The Parable of the Sower (P-I)

Mark 4

¹ Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that He got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.

In Matthew, a point is made that Jesus leaves a house and gets in the boat.  This represents the Message of God leaving the house of Israel and going to the Gentiles.  The background of these parables is in the context of the world.

² He taught them many things by parables, and in His teaching said: ³ “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

⁹ Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

This is equivalent to the railroad crossing guard.  It’s time to Stop, Look, and Listen!  I find it a call to listen with our hearts.

¹⁰ When He was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. ¹¹ He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables ¹² so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”  (Isaiah 6:9-10)

There is lots of reasons given for why Jesus turned His messages in mid-ministry and talked in parables.  Some descriptions are:  

1. As we see where He is turning from the house of Israel to the Gentiles, His message can’t contain the depths of the Law.  No none Jew would understand its message. 
2. The multitudes were interested in miracles and not the spiritual application.  The parables help get them interested. 
3. They apply to everyday life.  The gospel is everyday for everyone. 
4. Those who pursue it, they want to listen and hear, will understand it.  Paul expounds upon this in 1 Corinthians 2:9-10, 13-14).

Basically, we can use every means to try to get people to understand spiritual truth, but they must want to understand them before those truths can be made real to them.  If a person’s heart is open then the Spirit of God will bring truth to them.  People are lost until they accept Christ as their Savior.  They will continue to be lost until they receive Christ.  What kind of soil are they? 

What kind of soil are we?  When Biblical truths land upon us, how do we accept them?  Are we joyful?  Or do we mourn as though the Word is another burden?