The Gospel of Mark/Chapter 4:1-20/Commentary

The Gospel of Mark Chapter 4:1-20 4:1 ”And He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very great multitude gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land” The word “again” reminds us that this is not the beginning of Jesus’ teaching ministry, but just another example of it. The place is by the Sea of Galilee, and the crowd is so large that Jesus enters into a boat, and uses it as a pulpit as He teaches the people who are crowded on the shore. This chapter will contain four of Jesus’ parables.

4:2 “And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching” The simple definition of a parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning”, and this is a good definition. The actual story was not a fable, but a real, true-tolife occurrence . In fact, like the sower, something that they might see frequently.

4:3 “Listen to this!”: This section begins and ends with a call for careful attention.

“This suggests that the meaning may not be self-evident. Alert minds are needed to comprehend its truth” (Gaebelein, p. 649). “The sower went out to sow”: “The background of the parable is rural life in Palestine. Seed was sown in broadcast fashion” (p. 649).

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4:4 “And it came about that as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up” 4:5 “And the 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” 4:6 “And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away” 4:7 “And other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop” 4:8 “And other seeds fell into the good soil and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundred-fold” The land in Palestine was divided into small plots. Instead of fences or walls, the plots were often separated by narrow paths that the farmers constantly used to get to their piece of property. As the farmer sowed his seed, some of the seed fell on this well-worn surface and had no chance to grow. Some of the seed fell into ground that consisted of rock covered by a light layer of topsoil (4:5) Other seed fell into soil that already had many thorns and weeds growing in it (4:7) and the weeds crowded out and prevented the proper growth of the good seed. Finally, some seed would fall into good ground and produce abundantly (4:8).

4:9 “And He was saying”: That is, He kept saying this. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear”: “It is well known that the man who teaches has much responsibility, but Jesus is saying here that the man who hears also has responsibility” (Parables. Lightfoot p. 21). McGarvey said, “They were inclined, like ourselves, to hear only so much as was agreeable to their feelings and preconceived notions” (p. 286).

4:10 “And as soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables”: They demonstrated that they had “ears that hear”, for they wanted to know more. Observe that more than just the twelve are here asking questions, thus, His teaching is not limited to just them. “He is no 2

Gnostic revealer whose esoteric teaching is only for the fortunate few. He came to reveal the truth to all who were open to receive it” (Gaebelein, p. 648).

Matthew records that the disciples wanted to know why Jesus used this method of teaching in the first place (Matthew 13:10 “Why do You speak to them in parables?”).

4:11-12 “ 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, in order that while seeing, they may see and not perceive; and while hearing, they may hear and not understand lest they return and be forgiven” Obviously Jesus is not trying to keep people from the truth, for God wants all to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9).

“Parables sometimes purposely concealed truth from the dishonest who were eager to abuse such whenever they had access to it. Thus it was with the case of the scribes and Pharisees who were constantly attempting to twist the teaching Christ…

His use of parables ‘became a test of character’. With those disposed to know and accept the truth the words of a parable served to arouse attention and to excite inquiry…But the perverse and fleshly minded shows its real character by making no inquiry and evincing no desire to understand..’" (M.S. Terry, Biblical Hermeneutics, p.

192)” (The Parables, Wayne Jackson pp. 6,8).

“The sermon in parables (Matthew 13:1-53) was a sifting process by which Jesus prevented the violent, worldly, or curious elements in the throngs about Him from becoming so dominant that they would try to take control of His campaign” (Foster p. 559).

“By this method of teaching in parables Jesus not only invited His audiences to penetrate below the surface and find the real meaning; at the same time He allowed them the opportunity---which many of them took---of turning a blind eye and a deaf ear to the real point at issue” (Gaebelein, p. 650).

In Matthew chapter 13 we see the above truths illustrated. We need to remember that Jesus' teaching in parables was the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy (Isaiah 6:9-10; Matthew 13:14-15). The disciples demonstrated that they had 'ears to hear' (13:9), when they came to Jesus after He spoke the parable and asked for further information (13:36). Thus the parables gave understanding to the honest 3

and sincere, for those people were stimulated by them and sought further understanding. Or, they simply took the time and effort to understand. But those who had other motives walked away from the parables.

The Explanation Parables are not stories that have all sorts of different meanings, rather, they have one meaning.

4:13 “And He said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? All how will you understand all the parables?’”

Here is Jesus’ view of the first parable that He gave. It was clear and understandable. If they could not pick up on this one, how could they understand the others? This first parable of the kingdom is really the basis for the rest.

4:14 “The sower sows the word”: So the sower is anyone preaching the word of God and the seed in the parable is God’s message. This parable contains and is surrounded by a continual emphasis on the importance of really listening when the word of God is taught. The "seed" in the parable is the word of God (Luke 8:11), and the "soils" represent different types of listeners, various heart/mind conditions found among mankind (Luke 8:15), or we could say various degrees of receptivity to the hearing of God's truth.

4:15 “And 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” Applications  Satan is always present when the gospel is preached---he fears its power (Romans 1:16), for he knows that anyone who really listens to the message-will believe.  He cannot stop the message (2 Timothy 2:9), and even in this parable, the word is “sown in them”---yet he can distract and discourage.  We might be tempted to ridicule the message or resent what it says about us (Romans 3:23). We could allow pride and arrogance to blind us, such as, ”You can't tell me anything, nobody is going to tell me what to do.” We might think, “Well most people I know don't follow the Bible, therefore I don't have to.” We might deceive ourselves into believing that all we have to do is mentally accept the Bible, but we really don't have to obey what it 4

says (Matthew 7:21). We might allow our minds to wander, or dwell on more pleasant or superficial subjects. Or we might be the kind of person who applies what they hear to everyone else (“Boy that person next to me really needs this lesson”), except themselves.  We might convince ourselves that we will come back to the Bible, but right now we are hungry—and never get back.  We might be scared or convicted and then listen to other people who tell us that there is nothing really to worry about and that we are just fine.

The Worn Mind One writer said, “Some people's minds are worn smooth by the constant traffic of idle thoughts. They are superficial. They live on the surface. They have no deep interests. They cannot sit still to read, learn, pray, or think. They hate to be alone with themselves, lest they should be surprised into thinking” (Parable of the Sower. Givens p. 14). “These hearers live in a totally different world and do not speak the same language as the Son of God. Why would such people come to hear Jesus? Curiosity? Novelty? Fashion? But they were not willing to truly listen to Him. Whether from smug self-satisfaction, or a prideful need to know everything already, or fear of exposure to some uncomfortable new truth about themselves” (Christianity Magazine. 12-92, p. 27).

4:16 “And in a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they heard the word, immediately receive it with joy” What appeared to be "good ground" and what seemed to be a receptive heart on first impressions turned out to be a hard heart. Under this thin layer of receptivity was a hidden ledge of rock. People can "look" and "act" receptive, when in fact they are actually closed minded (Acts 17:19-21,32; 22:1-2,22; 24:24-26). Barclay had some good observations concerning this type of individual: “He is the man who fails to think things out and to think them through. There are people who are at the mercy of every new craze. They take a thing up quickly, and just as quickly drop it. They must always be in the fashion. They begin some new hobby, or begin to acquire some new accomplishment with enthusiasm, and the thing becomes difficult and they abandon it… Some people's lives are littered with things they began and never finished..When he hears it he may be swept off his feet with an emotional reaction; but no man can live on an emotion...Christianity has its demands, and these demands must be faced before it can be accepted.

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The Christian offer is not only a privilege, it is also a responsibility” (Matthew.

Volume 2, p. 67).

This is equally the person who tends to live on emotion, they follow their feelings or heart, instead of their head. They are constantly jumping from one thing to another. This person is deceptive, for they may look very open, very sincere, and very religious, but are completely undependable.

4:17 “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” Jesus pointed out that this man "immediately falls away" (Matthew 13:21). This tells me that this heart condition can easily "rationalize" its lack of commitment to God. One common rationalization by this person is that they have not failed, but rather, “the church failed them”. When they fall, it is typically the fault of someone else.

4:18 “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word” The thorns are described in the next verse (4:19). Observe that the thorns are present when the word is sown—yet they are never removed.

4:19 “And 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” Everyone has these thorns and others in their heart when they first hear the gospel, but the person who succeeds is the person who as they hear the gospel they apply it and work on removing these thorns from their life. This person never did that. They heard all the lessons on worry or wealth—and yet they kept on worrying and kept on putting their trust and wrapping up their happiness in things.

Nothing in the text suggests that these "pleasures" which crowd out the word are necessarily sinful pleasures. Barclay makes a good point when he said, ”It is not the things which are obviously bad which are dangerous. It is the things which are 6

good, for the ‘second best is always the worst enemy of the best."’ It is not even that a man deliberately banishes prayer, the Bible, and the Church from life; it can be that he often thinks of them, and wishes he had time for them, and intends to make time for them, but somehow in his crowded life never gets around to it”(p.

68). I know many people like this. They are "good people", they are hard-working, provide for their families, and are good neighbors. They don't intend to abandon God, in fact, if you confronted them concerning their lack of priorities they would probably do their best to assure you that they do intend to serve God, and that God is very important them, but "life has been kind of hectic lately."

This might also be the Christian who always seems to have a legitimate "sounding" reason for their absence. But the real danger for this person is that they probably think they are saved. You see, a person in this heart condition could easily go through life and never completely externally abandon God, such as continuing to attend worship services. This person doesn't abruptly forsake Christ, rather their heart gives way to the slow, gradual, unnoticed (to them) attack of the cares of this life.

4:19 “Worries of the world”: All the various anxieties of the age in which we presently live. “Deceitfulness of riches”: Wrapping up our happiness in how many things we have. Justifying working too much and neglecting God by saying, “This is only temporary---I am just trying to get ahead”. Forsaking God, wife and kids, by saying, “I will make it up to them later”. “The desires for other things”: And it could be anything. I have been amazed at what the devil has been able to use to keep Christians from growing, attending and being as faithful as they should be. There will always exist plenty of things in the world that will "compete" for the time, attention, and energy that you are putting into serving God. I must never buy into the excuse that neglecting God at this moment in my life is acceptable because life is busy. The reality is that life is busy for everyone and it never slows down. “Choke the word”: The word of God is neglected and crowded out. This person never grows.

4:20 “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” Observe the effort involved and what makes a good heart:  The willingness to listen, even when the message demands that we change.

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 Accepting what the gospel says about us---even those it says we all have sinned.  Getting rid of the thorns, clearing ground in our hearts so that the word has room to grow—and continually doing this.  Constant trimming, pruning, plowing, fertilizing, breaking up ground, etc… so that we bear fruit year after year.

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