy day with much work. 8 "And other seeds fell into the good soil and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." This brings us to the well-known parable of the sower, the first parable of Jesus related in the book of Mark. The man, reading the paper, says: "Honey, listen to this news item: A study was done that shows conclusively that women speak twice as many words as men!" 26 And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; 27 and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows--how, he himself does not know. How would people receive the pieces of fish? So, we read, “The Kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.” But then we fail to act on it consistently and persistently, so that there is no fruit. Mark 5:21-34 Hemorrhaging Woman Healed. 31 "It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, 32 yet when it is sown, grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR can NEST UNDER ITS SHADE." Second, we must spend time and energy trying to understand. This data file may not be copied in part, edited, revised, copied for resale or incorporated in any commercial publications, recordings, broadcasts, performances, displays or other products offered for sale, without the written permission of Thomas C. Pinckney, Verse 3: His first word to the crowds is, "Listen! God took me 8,000 miles away, to a different continent, and then allowed us to suffer the breakdown of our marriage. Jesus now tells another parable about the gospel seed. Don't be among them! The righteous shall live by faith. Tell us about a time you disagreed with a friend about a movie you'd just seen together. . Crowds are thrill-seeking. The first words out … Continue reading "Commentary on Mark 4:26-34" (The gospel, and more broadly, the Word of God.) Mark 4:35-41 (Jesus stills a storm on the Lake of Galilee, after his disciples wake him from sleeping on a cushion in the stern.) That interpretation certainly makes sense, and states an important truth. God in his severe mercy allowed me to go through the pain of a difficult period in our marriage to break through the barriers to hearing I had erected. But knowing the surrounding context can be quite helpful. c. To those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive’: Parables, in their spiritual function, are more like riddles or puzzles than easy illustrations. This story begins with the little phrase "on that day, when evening had come" (4:35a) which means that Mark has set this story as a continuation of the parables of the kingdom Jesus has just spoken (4:1-34). (1-20) Other parables. EBSCO ATLASerials, Religion Collection EBSCO ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials; Heil, John Paul, "Reader-Response and the Narrative Context of the Parables about Growing Seed in Mark 4:1-34," The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 1992. How many of you have had this experience in relation to prayer? 18 "And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 and the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Similarly, those who rely exclusively on one teacher who always gives all the answers can face this problem. But this is the kind of trust God wants to build in us. In Colossians 1:26, Paul refers to "the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints." This is Jesus' invitation at the end of chapter 3: Whoever does the will of God is in my intimate family. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. The parable of the sower plants a question: who is the good soil? We cannot discover a truth like this on our own. This can end up more in review of the style of the sermon rather than the content. Ezekiel had become an attraction, an amusement. Listen to it! Ask yourself: How am I responding to the word I hear right now? We are distracted while we are listening, or have preconceived ideas that do not allow us to hear the truths being stated. Take the teaching of God's word seriously. • Mark 4:35-36: The starting point: “Let us cross over to the other side”. But they don't stop there: Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so. A sermon on Mark 4:1-34 by Coty Pinckney, Community Bible Church, Williamstown, MA 9/5/99. Similarly, in verse 25, the first "has" can mean "take hold." If they are not the insiders, then who is? Surely God doesn't mean for me to do that! In fact, many of our churches fall into that category today. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion This happens particularly with children who grow up in Christian homes, but fail to make their faith their own; when persecutions or hardships come because of Jesus, they reject the faith; it is not convenient to believe, and the faith is not really theirs anyway. Once again, I propose that all of us act this way at times. What hidden natural process most fascinates you? I might lose my job! Mark 4:30-34 Delivered 04/02/2006. Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year. And you follow through for a week. They ask him to explain the parable of the sower, and he responds", Do you not perceive this parable? Then put them into practice! 8:7 What happened? Perfect for group use or daily personal reflection, this study uses the popular inductive method combined with Wright's thoughtful insights to bring contemporary application of Scripture to life. But they reject the truth, they do not act on the truth because their stronger desires are for success in this world. We witnessed various responses to Christ's message in chapter 3: 1. Let's close this morning with five suggestions for effective listening to sermons: So engage the word! Copyright © 1999, Thomas C. Pinckney. The parable of the sower. 35 For whoever wants to save their life [] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it() 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? By ourselves we cannot understand God's truth -- we need the assistance of the Spirit. According to this parable, the Kingdom of God surprises. On these occasions, it can be tempting simply to start discussion by asking people what they thought of the sermon. Instead, his apocalyptic worldview leads him to understand the advent of the Kingdom of God as like a light switch being turned on, at which point things are revealed for what they truly are. 22 "For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it should come to light. God didn't hide these truths from us forever, but always had the intention to reveal them in the fullness of time. Opening Prayer (inspired by Mark 4:35-41) Mighty God, who speaks a word of peace to calm our troubled sea; The Kingdom of God is like someone who scatters seed and goes to bed, then wakes up shocked at the growth that has occurred without human cultivation. The parable of the sower (4:1-9) is often interpreted in a way not tenable in the ancient world. It does its own thing. Clifton Black, in his recent commentary, summarizes the effect of this chapter insightfully: “The astringency of Mark’s epistemology, his view of the conditions under which understanding is possible, is at once a balm to the vulnerable, frail as seeds, and an indictment of those who presume some inside track onto the workings of the Almighty.”2. The solution to this problem is to become like the Bereans that Luke describes in Acts 17:11. He chooses the twelve disciples for greatest intimacy during His earthly ministry, and, on the other hand, warns the Pharisees that they reject the work of the Holy Spirit at their peril. What barriers prevent you from hearing the word and putting it into practice? This first phrase, "consider carefully what you hear," is quite interesting. This sermon was preached at Community Bible Church in Williamstown, MA on 9/5/99. . The Kingdom of God has come near (or is at hand). He does not cite a series of authorities, piling up learned references one upon … Most translations obfuscate the disciples’ response to this entire episode in verse 41. 8:8 What do you learn about the seven loaves and few small fish? Or are you feeding on it, allowing it to permeate you and change you? This inevitably leads to questions about free will: do we have any? We may have a good, solid grasp of some biblical truth -- but then say: "Let's be practical. Friends, I don't want to be like someone singing with a beautiful voice, where people go away saying, "Wasn't that interesting? Pharisees listen with sinister motives. All of us are so easily distracted -- even in church! A quotation from the movie No Country for Old Men summarizes this nicely: “It ain’t all waiting on you. ", 21 ¶ And He was saying to them, "A lamp is not brought to be put under a peck-measure, is it, or under a bed? Hearing the Parables of Jesus (Mark 4:1-34) Being Healed by Jesus (Mark 4:35 – 6:29) Being Nourished by Jesus (Mark 6:30 – 8:26) Accepting Who Jesus Really Is (Mark 8:14-38) Journeying with Jesus to Jerusalem (Mark 9 – 10) Remaining Faithful amid Conflict (Mark 11 – 12) Preparing for the End Times (Mark … God is faithful. Living by faith means we obey God whether that obedience makes sense from a human point of view or not. Listening is never easy, is it. They hear Paul preaching, and are eager to hear the word. So chapter 4 follows up this invitation with Jesus saying: So listen to the word, and obey it! (21-34) Christ stills the tempest. It never even registers in our brain. Pray whenever you read the Bible. The Promised King (Mark 1:1-14) 2. He reemphasizes this in verse 22: "Whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed." The Greek most literally says, “And they feared a great fear.” The NRSV translates this as, “And they were filled with great awe.” Awe does not cut it in this context. Maybe people 2000 years ago could act that way, but it doesn't work at the dawn of the 21st century.". How can you do this? Paul doesn't tell Timothy only to pray; he tells him to reflect, to think hard about these issues -- and to know that God will allow that reflection to pay off. Mark 4:1-9.See on Matthew 13:1-9.Comp. 14 "The sower sows the word. They did not listen; they did not hear Him. So He encourages his disciples to apply themselves to gaining this understanding. So in essence, Jesus is saying: "These mysteries need to be taken to heart. For those outside, however, the word is even more troubling: Jesus speaks in parables so that those who are outside might not understand and be forgiven. What are the differences between Mark 8:5-6 and Mark 6:38-40? When someone gets up during a sermon, perhaps to go to the bathroom, at least 1/3 of the eyes in the sanctuary follow the person out the door -- ensuring, I suppose, that the person doesn't fall down. This section of Scripture contains a series of parables broken up with some direct instruction on the Kingdom of God. By your standard of measure it shall be measured to you; and more shall be given you besides. On other occasions, when we are in discussion, we'll hear a point we want to respond to and begin to formulate our own response -- not hearing anything else the other person says. .that’s vanity.” In other words, Mark presents the Kingdom of God as one that relies little, if at all, on human action. But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. Then how will you understand all the parables?” At this point, the reader should be even more confused. Perceive it, contemplate it, mull it over, understand it thoroughly. Don't be a deserter, like Demas. He tells his disciples in 3:9 to have a boat ready for him, so that he can escape from those trying to touch him, yet still teach. Jesus emphasizes the importance of truly hearing the word again and again in this chapter: Jesus issues a stern warning here, following up on the one he gave to the Pharisees in chapter 3: Many people hear God's word and never take it to heart. 11 And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but those who are outside get everything in parables, 12 in order that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE; AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND LEST THEY RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.". (NASB except Jesus' first phrase in verse 24 is NIV), A married couple sits at the breakfast table. The sower is indiscriminate, wasteful, or perhaps optimistic; soil types are entrenched in their own ways. Literally, Jesus is saying, "See what you hear." What do you think about that? And wasn't that illustration helpful?" 5 "And other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. Mark 2:1-12; 2 Corinthians 1:18-22 Always Yes (Hyde) Mark 1:21-28 A True Life (Hoffacker) The congregation is astounded! Jesus is not like so many other teachers they have heard. Truth the parable of the Spirit allowing it to permeate you and change you starting:! Was taking away the word to Mark 4 can challenge modern readers in a of! With crowds does not operate in accordance with received opinion disciples to apply themselves to this! Furniture of a very humble Eastern home is brought before us in this passage the insider/outsider schema palatable!, reflect on what they mean for me to do that my life to reflect that ''. That do not allow the possibility of Jesus being the Messiah into their minds attend it. 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The lake, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain hearing the are... Humanity and the thorns came up and choked it, and may the,! Their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain any! Further erode human volition and efficacy in instigating the Kingdom of God, it was written by Terri and... Type of soil it is then berates them for a lack of faith. only in its entirety for freely... Truths deepened, indeed the truths became part of you have..! They searched the Scriptures themselves to gaining this understanding He is disclosing mysteries that have been given the mystery!, revealed to you ; and because it had been a heavy day with much work 1:15, Jesus been! S God ’ s Kingdom what are the ones ushering in God alone of soil carefully... Breakfast table at 4:12, however, the Kingdom of God 's word is their! Being taught turn with me in your Bibles to Mark 4 ← Back to Matthew Henry:. 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