FURTHER PARABLES (Mark 4:21-34)
INTRODUCTION:
When we were last in Mark a couple of weeks ago, we looked at Jesus’ explanation of the parable of the four soils. Each soil represented the hearts of people where the seed of the gospel had been planted. The hard pavement-like path that separated the fields from one another is the first soil that Jesus mentioned, and it represented those who reject the gospel as soon as they hear it. The second soil was the rocky soil and represented those who heard the word and responded with a superficial excitement but as soon as affliction or persecution arose because of the word, they fell away. The third was the soil that was infested with thorns, these people also react to the gospel with interest, but the cares of this world, the pursuit of wealth and the desire for other things are like the thorns that choke out the wheat, these other loves choke out a genuine love for Jesus Christ. In contrast to these was the fourth soil, which was good soil and represented those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit, some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundredfold.
Jesus made a clear distinction between the good soil and the three bad soils. The seed planted in the bad soils are not true believers in Christ, they may fill the pews at church, but they have never truly embraced the truth of the gospel and because they have not, they will never bear fruit. Those who truly hear the gospel and accept it are known by the fact that their lives are characterized by fruitful obedience. The gospel of salvation has penetrated their lives and has taken up residence in their lives and transformed their lives and they delight in it, submit to it, and bear fruit by putting it into practice and by proclaiming it to others.
Jesus’ contrast of the bad soils and the good soil was to emphasize the importance of being a fruitful hearer. In our passage today Jesus uses three more parables that push home the theme of fruitful hearers. We learned that the understanding of the parable of the four soils was the key to understanding these later parables. As we look at the additional parables in this passage it must be understood that these are not parables that are distinct and disconnected from the parable of the four soils, but that they are interrelated illustrations carefully arranged here in Mark 4 by Jesus to drive home the truth of listening carefully to what is said and being a fruit bearing believer. These parables were spoken to the crowds, but clearly, they were intended for Jesus’ disciples and that wider group of followers who were being trained to proclaim the truth to others. We will see from Jesus’ teaching that fruitful hearers proclaim the gospel obediently, labor with hope for the future, wait while depending fully on the Lord, and live the Christian life confidently. Let’s pray and then get into this morning’s passage of Scripture.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Mark 4:21-34. Please, stand if you are able, in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Mark 4:21-34,
“And He was saying to them, ‘A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.’ And He was saying to them, ‘Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.’ And He was saying, ‘The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.’ And He said, ‘How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? 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, yet when it is sown, it 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.’ With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.” (Mark 4:21–34, NASB95)[1]
PARABLE OF THE LAMP (Mark 4:21-23)
As we learned in the parable of the four soils, the good soil represented those who heard the gospel, receive it and then because they have received it, they produce abundant fruit. Receiving the gospel consists of repenting of sin, believing that Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection is the only payment for salvation and living in obedience to God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul clearly told us the characteristics of the Spirit that are the fruit we are to produce as believers. In Galatians 5:22-23 he wrote, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22–23, NASB95)[2] In Colossians 1:10 Paul commanded the Colossian believers as to the behavior that they should have as Christians, he wrote, “… walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;” (Colossians 1:10, NASB95)[3] In John 15 Jesus told His disciples that those who abide in His love and submit to His Word will bear fruit. Spiritual fruit can take many forms, but whatever form it always consists of acts of obedience to the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
In this particular parable the fruit that Jesus was referring to was the fruit of being a faithful witness to those God puts in our path. This is the result of the heart prepared by God to receive the seed of the word and to accept it. As a faithful hearer of the word, we are to bear fruit as evangelists, we bear fruit by faithfully proclaiming the gospel to others.
Jesus used a simple parable to make this point, this parable used an object that everyone possessed and used daily. Jesus spoke of a lamp, a simple clay pitcher that had a handle at one end and a spout at the other, this was filled with olive oil and a wick was inserted through the spout and this was how they lighted their houses when the sun set. Jesus says that we do not light a lamp to put it under a basket or a bed, which defeats the purpose of lighting the lamp. Instead, we put it on a lampstand so that it gives light to the whole room. In your home you would have lampstands to maximize the radiance of the lamp.
The point that Jesus is making is clear, those who have received the good news of salvation are not to conceal it, rather they are to let it shine for others to see. In the Scriptures, light is often used as a metaphor for truth, holiness, and spiritual life in Christ. Here Jesus used it to illustrate how believers are to share the truth of the gospel with those around them. Faithful hearers have an obligation, beyond receiving the gospel themselves, they are to proclaim it to others just as it was proclaimed to them. If your life has been transformed by the truth of gospel then you have a responsibility to share that truth with others, shining it forth like a lamp on a lampstand.
When Jesus first began His ministry in Galilee, He had gone throughout Galilee plainly preaching the gospel. Now He was speaking only in parables. We learned a few weeks ago that the parables were an act of divine judgment against the stubborn unbelief of the people which included the outlandish claim made by the scribes and Pharisees that Jesus was empowered by Satan. Jesus understood that their rejection of Him was final, and He cut them off from further truth by only speaking to them in parables. This obscuring of the gospel was not to continue, the disciples in a short time would be sent out by Jesus to preach the gospel. This would be preparation for the ministry after His death, resurrection, and ascension. The Lord in verse 22 makes clear to the disciples that He did not intend for the gospel to be permanently obscured. He said to His disciples, “For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.” (Mark 4:22, NASB95)[4] Jesus was saying that there was an occasion when the truth was hidden and obscured from some stubborn rejectors of who Jesus claimed to be; but there was coming a time when the hidden things were to be revealed and the secret things disclosed to the world. The time of that unveiling would begin with the preaching ministry of the apostles, starting while Jesus was still with them and continuing on after His ascension and it will last until He returns.
The disciples now knew that not all would believe and accept the word, no matter the response the disciples were commissioned to faithfully proclaim the gospel to all who would listen. The seed of the gospel that they had received and had transformed their lives was to produce the fruit of gospel witness. This evangelistic mandate did not end with the disciples, it only began with them and has fallen on all believers in every generation of church history. Jesus ended this parable with the same phrase He had used at the end of the parable of the soils. “if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear,” (Mark 4:23, NASB95)[5] this was to highlight what Jesus had just said. It was of upmost importance that the disciples carefully contemplate the implications of being an attentive and fruitful hearer.
PAY ATTENTION (Mark 4:24-25)
Jesus continuing to emphasize the importance of being attentive hearers went on in verse 24. “And He was saying to them, ‘Take care what you listen to.’ ” (Mark 4:24a, NASB95)[6] Jesus’ point was that He wanted His disciples to listen carefully to what He was saying. The truths that He was teaching them were to be firmly fixed in the minds of the disciples. Jesus had just shown them through the parable of the lamp their evangelistic responsibility. Jesus wants us to understand that this responsibility if taken seriously and faithfully and done with all diligence would result in eternal rewards. He goes on in verse 24 to say, “By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.” (Mark 4:24b, NASB95)[7] When a farmer harvests his fields he expects some return from his work, but he will only get back what he had put into it. He reaps what he has sown. If he had been lazy or negligent, his harvest would be in proportion to what he put into it, the yield would be minimal. If he had been diligent and faithful to the task of sowing the seed, he could expect a fruitful harvest. The yield would reflect his effort as a sower.
Jesus’ point is that those who faithfully proclaim the gospel with all diligence can also expect to be rewarded eternally by God for their efforts. The wonderful truth about eternal rewards is that they last forever. This truth should be a great encouragement and motivation for us to be faithfully and diligently proclaiming the gospel. Jesus is promising in this verse that God would bless the work, not only according to level of effort (the standard of measure you use) but even far beyond (more will be given you besides). Our effort as believers should be to faithfully and diligently sow the seed of the gospel with the expectation that it will be fruitful, and we will be abundantly rewarded in heaven.
How eager are you to please your heavenly Lord? If this is truly your desire you should put out 100% effort, knowing as verse 25 states, “For whoever has, to him more shall be given;” (Mark 4:25a, NASB95)[8] In the parallel passage in Matthew 13:12 adds the phrase, “and he will have an abundance” (Matthew 13:12b, NASB95)[9] As we faithfully fulfill our responsibility to proclaim the gospel to others, God blesses us and that blessing will be in abundance.
Jesus does not stop there but goes onto talk about false disciples, in contrast to true disciples these false disciples are characterized by fruitlessness. Jesus warned His audience in the second half of verse 25, “… and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.” (Mark 4:25, NASB95)[10] The parallel passage in Luke 8:18 makes the intent of Jesus’ statement clear, it says, “…whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.” (Luke 8:18, NASB95)[11] These false disciples are those who were represented by the rocky soil and the thorn infested soil, they may claim to have spiritual life, but in reality, they do not possess it. Jesus made it clear that they will fall away, and their false faith will be exposed. These words by Jesus are also a warning to false teachers, those who sow corrupted seed. Just as there are false disciples, there are also false evangelists. Both will be judged by God. In contrast, true disciples delight in sharing the truth of the gospel with others, and know such obedience brings God’s blessing both in this world and in heaven.
PARABLE OF THE SEED (Mark 4:26-29)
Jesus’ second parable spoken to the crowds but heard by the fruitful hearers in which He taught that true disciples wait dependently on God, who alone can bring results. Even though we have the responsibility as genuine disciples to witness faithfully and obediently and to do so expectantly, we in no way can produce life. God alone can give spiritual life.
Jesus’ parable again was taken from farming to illustrate this point that only God can produce life. In this parable, Jesus said that the kingdom of God, which is a reference to work of salvation, which comes about by the proclamation of the gospel. Jesus said the kingdom of God is like a man (a farmer) who casts seed upon the soil. Once he has completed this task of faithfully sowing his fields he goes to bed at night and sleeps and he gets up by day and goes about his normal routine, and in time little green sprouts poke their way out of the soil that he planted. Jesus said, “… and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head.” (Mark 4:27–28, NASB95)[12] The farmer, the one who sowed the seed is not in any involved in the mysterious process by which the dormant seed is transformed into a living plant. Jesus said how this happens, the farmer does not know.
In this parable the sower represents the one proclaiming the gospel. The majority of the seed that he sows falls in the good soil and the hearers represented by the soil respond to the gospel in saving faith and their lives exhibit spiritual life and they begin to yield fruit. This regeneration and transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit. It in no way depends on the evangelist but only on God, He alone imparts life through the power of the gospel. There is nothing that man can do to create new life in the heart of a sinner. We are called to faithfully proclaim the gospel message, but we can never take credit when a sinner responds to the message in repentant faith.
Jesus in telling this parable makes His point clear: in the same way that a farmer in not the power behind the regeneration of the seeds he has sown, so also the evangelist is not the power behind the regeneration of souls with whom he has shared the gospel. This must have been a comfort to the disciples, and it should comfort us as well. Often, we get this idea that the task of saving sinners is our responsibility. Jesus showed through this parable that only God can change the human heart. Our responsibility is to faithfully proclaim the good news of salvation. Once we have done this, we trust God with the results. We can sleep soundly at night if we have faithfully completed our task, knowing that God is the One who causes the growth. We can fully depend on God for the results, the results rest completely in His sovereign will.
Even though the farmer did not cause the growth of the grain, Jesus teaches that he still rejoices in the harvest. “But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:29, NASB95)[13] Just as the farmer reaps the benefits of the harvest even though he had not caused it to grow, in the same way the human messenger, who had no role in the actual work of regeneration, he still is given the blessing of enjoying the spiritual harvest. One of the main blessings is the added fellowship that comes every time a new believer is added to God’s family, to the body of Christ. The riches of that fellowship are everlasting, as the glorified saints gather around the throne to worship our Savior and King for all eternity.
PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED (Mark 4:30-32)
Jesus third parable in our passage gives another characteristic of a fruitful hearer, a fruitful hearer is one who proclaims the gospel with confidence. It is God who blesses His Word and creates life. God is the One who prepares the soil, God is the One who causes His Word to take hold in a person’s life and then He creates life, and the person is transformed by the Holy Spirit. As true disciples of Jesus Christ we can faithfully fulfill our responsibility of sharing the gospel with a certainty of knowing that we are part of God’s mission which cannot fail. With this final parable in this passage Jesus assured His disciples and the wider circle of His followers that the work of sharing the gospel in which they would be engaged in would produce an abundant harvest far beyond anything they could imagine. This final parable begins with these words, “And He said, ‘How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?’ ” (Mark 4:30, NASB95)[14] Jesus was speaking of the spread of the gospel, and to the disciples the task may have seemed overwhelming, given the seemingly humble beginnings. But the parable Jesus shared was to give them confidence about the final outcome.
Again, Jesus used a farming illustration for this parable of the mustard seed. He said, “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, yet when it is sown, it 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.” (Mark 4:31–32, NASB95)[15] Jesus compared the spread of the gospel message to a mustard seed sown in the soil, which starts small but grows into a huge tree like bush. When Jesus said that the mustard seed is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, He was not saying that mustard seed is the smallest seed on earth. Jesus was using a seed that would have been known to His audience and for the things grown in first century Israel for agricultural purposes the mustard plant had the smallest seeds. Mustard plants in Israel can grow to a height of fifteen feet, larger than any other garden plants, with branches in which the birds could nest.
The disciples would have understood Jesus’ point, though the kingdom of heaven was at that moment tiny, like a mustard seed, it would grow to encompass the globe for generation after generation. Just as the Messiah had a humble upbringing—laid in a manger at birth and raised in an out-of-the-way town in Galilee, so also the kingdom of heaven. None of the twelve disciples were highly educated, nor were they members of Israel’s social or religious elite. After the resurrection and ascension of Jesus the group that gathered in Jerusalem was only 120 followers, with possibly another 500 in Galilee. Those small beginnings would soon grow. Three thousand were added to the 120 on the day of Pentecost. Hundreds of millions more have been added down through the centuries.
This parable also anticipated the reality that the kingdom of God would bless the whole world. Jesus said that the mustard plant would put out large branches and provide shelter to the birds of the air who can nest under its shade. The Old Testament used the illustration of a tree providing safe haven to the birds as a picture of kingdoms that were so mighty that they brought stability and blessing to the nations around them. (Daniel 4:10-12, 20-22; Ezekiel 31:3-6) Despite its small beginnings, the kingdom of God would grow into a mighty tree providing security and blessing to the whole earth. In the church age, that blessing extends to the nations through the influence of Christians around the world. When believers walk faithfully, they are a blessing to those around them. The influence of the church as a whole has benefited the world in many ways: spiritually, economically, culturally, and morally. But the implications of this parable go beyond the church age to Christ’ future millennial kingdom. During His glorious reign, the Lord Jesus will sit on the throne in Jerusalem, ruling the whole world, and extending unparalleled blessings to all the nations.
Jesus’ point was even though the beginning seemed small, even in the face of severe persecution, the disciples could proclaim the gospel with confidence knowing that they were instruments in building God’s invincible kingdom. That which was weak and frail under the power of God was the beginning of the unstoppable and eternal completion of God’s redemptive plan through the church to gather the elect to glory.
MARK’S CONCLUSION (Mark 4:33-34)
Mark concludes this section of chapter four with a final summary statement. He writes, “With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.” (Mark 4:33–34, NASB95)[16] The unbelief of the crowds was judged by Jesus as He obscured the truth and taught them what they thought were unexplainable riddles. But even their rejection was a part of God’s sovereign plan. But the disciples and the wider circle of Jesus’ followers consisted of those who were fruitful hearers who accepted the gospel. What seem like riddles to the unbelievers, Jesus explained to the disciples privately. Today, true believers share the same privilege of knowing the truth. Jesus Christ has ascended to heaven, but as He promised He has not left us as orphans but has sent His Spirit who indwells us and illuminates the hearts of all who belong to the Savior.
CONCLUSION:
Mark’s gospel is really about what Jesus did, more than what He taught. This is one of the few places in Mark where we get a peek at Jesus’ teaching. As already mentioned, the parables of Jesus were a blessing to those who believed but a judgment on those who did not believe. This morning from this passage we have learned of four characteristics of a fruitful hearer, first, they witness obediently, they do not hide the light but put it on a lampstand; second, they work expectantly, faithfully, and diligently proclaiming the word knowing God’s promise of blessing both in this world and in heaven. Third, they wait in total dependance on God, knowing that if they have been faithful to sow the word, it is God that brings the seed to life and regenerates a person transforming their life through the power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, they walk confidently knowing that God’s redemptive plan will not fail. As believers we can look back on God’s kingdom and see how it has grown from a small beginning into a great tree and that it will continue to grow and be a blessing until Jesus returns. Are you a fruitful hearer?
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[14]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[15]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[16]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.