Theology Lessons with Jesus
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning and welcome to Dishman Baptist Church. It is such a blessing to be with all of you today and to be able to open God’s Word with you. If you have your Bibles please turn with me to Mark 4, Mark 4.
Mark’s Gospel was written for the purpose of revealing the person of Christ to a gentile audience. As we’ve traveled through this Gospel we were parties to the introduction of Jesus through the ministry of John the Baptist. Mark shows Christ’s power over the spiritual and the physical realm through His healings. We are privileged to be present as Jesus calls His first disciples and then His initial successes in ministry teaching in the synagogues through out Galilee. We walked through the rising conflicts that occurred between Christ’s ministry and the Pharisees and Scribes. Mark has demonstrated Jesus to be a man of action.
While Mark refers to Jesus teaching throughout the first four chapters he never gives us an example of the content of Jesus teaching like Matthew’s or Luke’s recounting of the Sermon on the Mount. Today we’re going to come to the end of the first of two passages in Mark that give us a look at what Jesus taught. And yet this chapter has been a bit of a surprise. Instead of the powerful teaching that astonishes crowds in the synagogues or even the powerful teaching demonstrated throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Mark chooses to demonstrate for his readers and for us the parables of Jesus. And really only a few of them.
The parable we initially looked at and the parables we’re going to look at today centered around an agricultural setting. The other two parables in this chapter used a lamp and the idea of a measure to demonstrate the Kingdom of God. All of these parables centered around revealing the Kingdom of God and also to reveal who was to be insiders, and the privileged position of those who were included to be able to understand the parables, and those who were to be outsiders. These next two parables would conclude our study of this teaching section of Mark and will continue Christ’s emphasis on the Kingdom of God but will take a decidedly different point of view. The two parables we are going to look at today and in a couple weeks are going to teach us a theology of sleep and a theology of growth. Let’s read the passage together and then I’ll explain a bit of what I mean by that.
“The kingdom of God is like this,” he said. “A man scatters seed on the ground.
He sleeps and rises night and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how.
The soil produces a crop by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain on the head.
As soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to describe it?
It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground.
And when sown, it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants, and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade.”
He was speaking the word to them with many parables like these, as they were able to understand.
He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, he explained everything to his own disciples.
Truly each of these parables deserves a sermon and even though it may be broken up we’re going to look at them each individually. I say that they will be broken up because I have a guest preacher next week who is going to look at the end of chapter 4 with us and we’ll circle back to the parable of the mustard seed in a few weeks. We’re going to see the Kingdom presented from two different points of view, each developed from the picture of seeds being sown. First we’re going to see a theology of sleep and we’re going to get a comprehensive overview of the entire process of salvation and kingdom increase. First we’ll see the sovereignty of God, then we’ll see the responsibility of man. We’ll see the process of sanctification and the rejoicing in eternity. After a break next week when we get to see Christ’s majestic power over nature on display, we’ll come back and Christ is going to give us a theology of growth - we’ll see unexpected growth, assured growth and finally the comprehensive growth. Unlike the first parable of the growing seed, this parable doesn’t have the individual in view - rather it has the entire kingdom in view.
Let’s start off by looking at a theology of sleep.
Theology of Sleep
Theology of Sleep
There are many people in America who aren’t sleeping very well this week. Maybe even some of you. The stock market falling has caused a lot of angst among investors and has probably caused many people to lose significant amounts of sleep as they try to figure out how to regrow or redistribute their portfolios - and in some cases they are just trying to figure out how to stop the financial bleeding as they are watching their hard-earned dollars disappear. And while I’m not personally in this situation I can certainly understand their point of view.
As a pastor there is a certain tension between desiring the church to grow, managing the sheep that you have already and figuring out how to maybe regain some of those sheep who have left or wandered away on your watch. Very few enter the pulpit without a desire to see men and women submit to Christ and become Christians and so we take a very personal interest in the way services go, in the growth of the congregation and how we preach the Word. And really if it were left up to me - if I was the sole responsible party for all of you either going to Heaven or to Hell I don’t know that I would ever be able to sleep again.
I must admit I stole the title for this point from Dr. John MacArthur. The truth is that, with the exception of midnight bottle feeds and sometimes going to bed far later than I really should, I sleep fairly well. This parable has a lot to do with that. This parable is only recorded for us here in Mark. If Matthew and Luke used Mark for source material for their Gospels they chose not to include it. But Mark did. The question is why - what does this parable have to teach us? Look back at the words of this parable with me and let them instruct us.
God’s Sovereignty
God’s Sovereignty
Mark writes
“The kingdom of God is like this,” he said. “A man scatters seed on the ground.
He sleeps and rises night and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how.
This phraseology is really a bit difficult for us to wrap our modern minds around. Science has advanced to the point that we can almost determine to the day when to plant a crop in order to receive maximum return. We know when to water, what type of nutrients to add to the soil. We know how a seed germinates and grows. Yet there is still a wonder that surrounds the emergence of a plant from the ground. Because try as we might - we can plant at the right time, we can water and add Miracle-gro to the ground, we can do everything right but we cannot make the seed grow.
There are two parts to this mystery of growth. The first is within the seed itself. Within a tiny seed there is every piece of information necessary for the growth of the plant. One of the marvels of the western United States landscape and particularly that of northern California is the giant sequoia redwood trees. These majestic trees can grow to be 250 feet high and 30 feet wide. And yet the seed of a giant redwood tree can fit within the palm of your hand. If you plant it in the ground and wait for a couple of centuries you could also have a massive redwood tree - nothing else needs to be added to it. Much like the mustard seed that we’ll look at in a few minutes the growth of the redwood tree is remarkable considering it’s seeming inconsequential start.
For Christianity the seed that contains the potential for growth is the Gospel. Within the truth of the Gospel and the rest of the Word of God that builds the cohesive story that supports the Gospel story is all that is necessary for salvation. As Paul wrote in Romans 1:16-17
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith.
So the first part of this mystery of growth is the truth of the Gospel and the power that it has to change lives. But a seed planted in the ground does not always result in the germination and development of a healthy plant. There is something unexplainable that still has to happen that causes that seed to grow. The dead seed must be brought to life. In the same way the dead soul of an unregenerate sinner must be brought to life before the truth of the Gospel can grow in his or her heart.
This is the second part of the mystery and it ties in to what Jesus taught the disciples early in Mark 4
When he was alone, those around him with the Twelve, asked him about the parables.
He answered them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those outside, everything comes in parables
To those who were predestined to be on the inside of the Kingdom the secret has been given - and it is within these hearts that the seed of the Gospel is able to take root and to grow. How it happens and why it happens only God knows. He is sovereign over the mystery of salvation in the lives of His people. When the Jewish scholar and teacher Nicodemus comes to see Jesus at night Jesus tells him
Do not be amazed that I told you that you must be born again.
The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
Just as a man cannot cause himself to be physically born. Just as a seed cannot cause itself to sprout forth a plant. In the same way a dead soul cannot cause itself to rise from the dead, become aware of its spiritual condition and place its trust and faith in Christ for salvation.
The great British preacher Martyn Lloyd-Jones once said
Gems from Martyn Lloyd-Jones Sovereignty
Do not try to understand, do not try to reconcile prayer with the sovereignty of God. The Bible teaches me the sovereignty of God, and, equally definitely, it teaches me the duty of prayer. I hold to that doctrine and I pray. I am not concerned about reconciling them. I cannot. Nobody else can. I imagine that in the glory we shall be given an explanation.
God is sovereign in making the plants grow. And God is sovereign in bringing men to salvation. Paul picks up the spiritual concept of this in his letter to the church in Corinth. In 1 Corinthians 3:7 he writes
So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.
It is the sovereign gift of God to enable the new growth of salvation in the heart of a man or woman. But that does not alleviate the responsibility of man to evangelize.
Man’s Responsibility
Man’s Responsibility
Look back to our text with me.
“The kingdom of God is like this,” he said. “A man scatters seed on the ground.
While we can rest easy knowing that the end result of the Gospel is not on us - meaning the sprouting and growth of the truth in the heart of the individual is not our responsibility, we still have a responsibility. No farmer can ever expect a crop without the hard work of plowing the ground, removing the rocks, pulling the weeds and sowing the seed.
It is the greatest privilege of the Christian life to be considered a partner with Christ in the spreading of the Gospel. And ultimately it is the only reason why we are left here following our own conversion. And ultimately we are commanded to do so.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
These commands are not optional nor are they conditional. They are not optional in that they apply to every Christian for all time not just a select few who are the professionals or those who have been called to evangelism or to sow the seed. The illustration of a farmer is really even more apt to the Christian life than that of a fisherman. Jon will tell you that depending on what you are fishing for you will use a different bait and you may achieve varying degrees of success based on what time of day, the weather, and the type of bait that you are using.
The Gospel however never changes and for us to change it based on who we are speaking to in the moment - akin to a fisherman changing his bait for a different type of fish - is the wrong idea to have. Instead we are to cast the seed far and wide always seeking a Gospel harvest.
The 19th century preacher E.M. Bounds put is this way
300 Quotations for Preachers from the Modern Church Men Are God’s Method
God’s plan is to make much of the man, far more of him than of anything else. Men are God’s method. The Church is looking for better methods; God is looking for better men.
Of all the methods and means that God could have used to spread His glorious Gospel He has chosen to work through frail, weak human beings. But there is a promise in this text for each of us. Because as Mark tells us that the soil produces a crop by itself, he outlines for us the truth that soil which sprouts a crop will grow to maturity.
The soil produces a crop by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain on the head.
First comes the blade, the initial indications that growth is taking place. That something is happening. No one plants a seed and BAM expects a full grown redwood by morning. It has to happen in stages - and sometimes over the course of centuries. And yet we, all to often, expect something altogether different out of our Christian lives. We expect to know and to understand everything. We expect to be relieved of all struggles with sin and life. Yet plants aren’t free from weathering the storms of rain and wind. The scourge of the locusts, the tearing and destructive powers of hail crashing down on it.
And yet the plant perseveres on - seemingly inexplicably - to reach the stage of germination during which the head appears and then finally along to the full maturity of a full grain on the head. This is a picture of the Christian life - none of us is complete. No one is fully mature yet. All of us are experiencing the growth of the Gospel in our lives.
I’m not trying to carry the principles of the parable too far - saying that you are both the farmer and the seed or the grain. But there is truth that the Gospel if it has really taken root in your life will grow to maturity - even though you may not see it, recognize it or understand what is happening. One day you’ll react differently, you’ll think Gospel first - how does the Gospel impact this situation I’m facing rather than the pragmatic way that many of us approach problems - what fixes this problem with the least possible strain or effort on my part - or what changes the behavior that I don’t appreciate. Neither of those is inherently wrong - but both of them fall short of Gospel maturity in our lives.
And it is that maturity that we seek - but that we wont ever fully achieve until we stand before our Lord in eternity.
Rejoice in Eternity
Rejoice in Eternity
Mark closes this parable with a picture of the end time judgement.
As soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The reference to the sickle points back to the prophet Joel
Swing the sickle because the harvest is ripe. Come and trample the grapes because the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because the wickedness of the nations is extreme.
And while the idea and the image of a sickle cutting its way through grain is a violent image - the hope that it possesses for the Christian is immense. Paul wrote two letters to the church in Thessalonica and in each he addressed issues relating to the end times. One issue that he was addressing was the lack of effort on the part of the Christians there because they were so focused on the return of Christ that they were unwilling to participate in life in the here and now. And we certainly shouldn’t be that distracted by the hope of the days to come but are we looking for it at all?
Are we like the five virgins in another parable of Christ’s who have our oil and our wicks trimmed and are ready looking expectantly for His coming or are we like the five who have run out of oil and are distracted by other things and not looking forward to His return. Maybe we’ve lost our thirst for the things of Heaven because it has been so long and we’re just caught up in our day to day activities. Or can we say with D.L. Moody
300 Quotations for Preachers from the Modern Church The Nearness of Heaven
We talk about heaven being so far away. It is within speaking distance to those who belong there.
Have we bought into the idea that you get one go around on this earth and that’s it? Or do we resonate more with what Randy Alcorn says in his book on Heaven
“If you're a child of God, you do not just "go around once" on Earth. You don't get just one earthly life. You get another-one far better and without end. You'll inhabit the New Earth! You'll live with the God you cherish and the people you love as an undying person on an undying Earth.”
We are triumphant - we are redeemed. We have something to look forward to. The idea of the sickle should not intimidate or worry us - we should desire it with a heavenly lust. We should never become so distracted by it that it is all we think of - but we should never forget that we have a higher calling, a higher citizenship and so we are called to live with one eye on earth and one eye looking longingly toward the day when we are joined with our Saviour. We should live as the Puritan Thomas Boston has said
Let the heirs of the kingdom behave themselves suitably to their character and dignity. Live as having the faith and hope of this glorious kingdom: Let your conversation be in heaven. Let your souls delight in communion with God while you are on earth, since you look for your happiness in communion with him in heaven. Let your speech and actions savor of heaven; and in your manner of life, look like the country to which you are going.
We have a home that is to come - and this verse is a promise that it will one day come. In John, during the Olivet discourse on the night that He was arrested Jesus told His disciples
“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.
In my Father’s house are many rooms; if not, I would have told you. I am going away to prepare a place for you.
If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.
The sickle may hurt - the maturing process that gets us there may be difficult but both are assured to us as Christians. We can look forward to that day knowing that the pain of the sickle is only momentary - but the bliss of Heaven and the New Earth will be eternal. And even greater bliss than that will be seeing our Savior’s face and worshipping Him in His presence forever.
Conclusion
Conclusion