GOSPEL OF MARK - CHAPTER 4
Jesus teaches through parables 4:1-34
1. The parable of the four soils 4:1-9
2. Jesus explains the parable 4:10-20
3. A collection of things that Jesus said 4:21-25
4. The parable of the growing seed 4:26-29
5. The parable of the tiny seed 4:30-32
6. Jesus’ use of parables 4:33-34
The Parable of the Four Soils 4:1-9
v1 Again Jesus began to teach at the side of the sea. A very large crowd gathered round him. So he got into a boat and he sat in it on the sea. The whole crowd was at the side of the sea, on the land. v2 He taught them many things in parables. This was one of them. v3 ‘Listen! A farmer went out to sow some seed. v4 As he scattered the seed, some fell along the path. The birds came and they ate it up. v5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with rock underneath. Immediately the seed sprang up, because the soil was not deep. v6 When the sun came up, it burnt the plants. They dried up because they had no roots. v7 Some seed fell among weeds. The weeds grew up and they stopped the plant from growing. It therefore could not yield any grain. v8 Other seeds fell into good soil. They grew up. They yielded a crop 30, 60, or a hundred times as much as the seed that the farmer had planted.’ v9 And Jesus said, ‘He who has ears should listen.’
Commentary
Verse 1-2
Mark uses "again" which is one of his familiar keywords in the first verse. He is teaching to a large crowd, but He comes up with a creative way to teach without being in the crowd Himself. He tells one of His 8 parables in the Gospel of Mark.
Verses 3-4
Farmers used to scatter the seed by hand. Afterward they would plough it in. People who used a path through a field would make the ground hard. Birds would quickly eat seeds that fell on top of the path.
Verses 5-6
Seeds could not make strong roots where there was only a thin amount of soil over the rock. They would grow, but the plants would be thin and weak. The hot sun would therefore destroy the weak young plants.
Verse 7
Weeds would use up the goodness in the soil. They would stop the light of the sun from reaching the plants. They would take up all the space. So the plants would not be able to grow enough to yield a crop.
Verse 8
Enough seed would fall on good ground to yield a harvest.
Verse 9
Jesus meant, ‘You have ears to hear with. Listen carefully to what I am saying.’
Jesus Explains the Parable 4:10-20
v10 When Jesus was alone, the 12 disciples asked him about the parables. So did the other disciples round him. v11 Jesus told them, ‘You have received the secret of God’s kingdom. But I use parables to tell everything to those outside. v12 In this way they will see. But they will never know what they are seeing. They will hear, but they will not understand. Otherwise, they might change their ways and God might forgive them.’ v13 And he said to them, ‘If you do not understand this parable, you will never understand all the parables. v14 The farmer sows the word (God’s message). v15 The ones on the path mean people who hear God’s message. But as soon as they hear it, Satan at once takes away the message from their minds.
v16 In the same way, some seed fell on the shallow soil over rocks. That means other people who hear the message. They believe it immediately with joy. v17 But their roots are not very deep. They last for a while. But when trouble or pain happen because of God’s word, they lose their faith. v18 Other people are like the seeds among weeds. They hear and believe the message. v19 But the worries of this life, the delight in wealth and the desire for other things come. They stop the message, so that their faith never grows. So it never yields fruit. v20 And there are those seeds that fall on the good soil. Those people hear the message and they believe it. They yield fruit, 30, 60 or even one hundred times as much as the farmer planted.’
Commentary
Verses 10-11
Jesus contrasted his disciples with other people. The truths of the kingdom are ‘secrets’ because people cannot discover them for themselves. But some people are willing to believe. And God shows that Jesus is king to those people. The ordinary person would hear the story but he or she would not understand its meaning.
Verse 12
Jesus used words from Isaiah (6:9). People were ‘blind’ because of their prejudices. They were ‘deaf’ to the truth because they were not willing to change their ways. Those who sincerely want to obey God will think about the meaning of the parables. They will understand the truths in them. Those who have no real desire to obey God will not understand. The parable will hide the truth from them.
Verse 14
The ‘farmer’ means first of all Jesus himself. Then the farmer can mean anyone who tells people about the gospel.
Verse 15
The ‘seed’ of God’s message cannot enter the minds of people who are like the hard path. They have no interest at all in the gospel. They do not realize how important it is.
Verses 16-17
Some people may accept what Jesus taught with joy. But, like a plant without deep roots, their faith is not very strong. They do not let their faith make a real difference to the way that they live. Problems and temptations come. People insult or even attack them. Then their faith dies like the plant in the hot sun.
Verses 18-19
Like tall weeds, there are many things that push out the life of faith. They may be responsibilities, ambitions, the desire for money. Or they may be any of a wide variety of things that people enjoy doing. Some of these things are not wrong in themselves. But they can provide excuses to neglect the spiritual life of prayer and worship. They occupy so much time and attention that there is no space left for God.
Verse 20
Some people accept and believe the message. They are serious about their faith and they produce the ‘fruit’ of a good life.
The parable might cause people to think about their own ‘soil’. Their attitude would show whether their faith was genuine. The parable would also encourage the disciples. There would be a ‘harvest’ of those who believed Jesus and his disciples. This was true even if some of their efforts seemed to have no good result. God’s word would not ‘return to him without succeeding’ (Isaiah 55:11).
A collection of things that Jesus said 4:21-25
Mark groups together some of the things that Jesus said. In Matthew and Luke, they are separate from each other.
The Lamp 4:21-22
v21 Jesus said to them, ‘You do not bring in a lamp in order to put it under a large bowl or under a bed. You put it on something tall. v22 One day, everyone will see clearly whatever people are hiding now. Every secret must come out into the light.’
Commentary
Verse 21
A lamp would be of no use if people hid it under something. It should light up a room so that people can see. Jesus’ disciples must not hide their faith. They must allow other people to see the ‘light’ of God’s good news.
Verse 22
Men may try to cover up their actions, words, and thoughts. But they will not be successful. Adam and Eve tried to hide from God, but they failed (Genesis 3:8-9). In the end, God will bring everything into the ‘light’ of his judgment.
The Result When People Listen 4:23-25
v23 ‘Anyone who has ears must listen’, he said. v24 And he said to them, ‘Be careful how you listen. You will get whatever you give. And you will receive even more. v25 Because the person who has will receive more. But some people do not have much of anything. They will lose whatever they do have.’
Commentary
Verses 23-24
People must listen so that they can understand. Then they should obey what Jesus taught. Then, they will be able to understand more of the truth.
Verse 25
For example, a man may play football or he may run fast. He becomes more skillful if he practices. But he loses his skill if he does not practice. Some people do not try to understand Jesus’ parables. In the end, they will lose the power to take any notice of them.
The Parable of the Growing Seed 4:26-29
This parable is only in the Gospel of Mark.
v26 Jesus said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A farmer plants seeds in his field. v27 He goes to sleep at night and he wakes up in the day. The seed begins to grow, but he does not know how. v28 The earth produces fruit without help from anyone. First, there is the stem, then the part that will have seeds in, then all the seeds in that part. v29 When the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts the corn at once. He cuts it because the time of harvest has come.’
Commentary
Verses 26-28
A farmer can prepare the ground, but he cannot make the seed grow. He does not even understand how it grows. While he is carrying on his normal life, the seed is growing. Disciples are like the farmer. They can work to give the ‘seed’ of God’s message to other people. But it is God who works out his purpose. His purpose is to bring more people into his kingdom. People think that the kingdom grows slowly. But disciples know that God will bring a harvest.
Verse 29
There is also a final harvest. It is God’s day of judgment. Christians should wait for that time with patience and hope. They are like the farmer who is waiting for the harvest.
The Parable About the Tiny Seed 4:30-32
v30 Jesus said, ‘It is hard to say what the kingdom of God is like. It is hard to find a parable to use for it. v31 It is like the tiny seed called mustard. It is the smallest of all seeds when you put it into the ground. v32 But it grows up and it becomes the largest of all bushes. So even the birds can make nests in its shade.’
Commentary
Verses 31-32
The mustard seed is very tiny. The Jews spoke about it as the smallest seed. But it can grow into a very tall bush, more like a tree. The kingdom of God began with few disciples. But it has grown and it has become world-wide. A tree was picture language for a powerful nation. Many people will find safety in God’s Kingdom.
Jesus’ Use of Parables 4:33-34
v33 Jesus used many such parables. He taught as much as the people were able to understand. v34 He did not speak without parables. But when he was alone with his disciples, he explained the meaning to them.
Commentary
Verse 33
Jesus used parables so that people would think about the meaning of his words. He told stories that were suitable for the hearers.
Verse 34
The disciples wanted to understand. Jesus could therefore help them to understand what he taught completely.
The Storm on the Lake 4:35-41
v35 That day, in the evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Let us go across to the other side of the lake.’ v36 So they left the crowd. They took him with them, exactly as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him. v37 A great storm of wind started and the waves came over the side into the boat. It was nearly full of water. v38 But Jesus was in the back of the boat. He was asleep with his head on a cushion. They woke him up, and they said to him, ‘Teacher, do you not care if we die?’ v39 Jesus woke and he gave a command to the wind, ‘Be quiet!’ And he said to the sea, ‘Be still!’ And the wind became less strong, and everything became very calm. v40 Jesus said to them, ‘There is no reason for you to be so afraid. You still do not seem to believe at all!’ v41 They felt fear and surprise. They said to each other, ‘Who is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him.’
Commentary
Verse 35
You hardly believe me at all! There is no reason for you to be so afraid Jesus had been so busy all day that he needed rest away from the crowds. The ‘other side’ means the east side of the lake.
Verse 36
Jesus had taught from a boat. The words ‘exactly as he was’ probably mean that Jesus did not leave that boat. The detail about the ‘other boats’ is in Mark’s Gospel only.
Verse 37
The lake is below sea level and there are mountains on both sides of it. The wind can rush down the valley without warning. And it can make the lake very dangerous. Some of the disciples used to catch fish and so they knew about these sudden storms. They knew how easily the boat might sink. Then they would drown.
Verse 38
Jesus was so tired that he was asleep. He was not even aware of the storm until the frightened disciples woke him.
Verse 39
Jesus gave orders that immediately brought calmness to the lake. The writer of the Psalms says that God makes the stormy sea calm (Psalm 89:9; 107:28-29). Jesus had shown his authority over nature in the same way as God who created everything. Jesus said that his disciples ‘still’ did not seem to believe at all. He was sad. They had heard so much that he had said. And they had seen so many things that he had done. But they were still not able to trust him.
Jesus can bring calmness in the events in life that are like ‘storms’. Christians often use this event in Matthew 4 to show that he can do that. Sudden temptations, illness, family problems and political troubles are a great danger to a person’s peace of mind. To have faith in the care and power of Jesus is better than to worry and to be afraid.
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