Mark 4:1-20:
“Jesus Teaches The Parable Of The Sower”
By
Jim Bomkamp
1.
INTRO:
2.
In our last study, we looked at verses
16-35 of Mark chapter 3.
2.1.
Mark again showed
Jesus in action, as Jesus was again revealing who He is by the things He was
doing.
2.2.
We identified
each of the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus, discussed what scriptures tell us
about them, and discussed the three concentric groups of four within the
twelve.
2.3.
We discussed this
incident in which the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the
power of Belzebub, the prince of the demons, and we discussed what Jesus meant
when He told them that all manner of sin will be forgiven a person but that of
blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
2.4.
We looked at this
incident that occurred when Jesus’ mother and brothers came to get Him and take
Him home because they thought He had lost His mind, and when they came to visit
Him but He did not receive them because He was busy about the Father’s
business, and besides He knew that His mother, brothers, and sisters were those
who heard the word of God and did it.
3.
In our study
today, we are going to look at verses 1-20 of chapter 4 of Mark.
3.1.
We see here in
our study, that for the first time, Jesus takes a different course regarding
His teaching. The multitudes following
Him there in Galilee have been growing and growing, and Jesus has realized that
there were really very few among the people who really had the capacity to
understand the gospel and truth that He wanted to share with His
disciples. Continuing to teach the
people was therefore becoming more and more pointless. Jesus therefore began to teach the people in
parables, parables which were only understood by those who sought Him out to
hear His explanation.
3.2.
Vines Expository Dictionary has the following definition for a ‘parable’:
“PARABOLĒ
(παραβολή , (3850)) lit. denotes a placing beside (akin to paraballō, to throw or lay beside, to compare). It signifies a
placing of one thing beside another with a view to comparison (some consider
that the thought of comparison is not necessarily contained in the word). In
the N.T. it is found outside the Gospels, only in Heb. 9:9 and 11:19. It is
generally used of a somewhat lengthy utterance or narrative drawn from nature
or human circumstances, the object of which is to set forth a spiritual lesson,
e.g., those in Matt. 13 and Synoptic parallels; sometimes it is used of a short
saying or proverb, e.g., Matt. 15:15; Mark 3:23; 7:17; Luke 4:23; 5:36; 6:39.
It is the lesson that is of value; the hearer must catch the analogy if he is
to be instructed (this is true also of a proverb). Such a narrative or saying,
dealing with earthly things with a spiritual meaning, is distinct from a fable,
which attributes to things what does not belong to them in nature.
Christ’s
parables most frequently convey truths connected with the subject of the
Two
dangers are to be avoided in seeking to interpret the parables in Scripture,
that of ignoring the important features, and that of trying to make all the
details mean something.”
3.3.
When Jesus was asked why He taught in parables, it is interesting to
note what He says:
3.3.1. Mark 4:11-12, “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 so that while
seeing, they may see and not
perceive, and while hearing, they
may hear and not understand, otherwise
they might return and be forgiven.””
3.3.2. Matthew includes this:
Matthew 13:13-15, “13 Therefore I speak to
them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they
do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is
being fulfilled, which says, ‘You
will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
15 For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And
they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their
eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and
return, And I would
heal them.’”.
3.4.
The New Bible
Dictionary has the following to say about the purpose of Jesus’ parables:
“Some
have found Mk. 4:10–12 very difficult to understand, for it seems to suggest
that Jesus’ purpose in the parables was not to enlighten the unenlightened, but
that the unbeliever might become hardened in his unbelief. It is possible, however, that what seems to
be a clause of purpose in Mk. 4:12 is in fact a clause of consequence (so Mt.
13:13 [ie because they see and don’t understand]). The parables of Jesus may have the effect of
hardening the unbeliever, just as Isaiah prophesied with regard to the effects
of preaching the Word of God. The truth
is that Jesus’ parables are unique. The parables of other teachers can to some
extent be separated from the teachers themselves, but Jesus and his parables
are inseparable. To fail to understand him
is to fail to understand his parables.
‘For those outside everything is in parables’ (Mk. 4:11); the whole
of Jesus’ ministry, not merely the parables, remains on the level of earthly
stories and portents devoid of any deeper significance. Here ‘parables’ has
virtually come to mean ‘riddles’. It is,
therefore, possible for men to decline the invitation to understanding and
commitment found in the parables, and in them Isaiah’s prophecy (Is. 6:9f.) is
fulfilled (cf. Jn. 12:40 where the same prophecy is cited with reference
to the disbelief of the Jews in the face of Jesus’ mighty works).”
3.5.
The New Bible
Dictionary says the following about the characteristics of Jesus’ parables:
“Jesus
took the illustrations for his parables sometimes from nature, as in the various
parables about seeds and their growth (Mt. 13:24–30; Mk. 4:1–9, 26–29, 30–32);
sometimes from familiar customs and incidents of everyday life, as in the
parables of the leaven (Mt. 13:33), the lost sheep and the lost coin (Lk.
15:3–10), the importunate man (Lk. 11:5–8) and the ten virgins (Mt. 25:1–13);
sometimes from recent events (Lk. 19:14); and sometimes from what might be
regarded as occasional happenings or not improbable contingencies, as in the
parables of the unjust judge (Lk. 18:2–8), the unjust steward (Lk. 16:1–9) and
the prodigal son (Lk. 15:11–32). The style varies from the brief simile or
metaphor (Mk. 2:21f.; 3:23) to the description of a typical event or a
full-scale short story of a particular happening.
Sometimes
the lesson of a parable is quite obvious from the story itself, as in the story
of the rich fool, where the rich man dies at the very moment when he has
completed his preparations to retire in security and comfort (Lk. 12:16–21),
but even here the story is ‘capped’ with the dictum: ‘So is he who lays up
treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God’. On other occasions the point
is elicited by means of a question, e.g. ‘Now which of them will love
him more?’ (Lk. 7:42). A parable itself may be told in the form of a question
which invites the hearer to think how he would act, and then to make the
application (Lk. 11:5–8; 14:28–32). Jesus may draw out the point himself,
either at the conclusion of a story (e.g. Mt. 18:23) or in response to a
subsequent request for elucidation (e.g. Mt. 15:15). But more often the
story is told without additions, and the hearers are left to draw their own
deductions from it. Thus in Mk. 12:12 it is clear that the religious leaders
knew that Jesus had spoken the parable of the wicked husbandmen against them.”
3.6.
After this point
in time in our study, Jesus’ teaching to the multitudes was primarily in the
form of parables, and Harper’s Bible Dictionary includes the following list of Jesus’ parables:
Mustard Seed (Mark 4:30-32; Matt. 13:31, 32; Luke 13:18-19; Matt. 13:31;
Luke 13:18-19)
Sower
(Mark 4:3-8; Matt. 13:3-8; Luke 8:5-8)
Evil Tenants (Mark 12:1-11; Matt. 21:33-42; Luke 20:9-18; )
Harvest Time (Mark 4:26-29)
Leaven
(Matt. 13:33; Luke 13:20-21)
Great Supper (Matt 22:1-4; Luke 14:16-24)
Lost Sheep
(Matt 18:12-13; Luke 15:4-6)
Talents
(Matt25:14-30; Luke 19:11-27)
Wheat and Weeds (Matt. 13:24-30)
Treasure
(Matt. 13:44)
Pearl
(Matt. 13:45-46)
Net
(Matt. 13:47-48)
Rich Fool
(Luke 12:16-20)
Unmerciful Servant (Matt. 18:23-24)
Laborers in the Vineyard (Matt. 20:1-15)
Ten Bridesmaids (Matt. 25:1-12)
Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-35)
Barren Fig Tree (Luke 13:6-9)
Tower Builder (Luke 14:28-30)
King at War
(Luke 14:31-32)
Lost Coin
(Luke 15:8-9)
Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)
Unjust Steward (Luke 16:1-7 [or 8a])
Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16:9-31)
Unjust Judge (Luke 18:2-5)
Pharisee and Publican (Luke 18:10-13)
4.
The parable of the Sower:
Mark 4:1-20 -
“1 He began to teach again by
the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in
the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2 And He was teaching them many things in parables,
and was saying to them in His teaching, 3 “Listen to this! Behold, the
sower went out to sow; 4 as he was
sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it
up. 5 “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. 6 “And after the
sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 “Other seed fell among the
thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 “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.” 9
And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let
him hear.” 10 As soon as He was alone,
His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the
parables. 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 so that while
seeing, they may see and not
perceive, and while hearing, they
may hear and not understand, otherwise
they might return and be forgiven.” 13 And He said to them, “Do
you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?
14 “The sower sows
the word. 15 “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. 16 “In a similar way these are the ones on
whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word,
immediately receive it with joy; 17
and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary;
then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately
they fall away. 18 “And others are
the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have
heard the word, 19 but 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. 20 “And those are the ones on whom seed was
sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit,
thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.””
5.
This parable is also taught by Luke in chapter 8 of his gospel, and by
Matthew in chapter 13 of his gospel.
6.
Mark is the only gospel writer who includes that Jesus ‘began to teach again by
the sea’,
7.
All of the gospel accounts of this story tell us that Jesus sat down in
a boat in order to teach this parable to the entire multitude who was gathered
around Him, and the sea where Jesus sat in the boat was “the Sea of Galilee”
or “Gennesaret” (as it is sometimes
referred to in the NT).
8.
As He began to teach, I imagine that Jesus pointed to one off in a
field who was sowing seed into His farm as He began to teach the multitudes.
9.
It has been said that the parable is actually misnamed and that it
should be called “The parable of the four Soils,” and I think this is
true. The focus of the story is not
really the one sowing (though we could say that the sower could be encouraged
to continue sowing faithfully as a result of understanding this parable), it is
‘the soils’ into which the seed fell.
10.
Who is the ‘sower’ in this parable? Well, at this point in time Jesus Himself is
the ‘sower’. He had been sowing
His teaching amongst the multitudes for some time now, and thus He saw up front
the seed that produced a harvest and that which was sown for not. All of His disciples would one day themselves
be sowers and sow their teaching to the people of this world. So we Christians today are sowers as we share
the gospel and our lives with the lost people of this world.
11.
What is the ‘seed’ that the sower (Jesus) was sowing? The seed is the Word of
God. Jesus teaching to the multitudes
was the Word of God as all of His words came from the Father and He did nothing
that was of His own initiative. In John 6:63,
Jesus Himself said the following about His words, “It is the Spirit who
gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are
spirit and are life.” In
Matthew it is recorded that He said this about His words: Matthew 24:35, “35 Heaven and
earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”
When we share the gospel with people we are sowing God’s Word just as
Jesus did.
12.
What are the soils symbolic of in the parable? The soils represent the
hearts of people and their receptivity to God and His Word that they
receive. The receptivity of people’s
hearts to God determine whether the Word of God will have its desired effect in
their lives.
13.
One day when I was working in the high-tech industry on some circuitry
for an electronic control system, one of my co-workers was talking about
electronic communications and he made an obvious observation, “for proper
communication to occur there must be not only a properly functioning
transmitter but also a properly functioning receiver.” We Christians should be encouraged that when
people do not hear and receive our ministry, that with the best teacher in the
history of the world before them (Jesus) that most people did not understand or
receive His ministry. It has been said
that only about one plant grows for every thousand seeds that are sown.
14.
When the disciples question Jesus to explain this parable to them
because they have no idea what He is talking about, He challenges them about
how if they don’t understand this first parable, how they will understand the
rest of the parables and teachings He in time will give them: ‘Do you not understand this parable? How
will you understand all the parables?.’
15.
What are the four soils into which the sower
(Jesus) sowed?
15.1.
Beside the road.
15.1.1. Fields were surrounded by
roads or had roads through them, and the soil that was beside the road was not
able to bring forth a harvest because the soil had not been properly plowed,
and in fact, it may not have been top soil at all but rather soil that had no
nutrients in it capable of growing a crop.
15.1.2. The seed that was sown
beside the road never began to grow at all and it did not last on the ground
long because ‘the birds of the air’ (Luke 8:5 calls them this) would eat
the seed.
15.1.3. Who do the birds represent? The birds eat the seed which
represents the word of God, and thus they represent in real life demons (‘Satan’)
that take the Word of God that non-believers sometimes hear when their hearts
are not in the right place to receive it.
The birds are “the birds of the air,” and Jesus is called “the
prince of the power of the air.” (Ephesians
2:1-5, “and
you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. 3 Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts
of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by
nature children of wrath, even as the rest. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great
love with which He loved us, 5
even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with
Christ (by grace you have been saved).)
15.1.4. The soil that is beside the
road symbolizes non-believers who though they hear the gospel, it has no effect
upon them and they forget all about hearing what had been shared with
them. I remember a few times in the
years before I received Christ as my Lord and Savior when I came in contact
with a Christian who shared gospel truth with me. Afterwards I walked away and forgot all about
what had been shared with me.
15.2.
Rocky ground.
15.2.1. The consistency of soils can
vary quite a bit, and many soils are poor for growing any kind of a crop. For instance, there are sandy soils that do
not have proper nutrients, and there are also soils that contain too many
rocks, and are not fit to farm because they are rocky soils. When we lived in Seattle, every time that I
tried to did a hole in the ground for any reason I ran into a whole lot of
rocks and my digging either stalled or proceeded very slowly. The rocky place does not have enough soil in
it, and thus it does not have enough nutrients for a crop to grow, or it is too
difficult to properly plow it.
15.2.2. The rocky soil represents a
person who initially believes the gospel, but after a rather short period of
time they walk away from the Lord because their hearts are not properly
prepared for a belief in and walk with the Lord. Jesus describes these type of people this
way, ‘they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary’.
15.2.3. These ones
who have no firm root in themselves and are the rocky soil, thus whenever they
have to suffer in any regard because of the faith, or when anything is expected
of them that is in any way demanding, they fall away from the Lord and no
longer believe. Jesus describes their
demise this way, “when affliction or persecution arises because of the
word, immediately they fall away.”
15.3.
Among the thorns.
15.3.1. These types of people are
like the rocky soil in that initially they also believe the Word of God that
was spoken to them. However, the Word
did not have its proper effect on them because they eventually turn away to
perdition.
15.3.2. Jesus speaks of the demise
of these types of people saying, ‘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’. These type
of people get caught up in the world and its things which become their idols. Their god becomes “mammon” and Jesus
said that no man can serve “both God and mammon because they will despise
the one and hold to the other.”
15.3.3. The Bible is full of
exhortations and warnings about living for the riches of this world and being
greedy and filled with avarice, including:
15.3.3.1.1 John 2:15-17, “15 Do not love the world nor
the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is
not in him. 16 For all that is in the
world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of
life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 The world is passing away, and also its
lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
15.3.3.2.1 Timothy 6:9, “9 But those who want to get rich fall
into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge
men into ruin and destruction.”
15.3.3.3.1 Timothy 6:10, “10 For the love of money is
a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from
the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
15.3.3.4.1 Timothy 6:17, “17 Instruct those who are
rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the
uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to
enjoy.”
15.3.4. This type of soil can also
refer to people who live for the lusts of their flesh in general, and simply
give in to whatever their flesh desires.
Sexual sins and other worldly lusts can be addicting to many and draw
them away from God.
15.4.
Good soil.
15.4.1. This soil represents people
whose hearts are receptive to the word of God and who continue on in the faith
despite temptations, trials, and difficulties.
15.4.2. Jesus describes those with
this soil thus: ‘they hear the
word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold’.
15.4.3. The varying amount of fruit
bearing for this soil occurs because though a person may be good soil, not all
in this category are equally successful in their walk in Christ as faithful and
obedient servants. Some carry more baggage
with them from their previous life than others.
Some have better Christian examples to inspire them than others. Some have dysfunctional families and as a
result a great deal of bitterness that they struggle with.
16.
CONCLUSIONS:
16.1.
What soil are you?
16.2.
Be encouraged when you don’t see
results, this even happened to Jesus.
16.3.
Keep sowing the word of God
(share the gospel).