Gospel of Mark Study #11

“Relatively Speaking”

Mark 3:31 - 4:20

Study #11 in Mark Series

 

INTRODUCTION:

Everybody has at least one crazy relative. We all have someone in our family that is a bit of an embarrassment. It might be your weird old Uncle Harold who always looks like an unmade bed, talks way too loud in public, and falls asleep at the dinner table. It might be your kookie Aunt Ethel, who always wears those weird psychedelic outfits that have been out of style since the late 60s. Or you may be thinking of “Cousin It,” that you hope will not show up to this year’s family reunion because people are still talking about what he/she/it did last time!

 

By the way, if you cannot think of which of your kinfolk is the strange one, guess what, it just might be YOU. Just sayin’.

 

TRANSITION:

Apparently in Jesus’ family He was the one who was considered “strange.” He was that one that turned out to be an embarrassment to His relatives. In our last study we looked at Mark 3:21-30. You will recall that in that passage we learned that a group of Jesus’ family members showed up in Capernaum thinking that Jesus had lost His ever-lovin’ mind and needed to be hauled off to Shady Pines Psychiatric Hospital for a long rest and a little bit of electroshock therapy to set Him straight. They concluded that He had come unstrung and was mentally unbalanced. According to 3:21 they were planning to “...take custody of Him, for they were saying, ‘He has lost His senses.’” Did you get that? His family thought He was NUTS!

 

But was He? Of course not, but His family members were looking at Him through the wrong lens and were coming to wrong conclusions. But that was true of the Jewish religious leaders as well. They not only thought He was nuts, but they also thought He was demon possessed! They could not understand Jesus. He did not fit neatly into any of their categories. He did not play by their rules. He did not agree with their religious conclusions. He did not do the things that they thought “a real Messiah” would surely do. So, they rejected Him, and began plotting to kill Him at the earliest opportunity.

 

NOTES on the Text:

Verses 31-32: Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call Him. ³² A crowd was sitting around Him, and they told Him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for You.”

·         We do not know exactly where this conversation took place. It sounds like Jesus was inside of someone’s house or some other kind of building. When His mother, Mary, and the relatives showed up, they found the place so packed that they could not get inside. This fact is recorded both by Matthew and Luke. So, they sent word in that they would like to talk with Jesus.

·         However, Jesus was busy; He was in the middle of a teaching session. So rather than jumping up and running outside, He used the situation as a teachable moment to explain an important spiritual truth. 

Verse 33: “Who are my mother and my brothers?” He asked.

·         He was not being disrespectful to His mother and family. He was simply asking, “What constitutes family? What are the strongest bonds in this life?”

Verses 34-35: Then He looked at those seated in a circle around Him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! ³⁵ Whoever does God's will is My brother and sister and mother.”

·         “Whoever does God’s will...” His family members were all good, religious people, but except for Mary, His mother, the others did not believe in Him as the Messiah, the Savior. To them He was just “our big brother Jesus,” or “Cousin Jesus,” or “nephew Jesus.” They did not see Him for who He really was. And Jesus was making the point that the strongest bonds, the ones that are eternal, are those that link us spiritually to God, and to the people of God. Those connections will last forever!

Verse 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.

·         This story is recounted by three of the Gospel writers but none of them tells us who the boat belonged to. However, logic tells us that it most likely belonged to one of the fishermen among the Twelve, or possibly one of their friends.

·         The point is the crowd was so great that people were pushing Him right out into the water. They were not trying to drown Him. They just wanted to get closer to Him.

Verses 2-3: He taught them many things by parables, and in His teaching said: ³ “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.”

·         This story has been known for years as, “The Parable of the Sower.” However, a better name might be, “The Parable of the Soils.” What is in focus here is not so much the farmer who is planting the seed, but rather the quality of the soil into which the seed falls. Notice that Jesus used a word picture with which every one of His listeners was familiar. All of them kept family gardens. And some of them were farmers by trade. This story made perfect sense to all of them, even though it was a parable. Although many of them did not understand the immediate spiritual lessons, they were able to grasp the word picture because it was part of their experience. That is an important lesson for anyone who wants to communicate the Gospel to unsaved people. We must make it real and practical.

Verses 4-8: “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, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.”

·         You will notice that in this story Jesus presents four different soil scenarios:

1.       Some seeds fell on the hard-beaten walking path. That ground was so hard that the seeds could not possibly germinate. They were also totally unprotected and easy pickings for the little birds.

2.      Some seeds fell among rocks. There was just enough soil for the seed to hide from the birds but not enough to grow right. The seeds germinated but could not find a place to put down roots, so they quickly shriveled and died as soon as the bright, hot sun hit them.

3.      Some seed fell in among the thorns. The thorns, being bigger and well-established, crowded the seeds that managed to germinate and robbed them of nutrients, resulting in their fruitlessness. They were alive, but useless and unproductive.

4.      Some seeds fell on good, rich, prepared soil. Those seeds germinated and sprouted, and grew to full maturity, giving an abundant harvest and rewarding the farmer.

·         You will notice that in each scenario the seed is the same. It was all good, healthy seed. What made the difference was where the seed happened to fall. 

Verse 9: Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

·         Jesus often used this phrase. What did it mean? It was an idiomatic Jewish expression meaning, “He who wants to learn, who desires to know truth, PAY ATTENTION TO THIS!”

·         We all can hear, without really hearing. Sometimes we listen to our spouse this way. He or she is talking, and we are nodding our head and saying, “Uh huh” at all the appropriate times but we are not really listening. It is what we call “selective hearing.” Jesus was encouraging His hearers to really listen, to pay attention, and to think about what He was sharing with them.

Verses 10-12: 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!’”

·       Here Jesus loosely quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10. One of the things here that I find fascinating is the fact that the Twelve did not have any more spiritual insight than the crowd. These guys were not exactly spiritual giants, in tune with what Jesus was teaching. They were apparently mystified by what He was getting at, so they asked Him about it afterward. It is important to remember that these guys were people in process, and it is remarkable how patient Jesus always was with them. That gives me some hope and comfort. Maybe there is hope for a guy like me too if I keep walking close to Jesus. This comment by Jesus is interesting but a bit confusing. “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables.” He seems to be dividing the world into two categories: (1) Those on the inside; and (2) Those on the outside. He says that the Twelve are on the “inside.” But why? Answer: Because they were in a believing relationship with Him. Although they did not yet grasp the ramifications that their allegiance to Christ would have for their futures, they had put their faltering faith and timid trust in Him as their personal Savior and Lord. That put them on the inside of the salvation circle.

Verse 13: Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?”

·         Jesus seems to have been surprised by their lack of understanding. I wonder how many times God scratches His head in amazement at how stupid we are sometimes. The miracle is that He loves us anyway.

·         This parable is quite transparent compared to some others. For anyone with a grain of spiritual insight it should not be too difficult to figure out what Jesus was getting at. He told them, “If you cannot figure out the easy ones, what are you going to do if I throw you a fastball?” Nevertheless, He took pity on them and explained the meaning of the parable.

Verses 14-15: “The farmer sows the Word. ¹⁵ Some people are like seeds along the path where the Word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the Word that was sown in them.”

·         The farmer is anyone who sows the Word of God. That might be a preacher, or a Sunday School teacher, or a missionary, or an evangelist, or just an ordinary Christian talking with a friend over a cup of coffee. In this parable the farmer is not the main character.

·         Jesus says that the issue is all about where the seed falls. The Bible says that the “Word of God is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword.” The seed in this story is living seed, full of power and potential to save. However, where the seed lands is critical to its ability to germinate, grow, and bear fruit.

·         Jesus explains the first case study: The seed that falls on the hard-packed path. He says that the hearts of some people are so hard that nothing can penetrate. Satan just swoops in and gobbles up the seed. Lots of people have heard the Gospel all their lives but they have said “NO!” to it so many times that they no longer even feel any conviction when they hear it. They can sleep right through it.

Verses 16-17: “Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the Word and at once receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the Word, they quickly fall away.”

·         The second soils case-study is about seeds dropped among rocks. There are people who hear the Gospel and respond to an invitation to accept Christ. For a few days they are happy, but before long they are right back where they started. They have gotten a taste of the Gospel but have not been changed by it. They have no real life in Christ, just an emotional religious experience. They feel convicted, maybe even convinced, but they are not converted.

Verses 18-19: “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the Word; ¹⁹ but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the Word, making it unfruitful.”

·         This third case-study is about seed that germinates and starts to grow but soon gets choked by the thorns of life. The seed produces life but not a mature plant. Thus, there is never a harvest because the plant is stunted and unhealthy. Many Christians are like this. They have eternal life, but they are stunted and useless and fruitless. They are of no use to the kingdom of God and are no threat to the devil. They live ho-hum, mediocre, meaningless Christian lives, just marking time until Jesus returns.

Verse 20: “Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the Word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown.”

·         The fourth case-study is the one to which we especially need to pay closest attention. It involves good seed, being carefully planted in prepared, fertilized soil, resulting in healthy, productive plants and a bounteous harvest. That is the picture we should have in our heads of what God intends for every one of His children.

 

CONCLUSION:

The Psalmist, David, understood this concept, even though he never heard Jesus explain this parable. In Psalm 1 David wrote: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers. ² But his delight is in the Law of the LORD, and on His Law, he meditates day and night. ³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water [i.e., deliberately planted, not just there by chance], which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither [i.e., health and fruitfulness]. Whatever he does prospers. ⁴ Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. ⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. ⁶ For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.”

 

FEEDBACK:

Of the four kinds of soil in Jesus’ parable, which one best describes you? Why is it so hard to deal with the thorns in life and how can we keep them from squeezing the life out of our spiritual lives and rendering us fruitless? What can be done with hard-packed, rocky, or thorny ground? Can the bad soil be made more conducive to God’s good seed?