In the last chapter, I noticed that Jesus had instructed His disciples "to have a small boat ready for Him, to keep the people from crowding Him." It sounds like Jesus had set up an escape route, like an idling limo in the alley, ready to high-tail it out of the swarming crowd. I'm impressed with how practical He is here. He's taking care of logistical things behind the scenes. I bet John Mark, who took notice of these things when told about them by Peter (or even Peter himself) would have made a good Road Manager. Jesus stood in a small boat that was floating just a little ways off the shore, speaking to the crowd on the shore. I wonder how the acoustics of the water around Him helped amplify His voice (if at all)...
This is a really cool way to start off this book. Up to this point, John Mark has not really recorded any parables. So, the first one he does document, he also describes how the disciples asked Him about the meaning. It is here (at the beginning) that we hear Jesus say,
"The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that,
'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"
Jesus then kind of belittles the disciples, saying something like, "Don't you understand this one? This one's easy! If you can't get this one, I doubt you'll understand any of the others."
It was the parable of the sower, who sowed seed, some of which fell on the path, which the birds came and ate up; some fell on rocky soil, which was shallow; and some fell among thorns; and some fell on good soil. The birds are Satan! (How's that for a blow-up quote?)
As soon as the Word (seed) is spoken/delivered, the devil takes it away so that no growth can even start. The Word in "shallow" soil springs up quickly, but having no root, it whithers and dies when adversity comes. The seed sown in thorny soil gets choked out by the thorns, which represent the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things. This is the kind of soil we live in here in America (and the developed countries we call "the West"). We have so many distractions and consumerism and materialism confronts us all on a daily basis. These seeds grow into plants, but they are unfruitful. Man, I don't want to be unfruitful.
The seed in the good soil is plenty fruitful, yielding a crop that is thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times what was sown.
He tells the parable about the lamp on the stand; and expounds on seeds with a story about the farmer who sows seed and doesn't quite understand how it works, but the seeds grow all by itself, producing grain that is harvested. Then He tells a story about the Mustard Seed. I've heard some people state that this is an example of Jesus using sarcasm, because the Mustard tree is really kind of a large bush -- not much of a tree at all. Could be.
Jesus is in a boat again, but this time sleeping as a storm comes with water busting over the sides. The disciples freak out and open their big mouth, saying what was on their mind: "Don't you care if we drown?" Like Jesus really wouldn't have concern over His close friends. He tells the storm, "Quiet! Be still!" And the wind and the waves obeyed Him. That is real power. This display would have gotten my attention, too.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at October 24, 2008 08:46 AM