Parables of Mark 4

 Turn one of the parable of Jesus on its head. 

But first, review Parable of sower/soil/seed

1. Listen!! The first seed was sown by Jesus/God/HS which fell on the path (of our life/heart) and Satan (or his demons) comes and squanders or wastes it.

2. The second seed was sown in those with a stony hearts. Straightway it sprung up, took root and began to grow. But not a lot. Difficulty arises and kills the seed/Word. 

This seed/Word seemed to go farther into one's heart than the previous seed/Word. It actually grows a little before dying. .

3. The third seed fell among those with thorny hearts. It seemed to grow in the hearts even more than the previous two. But the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things choked it off. It yields no fruit.

Notice: fruit seems to be what is desired.

4. And others fell into the good hearts, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing; and brought forth, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.

It takes root in the good soil, no thorns or rocks, roots grow deep because there is plenty of earth, plant grows up, increases and produces fruit. Smaller, medium and large return.

5. Who does Jesus tell parables to? Everyone

6. Who does he explain them to? Disciples

7. Last week we also read another parable which Jesus seemed to speak to his disciples. We'll re-read that again this week and look at it alittle closer. But first…

Mar 4:21-23 

21 And he said unto them, Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel, or under the bed, and not to be put on the stand? 22 For there is nothing hid, save that it should be manifested; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light. 23 If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear. 

1. Vs21 Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel or bed?  what is the lamp? Light of Jesus' word?

2. Vs21 Under the bushel? 

-Bushel is a unit of dry measure in NT.  -Bushel = 9.3 gallons

-In the OT, an ephah is used. 

-1 bushel  = 1 ephah

-used in Zech 5:8 as ephah. Ephah is seen as wickedness which is taken to Shinar/Babylon

3. Vs21 Under the bed? Religious institution

4. Vs21 Lamp is to be put on the lamp stand? What is the lamp stand? 

Prob the church as per Rev 1:20 ("...the seven candlesticks are seven churches.")

5. Vs22 "For there is nothing hid, save that it should be manifested"

1. Is anything hid? Sure seems that way

2. It should be manifested? Now? Or eventually? Certainly

6. Vs22 "neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light."

1. Is Jesus saying that nothing was made secret? Prob not

2. Or is He saying nothing was made secret that won't eventually be revealed? Yes

7. Vs23 "If any hath ears to hear, let him hear."?

Any other ways we might look at this?

If He expounded this further to His disciples, it's not recorded, esp vs22.

Mark 4:24-25

24 And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you; and more shall be given unto you. 25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. 

1. Vs24 Take heed what you hear? 

Pay attention to what you are hearing…Listen very carefully!

2. Vs24 with what measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you?

With the measure you use (to hear), it will be measured to you

With the degree you measure (use) to hear, it shall be given back to you

to the extent that you study spiritual truth and apply godly wisdom] it will be measured to you 

3. Vs24 and more shall be given unto you? 

Based on the way you hear, more will be given.

4. Vs24 Is this good? Certainly, if you hear correctly…what if you don't?

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5. Vs25 For he that hath, to him shall be given? Given what? Understanding

6. Vs25 He that hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath? Understanding

***I think it is fair to assume that Jesus stated these verses (vs 24-25) on the importance of hearing accurately FOR A REASON!

If you don't  hear correctly, you draw wrong conclusions and do not gain true understanding. You may gain a lot of faulty understanding. And potentially lose true understanding that you already have!

So again, Jesus is warning His disciples to listen correctly. Why? 

Because He is about to tell them things that will be easily misconstrued and I believe it is. I think I misconstrued it a few weeks back….

Mark 4:26-29

26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth; 27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how. 28 The earth beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come. 

Last week when I looked at this passage I thought it was an example of the maturity of Jesus' fruits from 30, 60 and 100 fold. Followed by the harvest. But now I'm not so sure.

1. Vs26 So the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth? See anything questionable or odd in this verse? 

1. How did Jesus begin the parable of the sower in vs Mark 4:3-4? 

Mar 4:3-4 

3 Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow:  4 and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it.

No "as if" statements

2. How did he begin the interpretation in Mark 4:14-15?

Mar 4:14-15 

14 The sower soweth the word. 15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; and when they have heard, straightway cometh Satan, and taketh away the word which hath been sown in them.

No "as if" statements

2. Vs26 The seed is cast on the earth. 

No mention of the states of the soil. Altho maybe this doesn't matter since maybe he is trying to make a different point.

3. Vs27 "(the man) should sleep and rise night and day"?

1. Sleep?

1Th 5:6-7  

6 so then let us not sleep, as do the rest, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that are drunken are drunken in the night.

2. Night? Used derogatorily just as is "sleep"

3. Day?

1Th 5:8

But let us, since we are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for a helmet, the hope of salvation.

4. So if someone is both of the DAY and NIGHT, what does that make them? A mixture

 

4. Vs27 "the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how" Why? He doesn't really know God/Jesus or the word.

1. What is the implication of throwing out seed when you don’t really God/Jesus or the word? 

2. Do you get lucky and sow Jesus? No

3. What do you sow? Tares

5. Vs28 “The earth beareth fruit of herself”? Evidently yes…

1. Tares - they grow alongside the wheat, even looking like wheat.

2. Now you see why Jesus begins this parable with the words “as if a man should cast seed upon the earth”. Because it isn’t Jesus seed.

6. Vs28 “first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear”? What does this suggest? There is a maturation process even in the tares

1. Before we go farther, look at verse 26, Jesus says “So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth”? What does this verse suggest?

Prob that the 'word of God' is NOT the seed that is being sown.

2. Jesus allows a false “kingdom of God” to spread upon the earth? Two “kingdom of God’s” are allowed. 

One is real and one is false. Our job is to discover the real one from the false.

3. Blade, ear, full ear? 

Seems to be the maturation state of the bad fruit

7. Vs29 “But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come.”

1. Is there bad fruit mentioned in the NT? Yes

Mat 7:17 

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

2. Sickle/Harvest?

If this is bad fruit, we might expect references to sickle/harvest to have a negative connotation somewhere else in the NT. 

'Sickle' and 'Harvest' are only found in again in Rev 14:14-20

Rev 14:14-20 

14 And I saw, and behold, a white cloud; and on the cloud I saw one sitting like unto a son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. (Jesus)

Rev 14:15

15 And another angel came out from the temple, crying with a great voice to him that sat on the cloud, Send forth thy sickle, and reap: for the hour to reap is come; for the harvest of the earth is ripe (dry/withered). 

(Sickle & harvest of the earth is ripe (dry))

Rev 14:16

16 And he that sat on the cloud cast his sickle upon the earth; and the earth was reaped. (Sickle of Jesus?)

Rev 14:17

17 And another angel came out from the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle. (Another sickle?)

Rev 14:18

18 And another angel came out from the altar, he that hath power over fire; and he called with a great voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Send forth thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe. 

Rev 14:19-20

19 And the angel cast his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage of the earth, and cast it into the winepress, the great winepress, of the wrath of God. 20 And the winepress was trodden without the city, and there came out blood from the winepress, even unto the bridles of the horses, as far as a thousand and six hundred furlongs.

In OT:

Joe 3:13 

Put ye in the sickle; for the harvest (vintage) is ripe: come, tread ye; for the winepress is full, the vats overflow; for their wickedness is great.

So to wrap this parable up (Vs 26-29), this may represent the 'false kingdom of God' that is sown on the earth at the same time as the real seed. Also spoken of in Jer 25:30-38 and Deut 32:32-33.

Weird

**Again, let's try and hear correctly, and not draw wrong conclusions. We want to gain true understanding, not faulty understanding. 

Mark 4:30-32

30 And he said, How shall we liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable shall we set it forth? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth, 32 yet when it is sown, groweth up, and becometh greater than all the herbs, and putteth out great branches; so that the birds of the heaven can lodge under the shadow thereof. 

1. Grain of a mustard seed?

Seems to represent faith

Mat 17:20 

And he saith unto them, Because of your little faith: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

Vines Dictionary

a word of Egyptian origin, is translated "mustard seed" in the NT. "The conditions to be fulfilled by the mustard are that it should be a familiar plant, with a very small seed, Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6 , sown in the earth, growing larger than garden herbs, Matthew 13:31 , having large branches, Mark 4:31 , ... attractive to birds, Luke 13:19 [RV, '(became) a tree']. The cultivated mustard is sinapis nigra. The seed is well known for its minuteness. 

2. Again the seed was sown in the "earth", not necessarily in "good soil"

3. Tho it be less than all the seeds upon the earth. It becomes greater than all the herbs. 

Garden herbs, huh? Why are they compared to garden herbs?

Vines Dictionary

the "mustard" is not a herb, it is a tree.

4. It putteth out branches that the birds of the heaven can lodge in the shadow.

Birds of the heaven = Satan and demons who eat the seed (as per Jesus own words in Mk 4:4)

Vines Dictionary

The mustards are annuals, reproduced with extraordinary rapidity ... In fat soil they often attain a height of 10 or 12 feet, and have branches which attract passing birds"

As the parable indicates, Christendom presents a sort of Christianity that has become conformed to the principles and ways of the world, and the world has favored this debased Christianity.

So these last two parables seem to to speak of the corrupt or false kingdom of God OR the leavening that occurs in real God's kingdom as it gets bigger w demonic influence plainly it.