Mark 4: Parables of the Kingdom

 

Jean-François Millet. The Sower. c. 1865 

Welcome to a study of the Gospel according to Mark, a cooperative effort of Mary Barmore and Alice C. Linsley. Read Mary's testimony here and read about Alice's research here. 

The study begins with a brief Introduction to Mark chapter 4. This is followed by 10 questions. The answers may be found by scrolling to the bottom of the post.

Prepare by reading Mark 4.

Let's begin with prayer.

Blessed Lord, who hast caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning; Grant that we may hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life, which thou hast given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

INTRODUCTION

In Mark chapter 4 Jesus uses parables to describe the Kingdom of God. He privately explains the meaning of the parables to his disciples. His parables refer to activities that were familiar to his listeners. On the surface, they are about ordinary daily life, but some people recognized that He was speaking of deeper spiritual truths. 

From a boat on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus taught a large crowd. He used the example of a farmer who scatters seed. The seed falls of 4 types of soil with different results. Some falls on the well-trodden path. Some falls on rocky ground, begins to grow, but then withers. Some falls among the thorns and brambles and is choked, and some falls on good soil and bears much fruit.

Jesus also spoke of how light exposes all things, using the example of an oil lamp. The Parable of the Oil Lamp speaks of how a hearer of Jesus' words might respond. Some will grow spiritually by internalizing Jesus' words. Others will have taken away from them what little they may have received. The Parable of the Oil Lamp is an extension of the Parable of the Sower.

Jesus described the Kingdom of God as something that continually grows, often imperceptibly. He used the example of the mustard seed which produces a shrub yet expands into a large tree with many branches in which the birds make their nests.

After teaching the crowd, an exhausted Jesus crossed in a boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He slept in the stern on a cushion and did not wake until the stormy wind and the waves caused his fearful disciples to wake him. Jesus calmed the storm and chastised the disciples for their lack of faith.

Questions

1. Why did Jesus speak in parables?

2. How would you describe a heart that is receptive to Jesus' words?

3. Why did the seed on the hard wayside never take root?

4. The various growing conditions describe the human heart. What conditions of the heart produce the most fruit?

5. Light makes it possible to see what is in the dark place. What is the source of the light that exposes spiritual darkness?

6. What factors cause a person who hears the Gospel to never come to spiritual maturity?

7. What do the birds in the Parable of the Mustard Seed represent?

8. Although Jesus slept in the boat, his disciples were alarmed by the strength of the storm. What does their fear tell us about that particular storm?

9. What did Jesus do to calm the storm?

10. How did the disciples react when Jesus calmed the storm?

Answers

1. The parables were about activities that people did and observed daily. Everyone could relate to the parables, although some people would not consider the deeper meaning about the Kingdom of God. His message was "concealed" for those who would not take it to heart.

2. A heart that is receptive to Jesus' words is one that seeks forgiveness, healing, guidance, truth and eternal life. 

3. The path was well traveled, which means that the soil was hard packed so that seed could not penetrate the ground. Because of the hardness, the seed was snatched by Satan, the supernatural enemy of the Kingdom of God.

4. The best growing conditions include soft fertile soil, free of rocks and thorns. Both John the Baptist and Jesus proclaimed the necessity of repentance because repentance prepares the heart by clearing away the rocks and thorns and softening the ground. As a seed planted in good soil produces an abundance of fruit, repentant people will find their faithfulness rewarded by seeing other lives transformed.

5. The light that exposes spiritual darkness is the Light of Christ, also known as the "Light of the World" because the name Jesus or Y-shu (Yeshua) refers to the uncreated light of Genesis 1:1. According to the early Hebrew, the first act of the Creator at the beginning was šw (Shu), meaning light. This is not the light of day. It is the eternal, uncreated light associated with the High God's son Y-shu, as proclaimed in John's Prologue.

6. Jesus indicates that some who hear His word never produce spiritual fruit or reach spiritual maturity because they are focused instead on the cares of this world and materialism. Others fall away because of persecution. Some are complacent about the Gospel and complacency leads to decadence, and decadence leads to corruption. The Apostle Paul understood the danger of spiritual drift. He urged the Christians in Rome to "Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good" (Rom. 12:9).

7. The birds represent the people who find shelter in the Kingdom of God. This image is found in Ezekiel 17:22–23 where a majestic tree provides a nesting place for "birds of every kind".

8. At least 4 of Jesus' disciples, Peter, Andrew, James, and John, were veteran fisherman who had been fishing on the Sea of Galilee most of their lives. They were accustomed to changing weather conditions. This storm was so strong that their boat was filling with water, and it caused them to fear for their lives.

9. Jesus simply spoke and the storm ceased. The early Hebrew (Abraham's ancestors) believed that the Son of God (HR) had authority over wind and waves. This is highlighted in Mark 4 and in the story of Jesus walking on the stormy waves in John 6:16-21. In John's account, as soon as Jesus entered the boat, it reached the shore. (In the ancient world wind towers were built for people to determine the direction of the winds. These were called "horologions", after HR, the Son of God who controlled the winds. The Horologion of Andronikos Cyrrhestes is the world's oldest known meteorological station and wind tower.

A horologion.

10. Before Jesus calmed the storm the disciples were terrified. After He stopped the storm with a simple command, their panic turned into reverent awe. They were astonished and asked, "Who can he be, that even the wind and the waves obey him?" (Mk. 4:41)

Related reading: Why the Name Jesus?; Mark 1: The Barmore-Linsley Study of Mark; Mark 2: Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath; Mark 3: Religious Leaders Who Blaspheme; BIBLICAL ANTHROPOLOGY: Who is Jesus?

Perceive His Kingdom Coming

 

Welcome to this study of Matthew's Gospel, a collaboration between Mary Barmore and Alice C. Linsley. Before you begin, read Matthew Chapter 13. When you have finished reading, answer the 10 questions. Check your answers by scrolling to the bottom.


Introduction

In Matthew Chapter 13 we find 7 parables about the kingdom of heaven. These were delivered from a boat and the crowd gathered on the beach to listen. Jesus described the kingdom by using examples from daily life: sowing, baking, buying and selling, and fishing with a net. The disciples asked Jesus why he taught using parables. He replied, "Let those who have ears hear." He said that some are not able to hear the truth about the kingdom. 

Later Jesus went into the house where his disciples asked him to explain the parable of the weeds in the field. When Jesus asked them if they understood, they said "yes", but their understanding was that of people looking through a glass "darkly" as Jesus' glory was not revealed to them until His resurrection and ascension.

Questions

1. The parable of the Sower speaks of 4 spiritual realities. What are they?

2. Why is it important to try to understand the Gospel?

3. What is the message of Jesus' parable of the Mustard Seed?

4. What is the message of the leaven worked into the loaf?

5. The farmer who found weeds sown in his field by an enemy tells his servants to allow them to grow until the harvest. What does this reveal about God's patience and compassion?

6. The parable of the treasure hidden in a field has been interpreted differently depending on the man's identity. What are the possible interpretations of this parable?

7. What is the meaning of the parable of the pearl? (See also Matthew 7:6.)

8. What is the meaning of the parable of the catch of fish?

9. What does it mean to be trained for the kingdom? (vv. 51-52)

10. Jesus did not work many miracles in his hometown. Why is a prophet without honor among his own people?

Answers

1. Seed that falls on the path represents lack of understanding and is snatched by the evil one. Seed that falls on rocky ground fails to gain roots and the weak plant withers in the sun. Matthew relates this seed on rocky ground to those who fall away in times of persecution. Seed that falls among the thorns is choked and unfruitful. This relates to people who delight in worldly things. Seed that falls on good soil bears much fruit. This relates to those who hear the Gospel and understand it. 

2. Jesus explained that "When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart" (v. 19). We are to seek understanding or what we have will be taken from us. Matthew 13:12 warns, "For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him."

3. From something very small and seemingly insignificant can come developments of great significance. Healthy spiritual growth is incremental and often not noticed. The kingdom of heaven grows from humble beginnings into a great tree that provides shelter for many birds. This was not a message the Jews wanted to hear. They were seeking a Messiah who would immediately deliver them from Roman rule. They sought a political solution.

4. A woman mixes leaven into flour and waits for it to rise. The kingdom of heaven, like leaven, is hidden from the undiscerning. It works secretly. Jesus quotes the prophet Asaph: "I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world." This is a reference to Psalm 78 which is ascribed to Asaph the Seer. He is mentioned in 2 Chronicles 29:30. 

5. By allowing the weeds to grow with the wheat, the wheat is not damaged and lost. This parable is explained in 2 Peter 3:9 - "The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, but is patient, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." Jesus explained the parable to his disciples privately in a house (v. 36). He said, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father." (Matthew 13:37-43)

6. Interpretations of the parable of the hidden treasure depend on who one believes the "man" to be. The man may represent an individual who discovers Jesus, the hidden treasure. He gives up everything to gain Jesus. However, the "man" may be Jesus whose hidden treasure is the church or the fallen world for which he gave up his life. In Matthew's Gospel, the "man" often represents Jesus (Matt 13:24, 13:31, 25:14).

7. The parable of the pearl describes a person of great discernment. He judges the value of the kingdom of heaven against other claims and recognizes its surpassing worth. We are to discern truth from falsehood, good from evil, and the will of God from our own wills. Hebrews 5:14 speaks of this: “But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." Discerning Christians recognize that nothing is of greater value than being in the kingdom of heaven.

8. The parable of the catch of fish is about the final judgement when the angels will sort the good fish from the bad. Jesus explained, "The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (v.49)

9. Jesus describes one trained for the kingdom as a scribe. In Jewish culture, a scribe was a well-informed individual who knew Scripture well. Jesus told his disciples that they should be like that. He wanted them to uphold what is good and spiritually valuable from the old traditions as well as from the new. They were to appropriate the truth about the kingdom of heaven from the Hebrew Scriptures and from their direct experience of Jesus Messiah. The Apostle Paul reminds us that while we now "see through a glass, darkly" and know only in part, the day will dawn when we shall know even as we are also known. (1 Corinthians 13:12)

10. There is a saying that "familiarity breeds contempt." Jesus family and community knew him from childhood. Knowledge of someone often leads to a loss of respect for them. John's Gospel explains that Jesus' brothers did not believe in him (John 7:5). The rumors circulating about Jesus being the Messiah must have been difficult for them to accept. However, this changed. Jesus' half-brother James became a prominent figure in the Jerusalem Church. His leadership was characterized by wisdom, piety, and commitment to both Jewish traditions and faith in Jesus Messiah. 

Jewish rabbis typically taught using parables that they strung together like pearls on a string. Jesus was teaching the people in a manner that was familiar to them.

Join us next week when we explore the riches of Matthew Chapter 14.

Related Reading

Why the Name Jesus?

Matthew Chapter 1: A Closer Look

Matthew Chapter 2: The Magi Worship the Christ and Defy Herod

Matthew Chapter 3: Jesus and John Fulfill All Righteousness

Matthew Chapter 4: Jesus Exposes the Devil's Tactics

Matthew Chapter 5: Jesus Teaches with Superior Authority

Matthew Chapter 6: True Kingdom Seekers

Matthew Chapter 7: Entering by the Narrow Gate

Matthew Chapter 8: The Uniqueness of Jesus

Matthew Chapter 9: Christ the Compassionate Lord

Matthew Chapter 10: The Apostles' High Calling

Matthew Chapter 11: The Messiah Brings Relief

Matthew Chapter 12: Greater Glory Resides in Jesus