Step 10

Mark 4:1-20 The story of the sower

About Mark: We've noted that Mark writes for practical, down-to-earth Romans. They built the roads and bridges of the Mediterranean world. "Immediately" is one of Mark's favourite words. We met it in verses 12, 18, and 20 of Chapter 1. The cures of Jesus were "immediate" in 1:42 and 2:12. The word appears in today's section in verses 15, 16, & 17. Mark shows his style, though it should probably be read as "The next thing that happened was ..."
Mark lumps together three parables about seeds. The first, below, is the parable of The Sower, also placed first and foremost in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Some writers think it should rather be called the Parable of the Good Soil, because it is more about the soils than the sower.

Unlike other writings in the New Testament, Mark doesn't expand on what he understands by fruit, or fruitfulness, as if his Roman audience are interested in the action part of the story more than the application. Paul has a helpful list of "the fruit of the Spirit" in Galatians 5:22-23 which some rightly view as the characteristics of Jesus. His list comprises: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

A Christian is a person who aspires to be like Jesus. John's Gospel presents Jesus as a vine and believers as fruit-bearing branches, emphasising the organic connection between the character of Christ and the characteristics of a Christian (love, joy, peace etc) which God's Spirit causes to grow within us.

Bible: Mark 4:1-20, The parable of the Sower
1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 "Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." 9And he said, "Let anyone with ears to hear listen!"

The Purpose of the Parables
10 When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; 12 in order that 'they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.'" 13 And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. 17 But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when
trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. 20 And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold."

Comment: THE STORY OF THE SOWER

THE SETTING OF Jesus' own preaching and teaching was filled with difficulties and distractions. It would also be like that for the disciples and their successors when they preached. It is just as true when the preaching occurs in the insulated environment of a church. Whenever God's word is proclaimed to a general audience, the results are quite unpredictable and depend upon the receptiveness of the audience. As Jesus is first telling the story, he seems to be speaking of his own experience as a preacher. He saw failure after failure after failure on the three soils mentioned first. Then he reports success on good soil. But the success is equally
unpredictable, with some seed yielding thirtyfold, others sixtyfold, and others a hundredfold.

His catchcry is "Let anyone with ears to hear listen!" (4:9), which picks up a well-known Old Testament maxim that God has given us ears for listening. God has spoken. The onus rests on us to listen. Nobody progresses in spiritual discovery without receptive, concentrated, and discriminate listening.

In further explaining the story to the disciples (13-20) Jesus now describes the process from the hearers' perspective. Notice that all of the four soils are about those who "heard the word" (15, 16, 18 & 20). It was the same word. The difference lay entirely in how they listened to it. The seed on the path is not received. Similarly, the seed on shallow soil is received with joy but doesn't touch more than the emotions. When the atmosphere changes, their understanding is inadequate to endure. And on the third soil the word of God is but one among many equally nurtured influences, which eventually supplant God's message.

Here too Jesus identifies his three chief opponents in people becoming fruitful responders to God's word. The birds of the air represent Satan, ever distorting God's truth. Emotionalism without understanding is another. "The cares of the world, the lure of wealth, and the desire of things other than God" are the third, ever trying to infiltrate and divert our commitment to God.

By contrast, the good soil is where God's Word penetrates, becomes deeply rooted in the understanding, and where competing entanglements are dealt with before they get a hold. God's is the accepted word! And in due time it bears fruit! And when all things are considered, it has multiplied itself many times over!

Discipleship today: Putting this in today's setting, the Word of God still meets various kinds of response. We always have to sort out the Word of God from the noise around us. Satan specialises in scornful rejection. Also, response to God that is merely emotional and rootless, will be short-lived. Mark is carefully reporting the disciples' progressive journey to faith to show that the most important of life's decisions deserve time and thought to endure.

God does not push us into a decision. But a receptive, accepting attitude is essential. And we need to heed the warning that the cares of the world, the lure of wealth, and the desire for "other things" grow like weeds to choke the Word.