The Story of Jesus According to Mark, Pt 10: It's Supernatural

 

June 23, 2024   NOTES NOT EDITED
The Story of Jesus According to Mark, Pt 10
It’s Supernatural!
Mark 4:30-34 

SIS – The Kingdom of God is supernatural. Read that again, it will explain everything that seems “unexplainable” to you.

Almost every person I’ve met has had some direct or indirect experience with “unexplainable phenomena.” Maybe it is a feeling like déjà vu-a sense in a new place you have been their before. Or, perhaps you know or heard of someone who was healed. The “unexplained” is all around us—like, what’s the explanation for there being anything at all! There are experiences that simply are NOT NATURAL. They are SUPERNATURAL.

For example on Christmas Day, 1999, as reported by ABC News, Patti White Bull of Albuquerque, N.M., awoke, dressed herself, walked about without help, and talked with perfect clarity. She showed no physical or mental signs of impairment. Yet, she had been in a coma for over 16 years. This happens, though not often. Also, it almost never happens that a person in a long coma snaps out immediately with no side effects. Most people considered this, a Christmas miracle. It was totally unexplainable by any natural processes. Of course, that didn’t keep skeptics of the supernatural from looking for “natural” explanations. One neurologist, Dr. Randy Chestnut said, “White Bull’s awakening is extraordinary but not out of the realm of possibility.” He then went on to give a very technically sounding but unconvincing “scientific” explanation. Of course her wakening was in the “realm of possibility.” It happened! The question is: how did it happen? Was it “natural” or “supernatural?”

I intend to show you from God’s Word today that we, the Church, must answer the same question about “faith.” Is it natural, or Supernatural? So, often, we in the Church act as if life is mostly, or mainly, natural when it actually is mostly and mainly “supernatural.” “The Kingdom of God is supernatural,” and until we nail this idea down and moor the ship of our life to it, life will never be fully understandable.

Life cannot and will not make sense without the Supernatural.

Let’s begin by reading a text that highlights the Supernatural aspect of life in the Kingdom of God 

^{Mark 4:30} And  He said: “How can we illustrate the kingdom of God,  or what parable  can we use to describe it? ³¹ It’s like a mustard seed  that, when sown in the soil, is smaller than all the seeds on the ground. ³² And when sown,  it comes up and grows taller than all the vegetables,  and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky  can nest in its shade.” ³³ He would speak the word  to them with many parables  like these, as they were able to understand.  ³⁴ And He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, He would explain everything to His own disciples.

Our parable today concludes Mark’s “parables of the Kingdom” which are much shorter than Matthew’s or Luke’s versions (Luke extending into chapter 15).

Scholars debate back and forth the primary emphasis of the parable, and there are various views. Yet, I believe it is one of the most straightforward and one of the most important parables in the New Testament.  

Some criticize Jesus for misstating that the mustard seed is the smallest seed in the plant world. But, that completely misses the point. It is a misguided criticism for two reasons.

First, if Jesus was teaching botany (the study of plants) then he most certainly was inaccurate.  The mustard seed is very tiny, but it is not the smallest seed in the plant kingdom.  The orchid seed is much smaller.  But, orchids are not a major crop in Palestine so using an illustration of an orchid seed would have little impact upon the crowd to which Jesus was speaking.

Second, Jesus was using a very, very common proverbial statement known throughout the Middle East.  The phrase, “as small as a mustard seed” was commonly used in Palestine to represent the “proverbially smallest” of all situations.

The mustard plant is an “herb,” or a “bush” and not a tree.  Even the larger versions of this garden herb that grow to perhaps 4 feet would give sanctuary only to the smallest of birds. The mustard “bush” is different. It can grow to as much as 10 feet high.

Jesus was also using a very common literary device known as a “figure of speech.”  Technically, Jesus was using a figure of speech called an “hyperbole.” A hyperbole is an exaggerated statement used to create a significant impact and impression upon the audience.

So, when Jesus said that the tiny mustard seed grew to the size of a tree and birds nested in the branches, everyone of his listeners would have agreed there is something very different with the mustard plant.

In fact, it is NOT NATURAL, that is common, for herbs to grow to the size of trees. That is the Lord’s point. The Kingdom of God is not “natural,” but The Kingdom of God is supernatural!

If even but a few of us will truly grasp what this parable is about, our church will explode with growth over the next few months and years.  Let me say this again.  Write this down.  Get this, and you have the key to the purpose and power of the Kingdom of God.

Are you ready?  Here it is:  the Kingdom of God is supernatural!

Repeat that line with me:  the Kingdom of God is supernatural!

Here’s the implications of that statement:

1.  The EXPLANATION of the Kingdom is supernatural (33-34)

³³ He would speak the word  to them with many parables like these, as they were able to understand.  ³⁴ And He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, He would explain everything to His own disciples.

Let’s go back a few verses where Jesus explained why He used parables (Mk 4:11-12):

¹¹The secret  of the kingdom of God  has been given to you, but to those outside,  everything comes in parables ¹² so that they may look and look, yet not perceive; they may listen and listen, yet not understand; otherwise, they might turn back— and be forgiven.” 

Jesus quoted from Isaiah (6:9-10) and then a few verses later in our text here in Mark 4:30, He says the same thing again.  What is the point?  Does God like to play “hide and seek” with the truth?  Is the gospel just a big joke for God?  Of course not.  God was so serious about the gospel plan that Jesus came to die on the cross, Himself.

What then could this “mysterious parable use” mean?  It means simply this:  “truth is not discovered, it is revealed.”  To put it another way:  “truth is not gained through intellect, but it is received by the heart.”

The Kingdom of God cannot be “joined.”  Citizenship in the Kingdom of God can only be received by faith.  Paul said,

“Therefore since we have been DECLARED RIGHTEOUS by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1)

The whole issue of “understanding a parable only through supernatural revelation” underscores the supernatural (above nature) condition of salvation. Salvation, like truth, comes down from above.

Notice what Jesus said once to a Pharisee named Nicodemus (Jn 3:3)

Jesus replied, “I assure you: Unless someone is born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God.” 

The word translated, “again,” is the adverb, ἄνωθεν.  It is an “adverb of place” denoting where the new birth (or second birth, salvation) would originate.  It would be “from above.”  Philo, a Jewish philosopher who wrote in Greek about the time of Christ, used the adverb ἄνωθεν, as a synonym for “of God.”

Truth is from above (super + natural), or “of God.”  The gospel of the truth of our salvation is not something we can “grasp and take hold of” but something that “invades our lives and takes hold of us.”

Have you ever wondered why so many people here the Word of God shared in one way or another but walk away as if it were nothing but myths and fairy-tales?  Here’s the reason:  the Explanation, and therefore the understanding of the Kingdom is supernatural.  One cannot grasp the truth of God unless God reveals it.

Paul explained this teaching of Jesus with great clarity (KJV):

1Cor 2:14  But the natural man receiveth not [the things] of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

Jesus used parables to demonstrate that the Explanation (and therefore understanding) of the truth of the Kingdom of God is supernatural.

2.  The EXPANSION of the KofG is supernatural (31-32a)

³¹ It’s like a mustard seed  that, when sown in the soil, is smaller than all the seeds on the ground. ³² And when sown,  it comes up and grows taller than all the vegetables.

Actually, mustard is not a vegetable, but a condiment.  However, it is used to enhance the flavor of other foods.  That’s not the point.  The point is:  the mustard seed starts out as the smallest seed in the garden and ends up as the larger plant in the garden.

The issue at hand is that the Kingdom of God is characterized (illustrated, v30) by rapid, supernatural growth.  We see this happening in the Book of Acts.  The Book of Acts begins with a small group of disciples (120) in the Upper Room about AD 30, and by AD 62—even while it was illegal to practice Christianity—the number had grown to perhaps 50 to 75,000, maybe more.  The point is this happened over a span of only 30 years in an environment where Christians were being killed for their faith. The Expansion of the church in the Book of Acts was nothing short of “supernatural.” 

Where God is moving, the church will be growing! That’s more of a law of our universe than the Law of Gravity or the Second Law of Thermodynamics, or even that great Law of Science:  Murphy’s Law.

If a church isn’t growing up, it’s because God isn’t showing up!  And if God isn’t showing up, it’s only because He isn’t being invited.

Our church has been around twice as long as the period of the Book of Acts.  We have just barely reached the number that the Book of Acts started with.

The population of Thousand Oaks when the church started was less than 3000.  Today, it is more than 128,000.  The City has grown by over 125,000 and our church has barely doubled. This is true of so many churches in our Nation.

This is not “supernatural” growth. 

Nobody can ever say how large a church will get or how fast it will get there.  The EXPANSION of the church is “supernatural.” True growth of a church depends 100% upon God’s sovereign grace.  However, the principle of the mustard seed teaches us this unmistakable, unquestionable principle:  the Expansion of the Kingdom of God is supernatural!

Where God is moving, the church will be growing!  That’s a mustard seed fact!

3.  The EFFECTS of the Kingdom are supernatural (32b)

. . . and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade.

 Commentators fall all over themselves trying to figure out whether these “birds” are evil or good.  As you recall in the former parable of the “Faithful Farmer,” the seed that fell on the barren path were quickly snatched up by “birds,” and these birds were, according to Jesus’ explanation, representatives of Satan. 

Normally, we would want to be consistent in the interpretation we give to birds as being evil.  This is a very common image in the Bible, and was explicitly stated to be the case by Jesus.  However, this is a “parable,” and the main point of the parable is the driving factor for interpreting all the other images of the parable.

Very clearly, this parable is about the growth of the Kingdom of God.  More specifically, it is about the explosive, supernatural, growth of the Kingdom of God.  Evil birds nesting in the Kingdom of God would not be consistent with the holy nature of the Kingdom of God.  This is not to say that within the Kingdom of God, there are not elements of evil with which those in the Kingdom must contend. 

That simply is “another” lesson for “another” parable and not what Jesus is trying to communicate here.

For one, these would have to be “small” birds because a mustard herb is a small bush.  It is quite likely that small birds would light upon the branches of a mustard plant, but very unlikely that crows, which are often a sign of evil, would light upon the mustard bush.

If these are sparrows, then giving them a place to nest would be a very positive image.  For the Bible specifically says God cares for the tiny birds:

^{Mat 6:26} Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them

The point Jesus is making with this statement, that seems consistent with the main point of the parable has to do with the EFFECTS, or results of the ministry of the Kingdom.  The small mustard seed plant should not be able to give “shade to a mosquito” let alone a bird—BUT IT DOES!  Why?  Because the EFFECTS or results of Kingdom ministry are supernatural!

So often in church there appears to be more needs to meet than there are resources to meet them.  Believe me – I am confronted with this on almost a daily basis! 

Just this week three families were in crisis.  Immediate financial needs exceeded the thousands of dollars.  I was able, through the grace of God and kindness of your giving, scrape together over $1700.  That was not near the amount that was needed and it was $1700 more than what we really have to spare—BUT GOD MULTIPLIED IT LIKE THE LOAVES AND FISHES AND IT AVERTED DISASTER (At least for now).

As generous as our church body is in giving, I must say, with a heavy heart, I don’t think everyone is doing his or her part.  I don’t think we are devoting ourselves to the ministry of the church in fashion that honors the supernatural gift that God has given us in Christ.

But, make no mistake about it friends:  the EFFECTS or the results of a true church operating in the Kingdom of God will be nothing less than supernatural.

The difference we make as a church – is an eternal difference!

The explanation of the Kingdom of God is supernatural.  The Expansion of the Kingdom of God is supernatural.  The Effects of the Kingdom of God are supernatural.  This brings me to the most important consequence or implication of this parable:\

4.  the EFFORTS of the Kingdom of God MUST BE
     supernatural (1Cor. 2:14-15; 2Cor. 10:3-5)

Remember that this parable is about how to illustrate the nature of the Kingdom of God using a “mustard seed,” the proverbial smallest seed in the world.  Yet, it grows—according to this parable of Jesus—into a tree large enough to give shade and protection to little birds.

That’s just not “natural.”  Because, the Kingdom of God is NOT natural, but supernatural.  Therefore, the EFFORTS of the Kingdoms citizens—believers like you and I—must be “supernatural.”

Recall what Paul said about a “natural” person not being able to comprehend a “supernatural” message (1Cor 2:14):

But the natural man receiveth not [the things] of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 

Paul expanded further on the “natural” versus “supernatural” in his Second Letter to the Corinthians (10:3-5):

For though we live in the body,  we do not wage war in an unspiritual way,  ⁴ since the weapons of our warfare  are not worldly,  but are powerful  through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments ⁵ and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge  of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ

Please listen, Church:  We can never accomplish with human power what can only be done by whole-hearted prayer. Our wisdom is the wisdom of God’s supernatural Word, and our power is the power of supernatural prayer.

Any idea we have that we have any power at all is an illusion.  Jesus said, ^{Jn 15:5} “I am the vine;  you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit,  because you can do nothing without Me.”

Any illusion we have to any control or power in our lives is just that:  and illusion.  In the twinkling of an eye, you could be whisked away into eternity by a blodclot smaller than the tip of a pencil.  Or, you could be struck dead by a bolt of lightning.  Or . . . there are a thousand ways in which I could illustrate that any illusion you might have the you are actually “in charge” of your life is just that—an illusion.

That applies even moreso to the church, and the Kingdom of God.  The church’s wisdom is “Supernatural Wisdom.”  The church’s power is a “Supernatural Power.”  The Kingdom of God is supernatural and the EFFORTS of His citizens must be supernatural if we are going to make any real difference in life.

We all know life at its essence is “supernatural.” Something, we say, Someone, is out there and that is the only way to make sense of our existence or anything about the meaning of life. Without SOMEONE out there, life is a fearful experience of groping in the darkness.

In a little country town out in the middle of nowhere, darkness had fallen. A young boy and his Mom were home alone. The Mom was cleaning the house. She asked her young son to go out on the back porch and get the broom. He was very afraid of the darkness and said, “Mamma, I don’t want to go out there. I’m afraid of the dark.” Mom replied, “Now, you don’t need to be afraid of the dark, Jesus is out there and He will protect you.” The little boy nervously asked, “Are you sure Jesus is out there in the dark?” Mom reassured her son saying, “Yes. He’s everywhere and He’s always ready to help you anytime you ask Him.” The little boy cautiously approached the back door to the porch. He closed his eyes tightly while slowly cracking open the door just a little, and said, “Jesus if you you are out there could you please hand me the broom?”

It's “natural” to fear the unknown. But, as followers of Jesus and “builders of His Kingdom,” we have God’s “supernatural” Presence and power.

Let’s bravely march into the darkness.