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.

The Story of Jesus According to Mark, Pt.9

 

June 16, 2024   NOTES NOT EDITED
The Story of Jesus According to Mark, Pt9:  “The Faithful Farmer”
Mark 4:26-2 

SIS – If we are faithful, God will make us fruitful but if we are foolish we should be fearful.

A Farmer and his wife were travelling on an extended trip through the countryside. It had been a long, tedious trip. The Farmer was rather a quiet fellow, but his wife loved to talk. After a few hours of driving, a state trooper pulled this man over and said: "Sir, do you realize your wife fell out of the car several miles back?" With a stunned look the Farmer replied: "Thank God, I thought I had gone deaf!"

This morning, we are going to examine the life of another Farmer. I call him a “Faithful Farmer.”  In fact, our story revolves around three images, a farmer, a seed, and a sickle. I could have titled this sermon, “The Growing Seed” or the “Sharp Sickle.” But as with the first parable in this chapter, this one also deeply depends on the actions—the faithful actions of the Farmer.

This is one of the  most complicated of the parables that Jesus taught.  It also is only one of the parabolic stories that is unique to Mark—that is, it has no parallel in either Matthew or Luke, or both.

It would be easy to let your “symbolic horses run wild with this text.”  The principle, however, we have learned for interpreting parables is to look for the “single, overriding theme.”  That is not easy to distinguish in this parable.

Is it about the Farmer?  Is it about the Seed?  Is it about Sickle?  All three of these images could be the driving theme of the parable.  However, knowing that a parable has one driving message, I believe that the theme is “faithfulness”—the unwavering trust in God as the Sovereign Giver of the Harvest. A harvest of souls.

If you take faithfulness as the theme, then the three images of the Farmer, the Seed, and the Sickle all contribute to that message.  They are the supporting actors so to speak in this grand play about “faithfulness.”

The two most oft given themes for this parable deal either with the Farmer, or the Seed.  Yet, we will see that BOTH the Farmer and the Seed demonstrate a “faithfulness to God’s plan.”  I believe it is most helpful to see “faithfulness” as the theme of this parable.  So, I call it the Faithful Farmer, with the emphasis on “faithful.” The Sickle serves as both a summary and a warning.

I did not grow up on a farm, but many of my relatives were farmers of one sort or another.  In fact, after my Dad died, I was contacted by a “Land-man,” or somebody that does research for drilling companies like Chevron.  My great-grandfather owned a farm and when he sold it, he did not sell the mineral rights.  Nobody in my family knew anything about this, but a drilling company is obligated to research all the heirs to mineral rights before they drill.

By the time it reaches me, I own 1/75^th of a well pad. A well pad is about about 640 acres.  My great grandfather was a poor West Virginia dirt farmer, but farmers are shrewd businessmen as a rule.  Who would have known that over a 100 years after he sold his farm, one of his great grandchildren would receive a monthly check for gas and oil.

Well, the story of our farmer in Mark 4 has nothing to do with drilling for oil, but it does help us learn how to harvest great blessings from God. 

If we are faithful, God will make us fruitful.  That’s not only the theme of this parable, it is the theme of the Bible.  All throughout the Word of God are scattered the names of men and women who were faithful to God, and who became very fruitful because of their faithfulness. 

As we read our text this morning will will discover at least three characteristics of a “faithful” person, as we examine the life of this “Faithful Farmer.”  Let’s read (Mk 4:26-29):

²⁶ “The kingdom of God  is like this,” He said. “A man scatters seed on the ground; ²⁷ he sleeps  and rises —night  and day, and the seed sprouts and grows—he doesn’t know how. ²⁸ The soil produces a crop  by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the ripe grain  on the head. ²⁹ But as soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle,  because the harvest  has come.” 

This parable begins with a familiar parabolic introduction:  hē basileia tou theou estin hōs—the Kingdom of God is like.  We see this introduce many of the parables in the gospel, and in fact, these parables are referred to as Kingdom Parables.

I think it is very important to note that we are not talking about “any” kingdom of just “any” god.  This is a special Kingdom of a special God—“the” Kingdom of “the”God.  The Greek makes this very clear.  Both “kingdom” and “God” are proceded by the definite article, ho, or “the.”  Interestingly, the word for the farmer is actually just the word for “man,” and without any definite article. 

Even more interesting is that Mark adds the definite article back in when referring to “the” seed.  The man does not bring the harvest, but Yahweh, with a special seed—and we know from a former parable the seed is the Word of God—brings the harvest.  Fruitfulness is not dependent upon man’s effort, but on God’s response to our effort.  A farmer could be the best farmer in the world, but he has absolutely no power to cause a seed to grow.  Only God can bring an increase. As we will notice throughout the parable, fruitfulness is not determined by man’s efforts, but by God’s blessing.

Now, that does not mean that our effort is not important to God’s plan.  On the contrary.  The first characteristic of the Faithful Farmer is that a Faithful Farmer,

1.  WORKS (26b)

Our efforts do not cause our fruitfulness, but God’s response to our efforts does.  God has decreed that He will bless the efforts of faithful men and women.  We do not “work” to get blessed, but we “work” for Jesus because we have already been blessed.  Paul said it like this:

“work OUT your salvation with fear and trembling.”(Phil 2:12)

Jesus also declared,  The harvest is abundant, but the workers are few. ³⁸ Therefore, pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.” (Mt. 9:38)

Faithful men and women are diligent workers. The Book of Proverbs has much to say about being a hard-worker, as opposed to a “slacker.”

Prov. 13:4 says, “the slacker craves and yet has nothing but the diligent are fully satisfied.”

I think we all know what a “slacker” is.  The word for “diligent” is interesting.  It is related to the word, “ditch, or trench” and gives the image of “digging a trench,” or manual labor.

God simply will not bless laziness!  In fact, listen to Paul’s admonition in regard to a “lazy person”:

“if a man does not work—neither shall he eat.” (2Thess 3:10

Faithful followers of Jesus are “hard-workers.”

2.  Second we see that the “Faithful Farmer” WAITS (27)

²⁷he sleeps  and rises —night  and day. 

Again Mark, in his characteristic style, gives us clues to the meaning of his words by the word choices the Holy Spirit guides him to use.  In this case, the word for “scatters” is the word, balē, and it is in a past tense that refers to a “simple, one time action in the past.”  The farmer did not continue to “scatter the seed,” but scattered it and was finished. 

The words “sleeps and rises” are both in the present tense.  In Greek, the present tense does not refer to the time of action so much as the kind of action.  Present tense represents “on-going action.”  The man did not simply go to sleep and then wake up, but spent many nights sleeping and waking.  This indicates a “way of life.”  It tells us something about the mindset of this farmer.  He was patient.  He went about his business trusting that God would bring the harvest according to His timing, not the farmers.

Faithfulness is about “waiting and trusting” in God’s plan.  The farmer did not go to sleep and awake the next day, run out to the field and start digging up the seed to see if it was growing.  That would be foolish, and it destroy the seed in the process.  No, the faithful farmer waited.

By the way, the reason night is mentioned before day is because the ancient middle-easterners considered the day to begin at dusk, not dawn.

If you want to be fruitful, you have to be faithful.  If you want to be faithful, you need to be patient, and wait on God’s plan to unfold.  Isaiah said it like this:

“they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” (Is 40:31)

Many a fruitful harvest has been delayed or destroyed because a believer has moved out ahead of God plan, instead of waiting for God to prepare the way.  There is a saying in business, “timing is everything.” I read something this week I think if very helpful and I’d like to share it with you:

Timing is important in cooking. The juicy hamburger on the grill is raw meat if cooked for too little time and a clump of charcoal if it is cooked too long. Timing is important in medicine. If you catch a problem early you will be able to treat it more effectively. You timing is important in taking medication. If you take your medicine as directed it will be helpful. If you skip doses it loses it's effectiveness. If you take extra doses it can be deadly. Timing is important in finance. When you invest in a particular stock and when you sell the particular stock will make the difference between whether you make money or lose it. Knowing when to borrow and when not to borrow is the key to financial independence.

Timing is even more important in regard to spiritual matters.

Let me draw from the life of Moses to illustrate this point.  Moses, as we know would be the one chosen by God to deliver his people from the oppressive slavery under the Pharaoh of Egypt.  That was God’s plan, but Moses got out ahead of God. 

¹¹Years later,  after Moses had grown up, he went out to his own people  and observed their forced labor.  He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his people. ¹² Looking all around and seeing no one, he struck the Egyptian dead and hid him in the sand.

Now, as a result of this deed, Moses would flee into the desert because he feared the wrath of Pharaoh if this deed was discovered.  Moses realized that what he did was wrong.  He would indeed one day lead his people away from the whip of the Egyptian tyrants, but in God’s time, not his.  Moses, tended to act on impulse and in anger, instead of waiting on God to bring about His plan in His time.

Moses would spend 40 years in the desert after fleeing from Pharaoh.  He’d go from being the son of the most powerful man alive, to being a lowly shepherd—all as a result of one impulsive, ill-timed act.

I could also draw from the life of Abraham who tried to hurry God’s plan for a promised son along by having a relationship with his handmaiden, Hagar.  The result was the birth of Ishmael, who is the Father to the Arab people, who are the arch-enemy of Israel.

When we fail to “wait” upon God we rely on our own plans and the result is always difficulty—or worse.  When we fail to wait, we act on impulse, not on faith.  A faithful farmer “waits.”  Waiting is a sign of full trust in God’s plan, even when you don’t see anything happening.  Look at the last part of verse 27:

and the seed sprouts and grows—he doesn’t know how. 

We do not have to “know” the processes of God in order to “trust” the plan of God.  The Book of Hebrews tells us in regard to Abraham:

“he set out for a land he didn’t even know where it was . . .”

Timing is everything.  Even doing a good thing at the wrong time will lead to fruitlessness and failure.

Notice the “automated” process programmed into the seed as revealed in verse 28:  ²⁸ The soil produces a crop  by itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the ripe grain  on the head.

Literally, the verse says, “the earth produces automatically.”  The word translated “by itself,” is the word, automatē, from which we get the word, automatic.  God’s plan does not need us to succeed, we need God’s plan to be successful.  If we are faithful, fruitfulness over the course of our life will be “automatic.”  God has programmed into the economy of the world the formula:  knowledge + obedience = blessing.  If we are faithful, God will make us fruitful. That’s programmed into God’s world just like growth is programmed into a seed. 

So, a Faithful Farmer waits patiently and trustingly as God’s plan unfolds in and through his or her life.

ILLUS.  A big-city lawyer was representing the railroad in a lawsuit filed by an old rancher. The rancher's prize bull was missing from the section through which the railroad passed. The rancher only wanted to be paid the fair value of the bull.  The case was scheduled to be tried before the justice of the peace in the back room of the general store.  The attorney for the railroad immediately cornered the rancher and tried to get him to settle out of court. The lawyer did his best selling job, and finally the rancher agreed to take half of what he was asking.   After the rancher had signed the release and took the check, the young lawyer couldn't resist gloating a little over his success, telling the rancher, "You know, I hate to tell you this, old man, but I put one over on you in there. I couldn't have won the case. The engineer was asleep and the fireman was in the caboose when the train went through your ranch that morning. I didn't have one witness to put on the stand. I bluffed you!"  The old farmer replied, "Well, I'll tell you, young feller, I was a little worried about winning that case myself, because that durned bull came home this morning."

The last part of our text demonstrates the complicated intricacy of this parable and the problem in trying to figure out “who” or “what” the main point is.  The image switches from a fairly inactive farmer and an automatically fruitful seed to a “reaper with a sickle.”

3.  Here we see that a Faithful Farmer WARNS (29)

⁹ But as soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle,  because the harvest  has come.” 

This is one of those times when like when we say, “I’ve got some good news and I’ve got some bad news.”

First, the good news.  A great harvest of blessing awaits those who faithfully follow the Lord Jesus Christ.  A harvest IS coming! As I’ve said throughout this message:  if we are faithful, God will make us fruitful.

Now, our fruitfulness may be received in part in this life. But, faithful farmers will most definitely see the fruitfulness of our labors in the life to come – the final harvest.

This verse most certainly wants to point the listeners, or readers in our case, to the final consummation of the ages.  We know this because Mark is drawing from the prophet Joel,

^3:13 Swing the sickle because the harvest is ripe. Come and trample _⌊the grapes_⌋ because the winepress is full; the wine vats overflow because the wickedness of the nations is great.

Now, hears where the bad news comes in for those who do not know the Lord Jesus Christ when that time of final harvest comes, either in death or in the Second Coming.  Lost people will face the “Sickle of Judgment.”

The word, “sickle,” refers to the large harvesting tool, also called a sling-blade. The purpose is to cut down the stalk so the heads of grain could be harvested.  Many times in Scripture, the sickle, is used to speak of God’s coming judgment.

Notice in the verse of Joel, which Mark is alluding to here, the harsh tones and biting words:  “Swing the sickle and trample the grapes.”  The harsh tone and biting words result from the wickedness that is filling the world like juice from crushed grapes fill the wine vats.

The idea of God’s wrath upon sin is represented by the “sickle.”  While godly people look forward to that final judgment with thankful anticipation, there is nothing to look forward to for non-believers but the pouring out of God’s wrath. This image in the prophets is carried on through the Book of Revelation.  Chapter 15 describes the last seven plagues as the “pouring out of God’s wrath from seven bowls.”

^15:7 One of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven gold bowls filled with the wrath of God

The horror of this coming “judgment” (represented by the sickle being sent into the field of ripened grain and cutting it down) is why as Faithful Farmers we must WARN those who do not know Christ of what is coming as surely as a seed sprouts, grows and ripens.

This parable with the images of a farmer, a seed, and sickle exhort us to be faithful to God in anticipation of the coming harvest—a harvest of blessing for the faithful, and a harvest of wrath for the non-believer.  We learn from the example of the Faithful Farmer that we must Work, we must Wait, and we must Warn.

If we are faithful, God will make us fruitful—not only in this world, but moreso in the world to come. But if we are foolish and do not sow much seed, we have much to fear when standing before God. 

Be a Faithful Farmer!

 

The Story of Jesus According to Mark, Pt 9: The Parable of Dirt

 

June 2, 2024                 NOTES NOT EDITED
The Story of Jesus According to Mark
The Parable of Dirt
Mark 4:1-20

 SIS—Hearing and obeying God’s word will produce a great harvest of blessings both in and through one’s life.

 Who doesn't know Martha Stewart? Businesswoman, T.V. Personality, felon. She really has "done it all." She's been around the block more than once.  As we used to say back in the holler, "She's older than dirt." (Pun intended as you will see). Recently, she is making the rounds selling . . . you guessed it--dirt! She has a current Ad campaign for Miracle Grow in which her co-actor calls her a "dirt nerd." In one line in this 30 second commercial Martha speaks something that could have come straight out of the Bible. She says, "If people only knew, it really is all about the dirt."

Jesus taught an entire parable about just that--The Parable of the Dirt. 

We are going to look at that parable this morning.

First, a little textual background. In the first thirty-four verses of Mark, chapter 4, the word for “hearing” is used thirteen times.  The first time is in Mark 4, verse 3.  It begins with the imperative, “Listen.”  The theme of “hearing the word” of God runs throughout the parable of the Sower and the Seed, and is repeated again in the following discussion about “putting light under a bushel basket.”

But, Mark is not simply discussing the physical ability for one’s ear to pick up sound.  Often, when the Bible speaks about “hearing” the idea extends first to comprehension and then to “obedience.”  Thus, “hearing the Word of God” is a Biblical expression for “obeying God’s commands.”

Obedience to God’s commands, throughout the Bible, is the key to both having God’s blessing and also sharing the blessings of God.

I’ve been reading through the Book of Leviticus, and these words in chapter represent an oft repeated theme, not only in Leviticus, but also throughout the Bible.  Leviticus 26:3ff says,

“If you follow My statutes and faithfully observe My commands, ⁴ I will give you rain at the right time, and the land will yield its produce, and the trees of the field will bear their fruit. 

Moses continues by contrasting the result of disobedience: 

¹⁴ “But if you do not obey Me and observe all these commands— ¹⁵ if you reject My statutes and despise My ordinances, and do not observe all My commands—and break My covenant, ¹⁶ then I will do this to you: I will bring terror  on you—wasting disease and fever that will cause your eyes to fail and your life to ebb away.. 

 Moses had a bit more to say about the curse of disobedience, but I think you get the point.

Hearing and obeying God’s word will produce a great harvest of blessings both in and through one’s life.  As we read the Parable of the Soils, notice the result of “hearing and obeying”—truly hearing­—the Word of God brings “30, 60, or 100 fold” blessings.

READ:  MARK 4:1-9

According to Jesus, this is the most important parable He ever spoke.  Verse 13 makes that clear.  This parable summarizes the entire “Gospel Story,” or story of redemption.  It has four significant parts:  A sower, seed, four different types of soil, and a promise of a great harvest.  First, notice that

1.  The Sower is ESSENTIAL.  (v3) (“The Farmer sowed”)

Nothing happens in regard to salvation in any person’s life until someone in some way shares the story of God’s love.  Paul emphasized this in Rom 10:

¹³ For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.  ^z14 But how can they call on Him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about Him?  And how can they hear without a preacher? 

Think about the gospel as taking a trip in the car. The first thing you have to do is start the car. That’s what sowing is: starting the car. 

HUMOR: Starting the car is ESSENTIAL to any road trip, but it can sometime be difficult. I remember a wife calling her husband who was already at work one morning when she had to take a road trip for work. The husband was already very nervous about the trip because he knew his wife was a terrible driver. Anyway, she said to her husband, "The car won't start.” Then she added, “I think there’s water in the engine.” The husband replied, “How would you know if there was water in the engine. You can’t even find the engine.” The wife’s voice was cracking and she said again, “I’m telling you I think there is water in the engine.” The husband was frustrated but said, “OK. I’ll be right over. Where is the car parked?” The woman apologetically replied, “In the swimming pool.”

The gospel is powerful. But in order for the gospel’s power to be applied a “Sower is ESSENTIAL.” That’s where the process starts.

God has decreed and designed that the means by which one is saved is by hearing the gospel message from someone else.  Now, that could be someone else preaching on the radio.  That could be someone else giving out a gospel leaflet.  The gospel could be communicated by any number of people in any number of ways – but the gospel has to be “sown” into the lives of others before it can take root and grow up into eternal salvation.

2.  The Seed, that is God’s Word, is SUFFICIENT (v 14)

In the parable Jesus states clearly, the seed being sown is the Word of God.  (Verse 14)

Make no mistake about this folks:  the most powerful force ever to fall upon humanity is the Word of God. 

For centuries tyrants have tried to wash away the Word of God in a flood of martyrs’s blood.  Copies of the Word of burned.  Secular scholars have tried to discredit it, and modern educators and politicians have tried to marginalize it.  Legislators and law-makers have tried to outlaw it.  Godless scientists scoff at it.

Yet, thousands of years have passed and the Bible is still the number one selling book in the world! Where the Bible is still being preached—lives are being transformed in great numbers, even in Muslim countries where preaching the Bible can result in a death sentence.

Notice something about the preaching of Jesus in verse 1:

4 Again  He began to teach  by the sea, and a very large crowd gathered around Him. 

Everywhere Jesus went His message and ministry drew huge crowds.  Here, it says the crowds a “very large.”  Listen to what Mark said just a few verses ago in chapter three—just months, maybe even days before:   7 and a large crowd followed 

Notice the change in the adjective, “large.”  An adjective has three degrees, the regular degree, such as “large,” the comparative degree such as, “larger,” and the superlative degree, “largest.” 

 

The Word of God is absolutely SUFFICIENT to accomplish everything God wants to accomplish.  Even centuries before Isaiah, the great prophet, recognized the ALL SUFFICIENT power of the Word of God:

^{Isaiah 55:11} so My word that comes from My mouth will not returnto Me empty, but it will accomplish what I please and will prosper in what I send it _⌊to do_⌋.

The Word of God has been accomplishing supernatural feats ever since the Bible says, “³ Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.”

Everything that is or will ever be has come about or will come about as a result of God’s Word.  The Bible you hold in your hand is of the same substance and measure as the Word God used to speak the universe into existence.

So many churches trust in clever programming and Christian entertainment to draw a crowd.  But, Jesus drew the crowds with His Word.  The Parable makes it clear that the essence of the gospel—the very seed of salvation—is the Word of God, the Bible.

3.  The Soil is ELEMENTARY (14-20)

By elementary, I mean that the nature of the soil is the key to everything in regard to the story of redemption.  The sower, or preacher, is indeed essential in the gospel story.  The preacher is so essential to the gospel story that this story is usually called the Parable of the Sower.  Yet, the sower is mentioned only twice, and only as an introduction to the telling of the parable, and then again in the introduction to the explanation of the parable.  The word for “seed” does not even exist in the entire parable.  The seed is assumed to be what the “sower sowed” because that’s what “sower’s sow. 

The real issue in this parable are the four types of soil—especially the fourth type of soil, or the “good soil.”

William Barclay, the pastor—scholar, outlined the key to understanding a parable when he highlighted the difference between an allegory and a parable.  He points out, and rightfully so, that an allegory is a story that is intended to be dissected in writing.  In an allegory, there are many types and symbols.  Each element in an allegory has a one-to-one relationship with something in the real world.  Many of us read Animal House when we were in high school and college. Animal Farm is an allegory describing the turmoil in Russia leading up to WWII with the uprising against Moscow controlled by, Joseph Stalin.  The White Boar, Old Major, for example was an allegory for Karl Marx, and the Berkshire Boar, or pig, was an allegorical description of Joseph Stalin.  The various other farmyard animals likewise represented major players in the rebellion against Stalin.

But, a parable is different from an allegory in many ways. For one, parables were intended to be simple spoken stories with one primary lesson.  William Barclay taught that to understand a parable in the Bible one must ask, “What one idea would flash into a person’s mind when he or she heard the story for the first time?”

Indeed, there may be more than one application that could be made from a parable, but there is only one over-riding lesson that should form the basis for all applications.  One must be careful not to give an allegorical, one-to-one interpretation for every element in a parable.

What is the single, over-riding lesson that would have “flashed into the minds of those hearing this parable for the first time?”  The bulk of the parable—the heart so to speak—relates to the “four types of soil or dirt.”  In fact, the real meat of the story is what happens with the fourth type of soil, or the good soil. I’ll get to that in a moment.  But first, let’s look as the three types of soil that did NOT result in growth from the seed. 

(1)  The Seed sowed on the path (15)

(NIV84) 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.

Before the Word of God even has a chance to take hold in a person’s life, Satan comes along and “snatches it away.”  In Matthew’s account Satan is represented by “evil birds.”  Make no mistake about this my friend:  Satan will do everything he can do to keep the Word of God from taking root in a person’s life.  He knows He must act quickly (hence, the word, “immediately”). 

Satan’s most effective strategy is to “harden” a person’s heart against the truth of God’s Word.  He does this in any number of ways.  He can harden a person’s heart by letting them be successful, living in comfort and ease.  There simply is no consideration to one’s personal need to repent of one’s sin.  Satan can harden a person’s heart by “breeding an innocuous familiarity” with the things of God.  He will lead a person to “attach” himself or herself with a church that will allow them to think that sitting in a pew, or even giving some money, is all that Christianity is about.  There are even some who are members of this church, but they have no tenderness toward the things of God.  Still, Satan will sometimes harden a heart through despair and discouragement.  Satan will get a person to “blame” God for the misfortunes of life.  Some seeds fell on the hard path.

(2)  And some fell on “rocky soil v 16-17

 (NIV84) 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.

Rocky soil here probably does not mean a field with rocks in it.  Seeds can grow fine between rocks, if the soil between the rocks is good.  This probably refers to the type “shallow” soil that is found in parts of Palestine.  There is a rock shale just inches beneath the surface.  The soil covers the rock shale, but it is not deep enough to support long term growth.  Life springs forth from the seed, but at the first sign of trouble, or call for deeper commitment, the fledgling plant dies.  How often I’ve seen people come forward in a moment of emotion and then, in just a matter of days, perhaps weeks, they are right back to the life they were leading before the emotional moment.

(3)  And some fell among thorns v 18-19

(NIV84) 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.

These seeds are much like the ones on the rocky soil.  They start to take root, but then the ways of the world choke out any spiritual growth.  One thorn specifically mentioned is “worries.”  People hear the Word of God, but they don’t “hear with faith.”  They trust in their circumstances more than in the Savior, and the cares of life snuff out any spiritual growth.  Another thorn mentioned is “wealth.”  You can interpret this broadly as “stuff.”  People love their “stuff” more than they love God.  Yet another thorn is “

One writer refers to this kind of heart as, “The Preoccupied Heart.”  This is the life so filled up with “other stuff and other attitudes” there is no room for God.  In fact, the Word calls these thorns, “desires for other things.”  The word desire is the same word for sexual desire or a desire for food.  Thorny hearts allow “other things” to take the place of God.

All three of these soils represent people who have been exposed to the truth of God’s Word but did not respond with heart-felt, passionate, persevering obedience.  They are like race horses who never get out of the gate.  They show up to the race, but it ends for them even before it gets started.

Wow! That’s depressing!  But that’s the point.  That’s the reaction that Jesus intended in speaking this parable.  That is the “setting” of this story, but it is not the “diamond.”  The part of the story that gives this parable is single, over-riding meaning is the statement in verse 20.  This is the “whole enchilada” as they say in – well, I’m not sure where they say that –

²⁰ But the ones sown on good ground are those who hear the word,  welcome it, and produce a crop:  30, 60, and 100 times _⌊what was sown_⌋.”

4.  Good Soil:  A Great Harvest is INEVITABLE (20)

(NIV84) 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”

Here’s the major teaching of this parable condensed down to its most basic lesson:  hearing and obeying the Word of God results in a great harvest.”

Regardless of whatever else might be gleaned as applicable to the Christian life from this parable, one lesson overrides all others:  hearing and obeying the Word of God results in great blessings for believers and through believers.

This is the one lesson that would grab hold of any audience and move them to faith in God.  This verse is to the parable what “bang” is to “dynamite!”

Hearing and obeying the Word of God will not only bring you great blessings, but it will make you a great blessing to others!

Too many Christians never bear much fruit for Jesus because they are “deaf to His Word.” They can’t, or won’t “hear it and obey.”

You know, some scientific experiments are rather cruel, but still can teach us much. “ One scientist conducted an experiment with a frog. He sets the frog down and shouts, "Jump, frog." The frog jumps ten feet. The scientist writes down, FROG JUMPS 10 FEET. Then the scientist removes one of the frogs' legs and says, "Jump, frog." and the frog jumps five feet. The scientist writes CUT OFF ONE FOOT, FROG JUMPS 5 FEET. Then he removes another leg and says, "Jump." and the frog jumps two feet. The scientist writes down CUT OFF TWO LEGS, FROG JUMPS TWO FEET. Then he cuts off all the frogs' legs and says, "Jump." and the frog just lies there. The scientist writes down the conclusions of the test: CUTTING OFF ALL THE FROGS' LEGS MAKES THE SUBJECT GO DEAF.”

Judging by how high and far most of us “jump for Jesus,” I’d conclude “deafness is a real problem in churches.”

The key to “Biblical hearing” is “obedience.”  Faithful, enthusiastic, sacrificial devotion to Jesus Christ as the Lord of Life is what the gospel story is all about.

To say more simply:  If the soil of your heart is obedient, a fruitful life for Christ will be evident.

CONCLUSION: Today would be a very good day to do a “soil check.” Ask yourself a few questions. 1.  Has your life become a path so hardened to God’s Word that the seed lays on the surface until it is quickly snatched away by the Devil? 2. Is the soil of your life simply a shallow, charade of a Christian life without any real evidence God has indwelled you? 3. Is your life so full of the trials and trinkets of this world that there simply is no room for God?  Make a commitment that from this day forward you are going to be “good soil bringing forth 30, 60, or 100 fold” blessings in and through your life.

Be “Good Dirt!”