OIA Chapter 4.1-34, Page 7.12-9.11

Observations:

• Who: Jesus, crowds, disciples
• What: teaching, parables, questions, explanations, exhortations; a secret;
• Where: in a boat, alone with disciples, public, private
• Repeats: parable, seed, sow, hear, word, soil/ground 11x, secret 2x, Listen! 4x
• Contrasts: fruitful/unfruitful; secret/known; hear/understand; get more/loose all; inside/outside; hidden/revealed; small/big;
• Connections: Jesus is focal point of system; responsiveness to Jesus is essential; responses to Jesus and the kingdom he proclaims continue to be mixed

Interpretation:

• These kingdom parables are central to understanding Mark’s presentation of the kingdom; they explain the variety of responses to Jesus so far in the book, and form the framework for understanding the rest of the book. And a clear understanding of the secret of the kingdom is essential for understanding Mark’s presentation of discipleship: responsiveness and proximity to Jesus: the disciples never do quite get in right even up to the conclusion of Mark’s narrative; but they do stick with Jesus, and keep asking questions, even if they are the wrong questions; I think this is Mark’s definition of following Jesus: stay in his presence no matter what, and keep responding: this is what Mark calls faith.
• The sower story explains Jesus activity of spreading the word of God, and the variety of ways people respond. Jesus takes initiative; the word contains the power to reveal the heart of the hearers. This story is more than a parable with only one meaning, but less than a allegory; often people get sidetracked wanting to talk about how to change the soils, but this is not the emphasis of the story; rather the emphasis is on Jesus’ initiative to preach the word everywhere, to all kinds of people, and see how people respond to the word; this is exactly what Jesus has done so far in Mark: proclaimed the good news of the kingdom: the time is now, the kingdom is at hand, repent and believe the gospel. And we’ve seen a variety of responses: the crowds, needy people, disciples, religious leaders. I’m not suggesting we force these into one of the four soils; but the soils do explain why people respond so differently to Jesus: in some cases there is demonic intervention; in others a shallowness that precludes fruitfulness; in other preoccupation with self-interest; in others, amazing fruitfulness.
• Having decoded the sower and explanation, it is time to decode the secret of the kingdom, the purpose for speaking in parables, and the logarithmic consequences of positive and negative response to the word, the gospel. Answering the questions Jesus asks is a good way to help people grasp these essential dynamics of the kingdom
•  How does one receive the secret of the kingdom? It is given, by Jesus
•  How will one understand? Ask Jesus
•  Why are things hidden? To be revealed
•  Does God intend people to miss the point? No, he intends for them to follow, ask, knock, seek…
•  What is it that some have, and some do not? Responsiveness to Jesus, faith
•  Why do those who have get more, others lose what they have? You are either responding positively to Jesus in a dynamic process where you grow, learn live out…or in the case of negative response, you increasingly lose the ability to see and hear God
• This have/lose dynamic describes what has happened to the scribes and Pharisees and Herodians: they have consistently and persistently rejected Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom: his claim to have authority to forgive sin, his rejection of their understanding of purity as it applies to social intercourse – he welcomes sinners instead of rejecting them; he places relationship over ritual: fasting; he believes religious observance is God doing a favor for us, and not vice versa: Sabbath is for man…
• As the religious have rejected Jesus, their spiritual insight has been taken away to the point that they are engaged in a murder conspiracy, and when they see the fruit of the kingdom right before their eyes and ears, the mistake it for demonic power: what they once had has been taken away.
• By contrast those who ask, who respond, are given more: specifically the explanation of the parable, an explanation of kingdom dynamic, and two more parables that explain the kingdom!
• Secret: MYSTERY: musterion NT:3466, primarily that which is known to the mustes, "the initiated" (from mueo, "to initiate into the mysteries"; cf. Phil 4:12, mueomai, "I have learned the secret," RV). In the NT it denotes, not the mysterious (as with the Eng. word), but that which, being outside the range of unassisted natural apprehension, can be made known only by divine revelation, and is made known in a manner and at a time appointed by God, and to those only who are illumined by His Spirit. In the ordinary sense a "mystery" implies knowledge withheld; its Scriptural significance is truth revealed. Hence the terms especially associated with the subject are "made known," "manifested," "revealed," "preached," "understand," "dispensation." The definition given above may be (from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright © 1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers.)

Applications:

• How have you personally experienced the dynamic of responsiveness in your journey of faith in following Jesus?
• How might you respond to someone who insists that large scale evangelistic campaigns are the main way the kingdom of God expands?
• Give examples of how you have seen and experienced the mustard seed principle.
• What might it mean that the kingdom of God will grow, even if we are asleep?