"This is really good seed!"
Falling in Love with Jesus…all over again! An epic journey through the Gospel of Mark (message #23)
Pastor Jerry Ingalls
July 3, 2011 ~ Happy Independence Day!
Let's jump right in to our Scripture passage today and read God's Word out loud together from the Gospel of Mark 4:1-12 (NAU): 1 He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2 And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, 3 "Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. 6 And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." 9 And He was saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 10 As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11 And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, 12 so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN."
When Jesus began His ministry in Galilee He declared, "The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15). Repent and believe are the first imperatives (commands) of Jesus' ministry and we must heed this word from our Master. It is not enough to believe; we must obey! A knowledge-based faith is not enough; Jesus Christ requires His disciples to obey what they hear and understand, and what they see and perceive.
Today, we are entering the fourth chapter and Jesus is teaching out in the open air of the Sea of Galilee. He is standing in a boat proclaiming the Kingdom of God to this very large crowd filled with a diverse group: there are disciples who believe that Jesus is the Messiah; tourist who believe Jesus is a miracle worker; busy bodies who don't want to miss the unfolding action between Jesus of Nazareth and the religious leaders; and of course, the religious leaders who are already plotting to kill Jesus (Mark 3:6) and have accused Jesus of being possessed by and in league with Satan (Mark 3:22). Jesus, knowing that such a diverse audience has flocked to Him; He begins to teach them many things in parables.
What is a parable? PARABLES ARE PICTURES!
Mark 4:1-2 states, "He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. And He was teaching them many things in parables [parabolē], and was saying to them in His teaching…"
Technically, the Greek word parabole means a comparison or simile. Jesus uses parables as pictures that point to the mystery of the Kingdom of God that start with the "here and now" to get the hearer to the "there and then".
Jesus is making connections with the people's everyday lives with a missional purpose: to reveal to them the mystery of the Kingdom of God! That is our second teaching point and it answers the question 'why is Jesus teaching with a parable?' JESUS CHRIST REVEALS THE MYSTERY OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD!
We know that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took the greatest journey in history, from Heaven to earth, to usher in the Kingdom of God (God's reign (rule) over His people). Jesus clearly stated in His mission in Luke 19:10, "The Son of Man has come to seek and save that which was lost." So yes, there is a very large crowd gathered to Jesus, but how many of that crowd have heard and received the mystery of the Kingdom of God? How many of these lost have actually been found?
We know that very few actually put their faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Messiah; and it is impossible to receive the mystery of the Kingdom of God if you do not first put your faith in the One who came from Heaven to earth to reveal the mystery of the Kingdom of God--Jesus Christ.
Jesus beings the parable with two words translated "Listen to this! Behold…" (Mark 4:3a). Jesus is saying to the people, "Listen! See!"
This is significant, especially when you listen to Jesus' words immediately following the parable. Listen to Mark 4:9-12, "And He was saying, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear.' [Jesus begins and ends (He bookends) this parable pleading for this large crowd to hear and perceive what He is trying to reveal. There is an unknown time lapse between verses 9 and 10, but now listen to these powerful verses that include a partial quotation from the Prince of Prophets, Isaiah 6:9-10.] As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. And He was saying to them, 'To you has been given the mystery [mystērion] of the kingdom of God, [The Greek word, mysterion, does not have the same connotation as the word mystery has for us today. The mystery of the Kingdom of God does not mean that the Kingdom is remote and hard to understand, but rather that the Kingdom is unintelligible to the person who has not received the key to unlocking the mystery. You must give your heart to Jesus Christ, and only the person who has taken Jesus as Lord and Savior can understand the Kingdom of God because only that person receives the Holy Spirit!] but those who are outside [those who have not yet surrendered their life to the Lord Jesus Christ] get everything in parables, so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN."
You have to hear this quotation from Isaiah 6:9-10 with a tone of regretful love (a deep yearning desire), not with bitter exasperation. This is key to our understanding…
It is so easy for us to read this the wrong way because our love is not perfect like the love of God. Jesus came with a mission birthed in love (John 3:16) and He does not falter in fulfilling it in love. Love is God's character (1 John 4:16)! Jesus used parables not to prevent people from coming to the Kingdom of God, but to seek and save that which is lost (Luke 19:10)! Jesus is on mission using people's everyday life experiences to reveal the mystery of the Kingdom of God.
Remember that many had shut their own eyes and ears to Jesus' person, works, and direct teaching (Mark 3:6; 3:22). In response, Jesus does not force the mysteries of the Kingdom of God on those with hardened hearts who do not have the ears to hear and eyes to perceive these truths. Jesus changed His approach—instead of direct teaching of the Kingdom and the direct manifestations of the Kingdom by declaring forgiveness of sin, healing bodies, casting out demons, and correcting the religious leaders' wrong interpretations and false loyalties. Instead, He used pictures! Jesus gives pictures which lead the hearers into the mystery of the Kingdom of God. Jesus' driving ambition is for the people to return so that they may return and be forgiven! Are you on mission? How are you connecting into people's everyday life experiences to introduce them to Jesus Christ?
For our last teaching point, let's now read and consider the main point of this first parable which I call, "The Parable of the Seed". THE WORD OF GOD IS REALLY GOOD SEED!
The parable proper is found in Mark 4:3-8, "Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. [The fields in Palestine were in the form of long, narrow strips divided by little paths that were used as through ways (reference Mark 2:23).] Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. [Palestine has a narrow skin of earth over a shelf of limestone rock. Much of Galilee was like that. The soil would look good, but it was shallow.] Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. [Palestinian farmers would cut back and burn off the weeds and thorns to prepare the ground for planting, but that left the root systems in place, (especially for those pesky perennials that would come back every year). The field would look clean, but it was not below the surface.] Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
Let's listen to a farmer's point of view… [Ed Bell to share agricultural teaching and testimony]
Although some of the seed never grew up (that's business as normal), the fact remains that the seed grew up into an abundant harvest (This is the main point of this parable and that is the good news of John 10:10!).
(Pick up seed that Ed plants up front) In the same way that you and I know this seed that Ed just planted will not grow up inside this church building, this agricultural community in Galilee would understand seed does not grow in every part of the field because of these varied conditions. But this crowd would have been overwhelmed by the yield of this very good seed in Palestinian soil!
The seed and its production of an abundant harvest of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold are the point of this parable! The Bible in Isaiah 55:11 proclaims of this seed, "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."
God is now planting this very same seed in your heart! The seed is the Word of God. The Word will accomplish what God has purposed in your life, in this community, and in His Creation. This is really good seed so trust God for the abundant harvest—it's the promise of God!
Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John 4:35b declares this promise, "Behold [There is that word again—See! Do you have eyes to see?], I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.'" Do you see and perceive?
And again in the Gospel of Luke 10:2, Jesus declares the promise of God and our role in this harvest, "And He was saying to them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.'"
Do you hear and understand?
As we respond to God's Spirit, we are going to pray the prayer of Luke 10:2. As we pray ask God to open your eyes to the harvest that is ripe in our community and beyond. As you start to see our community through the eyes of God; it is my prayer that we start seeing the community through the eyes of a laborer, and act upon what we see. Jesus has called us to repent and believe—we must act on what we know is true! To agree to what you hear and see in God's Word, but to not act on it is disobedience and hypocrisy!
Please pray with me: Almighty Father, you say that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; so we come as your body to beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into Your harvest. Would you please open our hearts to what you would have us do as Your laborers. May our response not be limited to our intellect or emotions, but in our actions for the rest of our lives! In Jesus name. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment