Mark 4:1–20
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: 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.” 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.’ ” 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. 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.”
Mark 4:1–20
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: 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.” 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.’ ” 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. 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.”
This is a familiar passage to Christians and undoubtedly, you’ve heard and read this parable on many occasions. So let me take a bit of a different tact as we consider this parable. Let’s think a bit about those who are hearing Jesus share this parable for the first time.
Remember that the people listening are the Jewish, the people of God, who have endured exile when Babylon conquered them, and then, slowly a remnant returned to the land. They had prophets before and after the exile which warned of God’s anger and the exile, but the prophets also spoke of a new day that would come. A day of rescue and deliverance when God would redeem His people, draw them back from exile and rescue them from oppression.
The people of God have been waiting and enduring until this day. Now the Romans are the hated occupiers and perhaps more than before, the people are eagerly waiting for the day of rescue and deliverance.
Now here is Jesus. He has done amazing things, miraculous healings, and other signs and marvels, and everyone is eager to hear Him because they wonder, could Jesus be the one?
Then they hear this parable that Jesus tells, and the ones that will follow. This isn’t what they were wanting and expecting to hear. It’s not the story of God’s kingdom being established by force, but clearly, there is a victory, a great harvest will happen, but not in the way that they expected.
The kingdom of God will be established, and some people will get on board, but others will stand back and reject the message. Others will hear but then forgot about it straight away. Some will even start off well, but soon the busyness of life and the allure of other things will eclipse the word and suddenly their hearts and minds will be focused on other things.
However, for the seed planted in good soil a harvest will come in due time; thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.
What the people are hearing is that the kingdom of God isn’t going to be what they expected. God’s kingdom is not something that happens automatically in their lives, it’s something that they, and we, have to say “yes” to as we pursue, tend to, and cultivate our relationship with the Lord.
This parable, and the others that will follow, are going to make the people think about God’s work in their own hearts and in the world.
The same is true for us today. We need to think about and constantly dive into the deep waters of our relationship with Jesus. We need to continually say “yes” to Jesus’ work in our lives and relentlessly pursue Him.
As we say “yes” and follow where Jesus leads, God will work a harvest in your life that is incredible. By the way, a harvest of 30 is just as successful as a harvest of a hundredfold—keep your focus in the right place!
Where is Jesus asking you to say “yes” to Him today?
Good stuff. God bless you and know that you are prayed for this morning.
Scott