Sowing Gospel Seed
The Parable of the Sower provides the key to understanding the other parables of Jesus. The point of the story is that the Kingdom of God began to invade the present age with the proclamation of the Good News by the “Son of Man.” He inaugurated the process. Ever since the Kingdom has been advancing throughout the Earth though largely unnoticed by humanity and even many followers of Jesus.
What is a parable? The Greek word for “parable”
means “something that is thrown alongside, to cast beside” (Strong’s - #G3850).
It is a saying that is laid alongside something else for comparison, an analogy.
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[Photo by Dương Trí on Unsplash] |
The parables told by Jesus were stories drawn from everyday life and often featured jarring images intended to grab the attention of his listeners. Each parable illustrated one or two points of comparison. Most often, the subject was the “Kingdom of God” - (Mark 4:1-9).
In the Parable of the Sower, the stress
is on how the seed interacts with
different types of soil. The “Sower,” the “seed,”
and the method of sowing are the same for each soil type. What happens to the “seed”
once it contacts the “soil” is the point. Moreover, the “seed” falls
on four soil types - hardened, rocky, thorny, and fertile soil.
The description of harvests ranging from
thirty to sixty to a hundredfold is extraordinary, an exaggerated figure designed
to catch our attention. With his Kingdom, regardless of its insignificant beginnings,
the results will exceed all expectations.
MYSTERIES OF THE KINGDOM
The disciples asked why “outsiders”
receive his teachings in parables and without explanation, yet insiders receive parables with explanations. Parables separate insiders from outsiders.
They both reveal AND conceal information. They are a blessing to some but
bring judgment to others.
- (Mark 4:10-12) - “And when he was alone, they who were about him with the twelve questioned him as to the parables. And he was saying to them: To you, the mystery has been given of the kingdom of God, whereas, to them who are outside, in parables are all things coming to pass that they may surely look and yet not see, and surely hear and yet not understand, lest once they should return and be forgiven.”
His saying alludes to a passage in the Book
of Isaiah - “Go! And say to this
people: HEAR ON BUT DO NOT DISCERN. SEE ON BUT DO NOT PERCEIVE, stupefy the heart of this
people, and their ears make heavy, and their eyes overspread, LEST THEY SEE
WITH THEIR EYES, and with their ears should hear, and their heart should
discern and come back, AND THEY BE HEALED.”
The contrast is between those who hear the
parable and receive its explanation and those who do not. This is the pattern found
in his teaching ministry. Some men react in faith to the Good News of the
Kingdom, but others are blinded by unbelief and reject it. The failure of some to
understand is a sign of divine judgment due to their hardness of heart.
Jesus declared that his disciples had been
“given the mystery of the Kingdom
of God.” The Greek noun rendered “mystery” does not refer to
something esoteric or mysterious, but to something hidden that is disclosed (mystérion
– Strong’s - #G3466). The unveiling of the mystery is “given.” It cannot be acquired through
human effort or intellect. It must be received from God.
The word “parable” occurs twelve times in the Gospel of Mark. Each time it is in a context of opposition to Jesus. By means of parables, he revealed the “mystery of the Kingdom” to hearers, but he also exposed his opponents and their hardness of heart.
In Isaiah, the prophet received a
vision and was called to bring God’s words to Israel. But the people would not heed,
so judgment followed. Nevertheless, a remnant of Israel did heed the prophet’s words.
THE INTERPRETATION
The parable concerns the process of the Kingdom
growing in the world, and how men respond to it. It is being implemented through
the proclamation of the Gospel, first by Jesus, next by his disciples - (Mark
4:13-20).
The proclamation of the Gospel by a ragtag group
of Galileans appeared weak to the human mind, but that small beginning initiated
something far larger. In the end, the Gospel will usher in the long-promised reign
of God, including everlasting life for everyone who responds to it in repentance
and with faith.
The Parable of the Sower is about the
four different ways the word of the Kingdom is received. The seed sown on the
hardened soil meets with no positive response. Some seed is received initially with
enthusiasm but then forsaken when circumstances become challenging. Some
receive the seed, but then it is smothered by the competing forces of this age.
The seed that falls on good soil represents the men and women who hear the Gospel,
respond to it with faith, and then bear fruit.
Jesus faced outright rejection by some,
initial acceptance by others who were not prepared to pay the required costs and
acceptance by still others who later recanted because of the deceitfulness of
riches. It is the same for every disciple who heeds the call and begins to sow
the Good Seed of the Kingdom of God.
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