NL 222: Parables in Mark

Mark 4:1-34

Initial Thoughts

  • Skips 2:23-3:33 (all of chapter 3)

    • Picking the heads of wheat on the Sabbath

    • Jesus healing on the Sabbath

    • Crowds gathering 

    • Appoints 12 apostles

    • Accused of being “The ruler of demons.”

    • Jesus asks “who is my mother? Who are my brothers?”

  • How are we the family of God? (chapter 3:31-35)

    • We are disciples witnessing to Jesus

Bible Study

  • 1-34 are to be read as a whole-“He began to teach by the sea” (v.1)…”Let us go across to the other side” (v. 35)

  • vv. 1-9~Parable of the Sower

    • Sower casts seeds, regardless where they fall.

      • The sower does not or cannot determine which seeds will succeed and which will fail.

      • Are we, the Church, called to be sowers or growers? Perhaps both?

    • Not moralized into good and bad, but from a random sowing a great harvest was gained.

    • Sower not the landowner (servant not the master)

      • Since most of the land was worked by tenant farmers owned by absentee land owners (which Jesus refers to in other parables), it is interesting that the sower is still a servant, not the owner of the harvest.

  • vv. 10-12 ~ Purpose of Parables

    • Inside vs. outside the mystery of God

    • Quotation from Isaiah 6:9-10

    • Looking and yet not perceiving

      • Faithful Remnant-a small remnant is all God needs (Isaiah 6:11-13)

      • 1 Corinthians 1:23

      • Leap of Faith-S. Kierkegaard. Fear and Trembling.

  • vv. 13-20 ~ Help with Interpretation

    • Points out specific obstacles to faith

      • Those who listen but do not follow (like the scribes and pharisees)

      • Those who fall away because of hardship and persecution (some of the disciples)

      • Those who are lured away by anxiety, wealth and passion

      • “If we ‘listen and do not hear’ it is not because of the obscurity of the word, but because of our loyalty to the prevailing ideology.” (Myers, Binding the Strong Man, p. 175)

    • May be a later addition

      • Greek is very different

      • The struggles of the early church

      • Perhaps Mark is sympathizing with the early Church’s struggles or Jesus is telling of what will come

    • Seem to emphasize that we are to be sowers, not growers!

  • vv. 21-25 ~ Lamp under a Bushel

    • Not something to be hidden as a treasure, but when it is true it cannot be concealed

    • One cannot help but share the good news once one receives it, but if you haven’t received it then you cannot give it

    • Don’t be discouraged-Keep Sowing!!

    • God works mysteriously, we cannot control God, but we can continue to sow the good news.

    • “Let anyone with Ears to Hear” 4:3, 9, 12, 23

    • Ched Myers - v. 24-25 - Jesus presents the predominant narrative - the haves will get more and the have nots will lose - in order to contrast that with the Kingdom of God as presented previously and in the next 2 narratives

  • vv. 26-29 ~ Parable of the Growing Seed

    • Only parable without a parallel in other Gospels

    • Go and sow the seed, the growing us the Mystery of God and cannot be controlled or understood

    • “The parable is significant whenever and wherever we Christians take ourselves and our efforts too seriously, seeking by our plans and programs to ‘bring the kingdom of God.’ Against such arrogant self-importance stands a subtle allusion to God’s hidden presence and power.” (Lamar Williamson, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching: Mark, p. 98)

  • vv. 30-32 ~ Parable of the Mustard Seed

    • Paradoxes:

    • The power and mystery of God

    • Those that seem unwelcome will flourish and attract other “unwelcome Guests”

    • The power of God is such that a tiny weed seed can be made into a great tree that provides for others

    • This parable “speaks of a kingdom which, for all its miraculous extension, remains lowly. Mustard is an annual plant; its perpetuation depends on renewed sowing, and its perennial promise depends on the life of the seed. It is an image which corresponds closely to the picture of the Kingdom of God in Mark: a mystery whose realization will come as a surprise; a reality whose weakness is its power.” (Williamson, p. 99)

Thoughts and Questions

  • It is very easy to get discouraged by the events of the world and it is hard to be content simply “sowing the seeds” without seeing the harvest. Can we, like the farmer, have faith the harvest is coming and be content not know exactly how that is happening?

  • Who are the mustard seeds that need planting? Perhaps not the Millennials but the seniors and baby boomers (65+ is the fastest growing population in the US and will be for the next 10-20 years) or the working poor who cannot help on committees and can’t make big pledges or the children

Year 2Eric FistlerMarkComment