The Parable of the Sower
4 Again He began to teach by the sea, and a very large crowd gathered around Him. So He got into a boat on the sea and sat down, while the whole crowd was on the shore facing the sea. 2 He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said to them: 3 “Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow. 4 As he sowed, this occurred: Some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it sprang up right away, since it didn’t have deep soil. 6 When the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it didn’t have a root, it withered. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce a crop. 8 Still others fell on good ground and produced a crop that increased 30, 60, and 100 times what was sown.” 9 Then He said, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”
Why Jesus Used Parables
10 When He was alone with the Twelve, those who were around Him asked Him about the parables. 11 He answered them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those outside, everything comes in parables 12 so that
The Parable of the Sower Explained
13 Then He said to them: “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any of the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These[c] are the ones along the path where the word is sown: when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the wordsown in them.[d] 16 And these are[e] the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy. 17 But they have no root in themselves; they are short-lived. When pressure or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately stumble. 18 Others are sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word, 19 but the worries of this age, the seduction[f] of wealth,and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But the ones sown on good ground are those who hear the word, welcome it, and produce a crop: 30, 60, and 100 times what was sown.”
Using Your Light
21 He also said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it to be put on a lampstand? 22 For nothing is concealed except to be revealed, and nothing hidden except to come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, he should listen!” 24 Then He said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure you use,[g] it will be measured and added to you. 25 For to the one who has, it will be given, and from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.”
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 “The kingdom of God is like this,” He said. “A man scatters seed on the ground; 27 he sleeps and rises—night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows—he doesn’t know how. 28 The soil produces a crop by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the ripe grain on the head. 29 But as soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 And He said: “How can we illustrate the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to describe it? 31 It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown in the soil, is smaller than all the seeds on the ground. 32 And when sown, it comes up and grows taller than all the vegetables, and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade.”
Using Parables
33 He would speak the word to them with many parables like these, as they were able to understand. 34 And He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, He would explain everything to His own disciples.
Wind and Wave Obey the Master
35 On that day, when evening had come, He told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” 36 So they left the crowd and took Him along since He was already in the boat. And other boats were with Him. 37 A fierce windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke Him up and said to Him, “Teacher! Don’t You care that we’re going to die?”
39 He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 Then He said to them, “Why are you fearful? Do you still have no faith?”
41 And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Jeremy's Commentary:
Jesus's use of parables has always fascinated me. I love the fact the Jesus wraps his truths in stories that have practical applications (ie, dont throw seeds amonst thorns, dont throw seeds amongst rocks, dont throw seeds on the path). I love even more, that those practical applications have heavenly implications. So lets say I am a farmer, I understand what Jesus is talking about. I get it. I understand how to sew seed, I understand the life cycle of a seed, I understand how truly small a mustard seed is... however lets quickly take a closer look.
Our verse of the day is from Mark 4:14 The sower sows the word. On the surface we understand that as A farmer, throws out some seed, and that seed is the word. Lets look through a different lens. The Sower, sows The Word. When we look at it through a new God centered perspective we see that God is The Sower, and he sows, The Word, which, we know from John 1:1 is Jesus. However, this is even more complex as we also introduce the Holy Spirit. The Sower sows The Word. Meaning that God the Father is the Sower, The Holy Spirit is the agent that delivers for The Sower, to The Word.
In John 15:26, Jesus says “When the Counselor comes, the One I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me. So God the Father, through His Spirit, to the Witness of Jesus, gives faith to those that hear. This faith is a seed (we will talk about this later in Corinthians 15) , and this seed, even as small as a mustard seed, will do what it does, to become a massive tree, where many of those same birds from the parable of the sower, will rest.
Praise God for his perfect paradigm and His Ultimate Power! Praise be to the KING OF KINGS!!!
Discussion Question:
How has God used you as the sower? Can you attest that He truly is The Sower, and the Holy Spirit sows and Jesus is The Word? How can understanding these parables help us better share our faith?
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, it's all about You. Sometimes we forget, and make it about us, or our programs, or our memory verses, but it really is all about You. Thank You for that, it makes it so much easier. Please give us the boldness to share our faith with all those you direct us to, and to testify of your Glorious Name in all that we do. Amen
- Bible Text thanks to minsitry of BibleGateway.com and HCSB
- https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+1&version=HCSB&interface=print
-Key verse in BOLD
- Published by Jeremy Tramell - Oct 17th, 2014
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