Mark 4:1-20
Notes
Transcript
Parable of the Soils
Parable of the Soils
Introduction
Introduction
We see Jesus baptized by John the Baptist and here God the Father: Mark 1:11 “11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”
Jesus opened the book declaring the Kingdom of God: Mark 1:14–15 “14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
As Jesus teaches and preaches the people hear and people start to come hearing stories about how He taught, and the miracles He did:
Mark 1:28 “28 And immediately his fame spread abroad throughout all the region round about Galilee.”
Mark 1:32–33 “32 And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils. 33 And all the city was gathered together at the door.”
Mark 1:45 “45 But he went out, and began to publish it much, and to blaze abroad the matter, insomuch that Jesus could no more openly enter into the city, but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter.”
Jesus heads back to the Sea of Galilee:
Mark 3:7–10 “7 But Jesus withdrew himself with his disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed him, and from Judaea, 8 And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaea, and from beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things he did, came unto him. 9 And he spake to his disciples, that a small ship should wait on him because of the multitude, lest they should throng him. 10 For he had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues.”
He calls all 12 disciples to ministry Mark 3:13–15 “13 And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. 14 And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, 15 And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:”
Goes back home where now not just the Pharisees and unbelievers fail to respond to Him, now his own mother and brothers think He’s crazy: Mark 3:21 “21 And when his friends (kinsmen) heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.”
Then Jesus famously preaches damnation against all that hear and finally and fully reject the Word of the Father, the preaching of the Son, and the conviction of the Spirit:
Mark 3:22–30 “22 And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils. 23 And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house. 28 Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: 29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation: 30 Because they said, He hath an unclean spirit.”
This is the backdrop to our passage this morning.
Jesus Teaches in Parables
Jesus Teaches in Parables
1 And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,
Parable is a story that tells a spiritual truth using earthly pictures.
Why does Jesus use parables to teach?
they spark interest in the listener
they encourage and engage the hearer to think more about a truth
they are memorable
they make the truth plain to those God intends to see it
they teach a lot in a short amount of words and time
the opposite of making truth plain, they conceal truth from those God intends to hide it from
Jesus Gives the Parable of the Soils
Jesus Gives the Parable of the Soils
3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. 5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. 9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Sowing seed wasn’t like it is today. Sower walked and cast far and wide on all the ground regardless of its condition. Rather than now how we only cast on plowed ground, then the person would come back and turn the ground after casting.
Jesus himself is the sower here. Here’s where there’s a difference between us being the hands and feet and casting and God sowing the seed happens. Only God can give us the desire to turn fallow ground into receptive soil Hosea 10:12 “12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.”
Mark 4:9 “9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
Jesus is saying Listen up! Pay attention! Anyone that God has given the spiritual capacity to hear and understand, let him hear this!
We all know people who had ears and can hear sounds and words, yet they clearly did not listen to what was said. To be fair, I’ve done it myself in the past!
There are others that refuse to listen when they hear:
Jeremiah 5:21 “21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:”
Ezekiel 12:1–2 “1 The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying, 2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.”
Jesus Explains Why Parables
Jesus Explains Why Parables
10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
Jesus tells them they (the disciples of Jesus then and now) have been given the spiritual discernment and desire to hear and understand. That’s pure grace! There’s not one thing in them or us that made us “worth” hearing, and understanding, and responding, but God! Ephesians 2:8–9 “8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Everyone that’s outside faith and belief just hear stories.
Then Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9–10 “9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.”
This explains to the disciples why some (them) have come in faith while others have ignored or outright rejected Jesus
Jesus Gives Exegesis of the Parable of the Soils
Jesus Gives Exegesis of the Parable of the Soils
13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? 14 The sower soweth the word. 15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. 16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended. 18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
If the disciples of Jesus can’t understand the parable of the soils, they will error in understanding the rest of the parables
Mark 4:15 “15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.”
The word’s snatched up before it even has a chance to take root
There are some that have ignored for so long there is no heart left or have been given over that never even really hear the word. Repent, for the Kingdom of God is at hand may as well be spoken by Charlie Brown’s teacher. We would all be here but for the grace of God.
Mark 4:16–17 “16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.”
At least then it would have been losing family and food and risk of death. Now they hear a sermon preached at revival or on Easter and run to the altar and as soon as one of their friends they hang out with makes fun of them for believing that stupid stuff, they run away from Jesus and back to their group of friends like it never happened.
Mark 4:18–19 “18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.”
Think of one that comes up on a Sunday, prays a prayer and then goes out. Lives like it, gives up some things they ought to, does some things they’re supposed to, for a while. Maybe even a couple of years, but the costs grows. Not as much money in digging ditches as cheating people by selling used cars, or maybe the job they work at requires them to live in some ways that don’t honor Jesus or affirm some things that Jesus says is sin. Eventually, they just decide it’s not worth it to walk after Jesus and then without regret or against conscience can just say it was all a lie and just walk away from Jesus.
Mark 4:20 “20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.”
Conclusion
Conclusion
If you can honestly and confidently say you are in the 4th group, those that have heard the Word and truly understood, and have repented of the life before Christ and desire to walk in it daily (even if and when you fail, you know you long to) Praise the Lord! Understand salvation is of the Lord lest any man should boast and take comfort in Jesus.
Also know you have been given talents and jobs. One given to all of us that are saved is to be used by God as He casts the Word!
In that doing that job, we see here encouragement and warning
Be encouraged that no matter how big the harvest may seem at the time, even if it seems not to even be present, our job is to cast:
1 Corinthians 3:6–9 “6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. 8 Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour. 9 For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.”
Be warned that no human on earth can see the hearts of men and women!
We aren’t to look at the number. I have thought in the past 25% because of this passage but Isaiah says 10%
Isaiah 6:13 “13 But yet in it shall be a tenth, and it shall return, and shall be eaten: as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.”.
Maybe above that is a warning that we are not to try to determine who the seed of the Word falls on! The condition of a persons heart and the type of soil it is, is between them and God. We faithfully sow indiscriminately, casting the Word over all ground and trust God with the results :
Isaiah 55:10–11 “10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
If you aren’t in that 4th group but wonder if your part of the other 3. If you even question if you are in that 4th group, you have every right to not only be concerned but maybe terrified!
Hebrews 10:31 “31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
I want to read a part of a sermon I read studying this week. Sermon titled: “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. A sermon preached to some miserable pirates July 10. 1726. On the Lord's Day, before their execution. / By Benjamin Colman, Pastor of a church in Boston.”
Daniel 3:19 “19 Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego: therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven times more than it was wont to be heated.”
“This is but a little image of the fierceness of the wrath of God, which will cast sinners into the pit that burneth with fire and brimstone. THE wrath and vengeance of the living God is Eternal and Everlasting; and this it is that renders it so fearful a thing to fall into his hand. The living God lives for ever to punish. He can and will inflict wrath for ever and ever. He lives to uphold the Soul under everlasting Sufferings. IT is true that he could annihilate the Soul, and bring it to nothing: But he has made it immortal, made it for immortality, and it cannot die, it shall live for ever, tho' in insupportable torments. GOD is unchangeable Truth, and inflexible Holiness. He has sworn and will not repent.”
To be in the group of good soil in which the Word is heard and responded to and the Word grows and bears the fruit seen in the changed life of a true child of God is to fall on the Rock of Jesus and be broken!
To be in any of the other 3 risks the Rock falling on you! Matthew 21:44 “44 And whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder.”