Parable of the Sower (Reflection on Mark 4)

Mark 4 Reading & Reflections

This post accompanies my reading of Mark 4 on the Circular Grace YouTube channel.

The Parable of the Sower

Let's jump into the Gospel According to Mark, Chapter 4! Wow, this Gospel moves at some pace and here Jesus delivers His now well known Parable of the Sower. As an experienced gardener, I really appreciate this parable because I understand how seeds respond to different environments. I enjoy growing chilli peppers from seed and often manipulate the soil to achieve certain growing goals. For example, I have a short growing season, owing to my northern location. I want my chilli plants to bolt towards the light and develop fruit earlier. To achieve this I give them tiny pots with a minimum of soil. Basically, planting them in stony soil. I end up with a miniature plant and left like that it wouldn't produce fruit and would wither and die. To keep it alive, I give it liquid feed and it then produces fruit. In this parable however, the plant that grows from the seed sown in stony ground doesn't receive the nutrients it needs for growth. Genuine faith is a seed sown in fertile soil. It grows because it receives constant blessings of spiritual nourishment.

In the video, I shared my personal testimony of how God blesses me through the trials that I face. There's more to take away from this Chapter and I'm going to walk you through some of my favourite respected commentaries to get a better understanding of what Jesus is teaching us.

Enduring Word Commentary

This commentary gives a nice description of a parable. I liked the way they explain that a parable takes a familiar circumstance and uses that to explain a spiritual reality.

b. Then He taught them many things by parables: The word parable comes from the idea of “to set along side.” As Jesus used parables, the idea was to set a spiritual truth along side a daily truth of living.

You'll find a very useful walkthrough of the Parable of the Sower in this commentary but I thought, particularly useful was their explanation of the 'mystery of the Kingdom'. The word, 'mystery' may often be taken for granted by those who know the Gospel story but it's worth stopping and considering how we know, what we know and because of who.

ii. In the Bible, a mystery isn’t something you can’t figure out. It is something that you would not know unless God revealed it to you. In the Biblical sense of the idea, you may know exactly what a mystery is, yet it is still a mystery because you would not have known unless God revealed it.

I found this next point very useful because I have scratched my head over what Jesus was trying to teach about those who don't hear the parable. This helped me to understand that some people would not be curious at all. Some would simply let the words go in one ear and put of the other, without a second thought.

i. A parable isn’t exactly an illustration. A good teacher can illustrate by stating a truth and then illustrating the truth through a story or an analogy. But when Jesus used parables, He didn’t start by stating a truth. Instead, the parable was like a doorway. Jesus’ listeners stood at the doorway and heard Him. If they were not interested, they stayed on the outside. But if they were interested, they could walk through the doorway and think about the truth behind the parable and what it meant to their lives.

I recommend a good read of the full commentary. There's a nice section on Jesus as the light in the context of the light hidden under a bush. Here's the link:

https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/mark-4/

Blue Letter Commentary

Another very useful commentary that will provide a good overview of the parables. The first thing that jumped out for me here was the context around how Jesus gave only parables to the multitude whilst giving those He had chosen as disciples, one to one tuition. The disciples are incredibly blessed to receive special treatment and as we understand, this is so they can go on to explain the meaning of the parables to those who are curious enough to find out. They are being trained to serve as Jesus' spokespeople.

II. The way of expounding that he used with his disciples; When he was alone by himself, not only the twelve, but others that were about him with the twelve, took the opportunity to ask him the meaning of the parables, v. 10. They found it good to be about Christ; the nearer him the better; good to be with the twelve, to be conversant with those that are intimate with him. And he told them what a distinguishing favour it was to them, that they were made acquainted with the mystery of the kingdom of God, v. 11. The secret of the Lord was with them.

Profoundly, when we walk through the doorway of Jesus' parables, we too become His disciples. As born again believers, we are each connected to Jesus through the Holy Spirit. We are indwelled with the Spirit of God. This relationship means that when we seek in faith, we will find in faith. Remember that this chapter is telling a pre-pentecost story. Jesus' disciples are face to face, one to one with Jesus in the flesh. After Pentecost, believers are one to one, face to face with Jesus through the Holy Spirit.

There's a lot to take away from this very in-depth commentary. To read it in full, follow the link:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/mhc/Mar/Mar_004.cfm

Bible Hub Commentary

Another full and useful commentary that provides a great deal of clarity on the meanings of the verses. I particularly like the way these commentaries discuss the language used in relation to translation from the original Greek and Hebrew.

I've picked out a snippet relating to the seeds sown on thorny ground. It's far better than my attempt to illuminate this but hopefully helps to put my shared thoughts into perspective.

Verse 19. - The cares of the world (τοῦ αἰῶνος); literally, of the age; that is, temporal and secular cares, incident to the age in which our lot is cast, and which are common to all. These, like thorns, distress and trouble, and often wound the soul; while, on the other hand, the care of the soul and the thought of heavenly things compose and establish the mind.

If you'd like to read the full commentary, please follow the link:

https://biblehub.com/commentaries/pulpit/mark/4.htm

I do hope you've found my comment on Commentary useful. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Post a comment below and let's share the Word of God with each other!