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Growth

Scripture Mark 4:21-25 NIV 21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” 24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25 Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

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There are four parables in Mark 4. One of the themes that flows through most of them is judgement. To understand them I find I need to refer to the other Gospels and to the resr of Scripture. For if we believe that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God we must set a small portion of Scripture in the context of the whole of Scripture.

In this passage Jesus teaches some vital points. Isolation from the world is not expected. The light we have is for sharing. Within society we witness by being there.

God’s judgement is total. He exposes all. It is also true that the world will detect a fraud.

One of the issues of divine judgement is whether we lived according to the standards we demanded of others. Certainly society is quick to cry “ Hypocrite” for any discrepancy between profession and practice.

Nothing is static in physical and spiritual life. ,It’s either growth or atrophy. Taking away is also mentioned in the parable of the talents. A language learnt but unused is soon forgot. A gift detected in childhood and untended often goes to waste.

As I read these parables I find common sense realities of the material world are mirrored in spiritual truths. In Jesus we see the light of the world, doing what He said and sharing His gifts with suffering mankind. May He give us grace to imitate Him in these aspects

Questions

1. How should our Lord’s teaching here change us ?

2. In what ways is our calling in the world similar to that of the Lord Jesus ?

3. What gifts have you that need developing?

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The Kingdom of God

Scripture Mark 4:26-34 NiV 26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” 30 Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” 33 With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. 34 He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.

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The kingdom of God is often spoken of in hushed tones, rightly so Kingdom values are referred to with authority, rightly so. But when we hear the phrase and hear the Lord say it what picture comes to mind. For me it is almost geographical; the spiritual equivalent of a physical realm. But it is many faceted. Quite differently another way is to see it as the way God governs.

There are at least three things about the kingdom of God taught by our Lord . Verses 26 to29, The progress of the kingdom is inevitable and of itself. Verses 30 to 32. Little things count in the Kingdom and verses 33 to34 The , kingdom is beyond human comprehension, so much so that our Lord chooses to explain using parables.

In our Lord’s teaching there is a thread of inevitability. God’s will, will be done, whatever. Along side this is incomprehensibility , such a disturbance to the modern scientific mind. We are not told everything but must learn to live with unanswered questions.

In God’s rule is a caring for the smallest of details and out of that caring comes the greatest of consequences. This is both a challenge and an encouragement. The smallest kindness we perform and the most random thought is of concern to Him.

Our Lord chooses parables. The kingdom of God encompasses the furthest galaxy and the smallest sub-atomic particle. Our minds are not built to take all this in. The unseen spiritual, world is beyond our ken. So the Lord spoke to them in parableswhich led us to all the Saviour wants to know, all we need to know.

Questions

1. How should our Lord’s teaching about the kingdom change our attitudes ?

2. What should our approach be to questions that have no answer ?

3. What teaching methods can we learn from the Lord?

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The Meaning

ScriptureMark 4:13-20 New International Version 13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

Crumbs Meditating on the parables of our Lord I do not think a theology based on them alone is not intended. They were created with broad strokes; examples drawn from every day life on how to cope with everyday life. I am beginning to think from the New Testament that in the spread of the Word our way of life is of more significance than what we say.

In this passage we have three warnings and a single hope. God’s word to us can be snatched away by the evil one, starved by trouble or crushed by worry and desire. The hope is that from our lives some God honouring good might come.

The first danger is the devil. Our Lord believed in the Devil and evil spirits. In this scientific age a natural explanation does not displace a supernatural one. Hearts hardened by habit and tradition make receiving God’s word hard and attack by Satan a danger.

Stamina and strength in the things of God require persistent long term feeding on the Word. Sudden spirts of spirituality are okay, but steady progress is needed.

This parable was told long before films, TV and the internet and yet I confess these things too often squeeze out the Word of God in my life.

Preachers do not always concentrate on the fourth ground but it is most important. Fruit comes in two types in the New Testament context. By word and deed others should follow Christ through the witness of Christians. Christ saw His followers as salt and light in a decaying and dark world who by their presence would combat the rottenness and gloom. Paul mentions the fruit of the Spirit ( Galatians 5). The Word of God will change us for our good and the world’s.

Questions

1. What distracts you from receiving God’s word ?

2. How does the word of God come to us ?

3. How is the word of God changing you?

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Authenticity

Scripture Mark 3:20-34New International Version 20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.” 22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.” 23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.” 30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an impure spirit.” 31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” 33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. 34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!

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Is Jesus authentic? By this I mean, is He who He says He is , the fulfilment of prophecy, the Messiah. The son of man, the son of God ?

Two answers are mentioned in this passage. The theological academics of His day confronted by a teaching that contradicted their schemes of thought sees the Devil as a source of Christ’s authority over demons. Jesus points out the divisive folly of such a scheme He then develops the point that one who sees Satan as the source of God’s work is cutting themselves off from the possibility of salvation. How can we be forgiven if we see the work of God as evil?

We must be very careful thinking too much about the devil and ascribing actions to the him that may be caused by our own folly. We should be aware of the cunning nature of temptation but our focus should be on Jesus. Jesus’ family come to a different conclusion that is not so drastic or deadly as that of the scribes. They said He was mad. There is reason to hope they came to a better conclusion later on. The epistle of James is believed to be written by our Lord’s brother. His mother was part of the early church.

Nevertheless in this situation Jesus point’s to a deeper family relation, the love that bonds his followers to each other and to Him. To cling to our prejudices and thereby deny Him is spiritually fatal. To ascribe madness to what we have not grasped is foolish but to accept Him for who He says He is, is to enter His circle of love.

1. Questions

2. What about our Lord’s deeds and words convinces you of His authenticity ?

3. How does Jesus as Son of man and Son of God affect us ?

4. How may do we deal with a family that is hostile or dismissive of our beliefs?

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Parables

Scripture 4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’ my brothers!

Crumbs Why did Jesus use Parables? We learn those truths best that we discover for ourselves or those to which the Lord has specifically opened our hearts. The Lord is revealing spiritual truths to carnal hearts. The word “parable” contains the root “ para” as in parallel or Paraclete. It means alongside. In the parables spiritual truth are laid alongside homely everyday truths. As we listen to the parables we struggle to find their meaning and intent. Through our struggles and by His grace the Spirit leads us to a deeper understanding.

The use of Isaiah 6:9-10 is unexpected. Greater minds than mine have striven over it. I will make a few observation and pose more questions.

Does God who loves the whole world want to avoid any coming to the truth? With Matthew 5:29 the plucking out of offending eyes is explained as an exaggeration. I have heard preachers say it was acceptable at the time and place. Is our Lord to be deprived of the use of irony by His later commentators? He is hammering against the hard shells of prejudice of the Pharisees’ traditions and assumptions.

Finally this quotation reveals the need for divine intervention. Faith is a miracle. Faith is a gift. We must thank God for it.

1. Questions

2. Has our Lord’s use of parables applications for today’s preachers ?

3. Which parable has spoken to you ?

4. Have experiences and happenings around you led you to spiritual truths?