First, we saw that those who have ears to hear should listen to the parable of the sower. Second, we looked at how the New Testament interprets the parable of the sower and quoted the part about Isaiah’s prophecy that we discussed previously. Third, we talked about the life that Christians must have to be salt and light. To be salt and light, we must have such a life. Fourth, we discussed how the kingdom of God grows and how it should be interpreted, and quoted the parable of the mustard seed and the leaven that we discussed previously. Finally, we saw that Jesus has the authority to make the wind and the sea obey His command.
1. The Parable of the Sower
“He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.””(Mark 4:1-9)
The parable of the sower is recorded in Luke 8:4-8 and Matthew 13:1-9. The book of Matthew also describes that day when the events occurs, that is, when Jesus said, “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”(Matthew 12:50). Here, we must emphasize the verse, “He who has ears, let him hear.”(Matthew 13:9) The same is said for the seven churches in book of Revelation: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”(Revelation 2:29) Let’s see how the Bible interprets the parable of the sower.
2. How the New Testament Explains the Parable of the Sower
“As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.” And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.””(Mark 4:10-20)
The book of Matthew clearly explains this passage about the mysteries of the Kingdom of God: “And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”(Matthew 13:10-17)
The Gospel of John says this about Isaiah’s prophecy: “But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again, “He has blinded their eyes and He hardened their heart, so that they would not see with their eyes and perceive with their heart, and be converted and I heal them.””(John 12:37-40) We see that God is a merciful and gracious God. As long as they truly repent, God will heal them. Therefore, God uses a feedback strategy, which is what the New Testament says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”(1 John 1:9)
The translation of the Union Version seems to make it seem like God is afraid of them repenting. This is not the case. It is very clear when we read the original text. Previously, we saw in “4. How hard is the human heart!” under “1117 Truly truly, logic, truth, and hardness – John (5) 19-47”, we’ve already shared John 12:38-40, which explains the true meaning of this prophecy. Please visit https://a-christian-voice.com/ and click on “On spiritual understanding about life” to find this article. We won’t repeat it here.
The meaning of this parable is clearly explained here. Matthew 13:18-23 essentially says the same thing. Luke 8:11-15 describes the same thing: ““Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.”(Luke 8:11-15) This is essentially the same as what the book of Mark says, but it emphasizes perseverance and endurance by saying the seed is the word of God.
The problem is that some people, like me, immediately ask, “How much folds can we bear – thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold?” after reading these verses. But before asking this question, we must first make sure that we are not the ones sown by the wayside, on rocky ground, or among thorns.
3. Have a life of being salt and light
“And He was saying to them, “A lamp is not brought to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed? Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand? For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.””(Mark 4:21-23)
In the book of Matthew, it says, ““You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”(Matthew 5:13-16)
It is true that Christians should be light and salt, but don’t forget that a lamp has a luminous life and will continue to shine even if placed under a bed. Please note that the salt refers to the “rock salt” used by the Jews. It is said to be mined from the shores of the Dead Sea (see Zephaniah 2:9) and the salt mountains southwest of the Dead Sea. It is a salty rock. It is also said that when cooking, rock salt is tied with ropes to season food. As it cooks, the rock salt becomes smaller and less salty, eventually becoming a tasteless stone, losing its salty life and having to be discarded. Licking it directly to taste the saltiness will
eventually become a tasteless stone, and thus have the same effect.
Therefore, Christians seek to have life, just as Jesus Himself said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life.”(John 5:39-40). Even if one interprets the Scripture correctly but does not have life, at most one can gain knowledge only. We must be willing to allow the Holy Spirit to guide our reading of the Scriptures, because life can only come from the Triune God. As Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.”(1 Corinthians 3:6-7). We know that He came “…that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”(John 10:10). Having life is truly important, so it is said, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”(Mark 4:23).
4. How the Kingdom of God Grows and How to Use Parables to Describe It
“And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides. For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.” And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that the birds of the air can nest under its shade.” With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.”(Mark 4:24-34)
Obviously, the measuring vessel must be fair. “Differing weights and differing measures, Both of them are abominable to the LORD.”(Proverbs 20:10). The principles of the kingdom of heaven are different from ordinary ones. “For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”(Mark 4:25, see also Matthew 13:11-12, 25:28-30; Luke 8:18, 19:22-27). As for the natural growth of the kingdom of God, this is clearly stated here.
Regarding “…How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?”(Mark 4:30), here only the parable of the mustard seed is used. Matthew 13:31-35 uses the parable of the kingdom of God as a mustard seed and leaven. These two parables refer to the same thing. We know this is a controversial topic, but we don’t tend to assume the Kingdom of God will grow like the mustard seed and leaven. In the Bible, leaven typically refers to something bad. Therefore, we consider the parable as a fact and a warning, by considering “What God tells us through the Bible is consistent.” We see that the Kingdom of God is indeed growing rapidly, but the church’s membership is uneven.
Essentially, the mustard seed is being compared to vegetables (G3001). It was supposed to be vegetables, but it wanted to grow into a tree (G1186), and so it became corrupted! Doesn’t this resemble the situation in many churches today? For example, the philosophy of success teaches that everything will go smoothly as long as people believe in the Lord. This is not in line with the Bible’s teaching, which says, “…In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”(John 16:33) Such a church is like the church in Laodicea, which shuts out the Lord Jesus without realizing it, making the Kingdom of God uneven. But in the end, it will be scattered like tares, while only the wheat will be gathered into the barn (see Matthew 13:24-). We have previously discussed this issue in detail in “4. The parable of the kingdom of God with the mustard seed and the leaven” under “1065 Repentance, unfruitful end, healing, and the parable of leaven – Jesus (19)”. Those who are interested can find this article according to the method described previously.
5. The Wind and the Sea Obeyed Jesus’ Command
“On that day, when evening came, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd, they took Him along with them in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. And there arose a fierce gale of wind, and the waves were breaking over the boat so much that the boat was already filling up. Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They became very much afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?””(Mark 4:35-41)
These verses begin by describing the critical situation, but Jesus was at peace, sleeping in the stern. Because of the critical situation, they obviously knew He could do something, so they had no choice but to wake Him, “and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?””(Mark 4:38). However, they didn’t realize that the wind and the sea obeyed Jesus’ command.
In the book of Matthew, it says, “He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it became perfectly calm.”(Matthew 8:26). On another occasion, “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.”(Luke 17:5-6). Such faith is truly not easy to come by. We can ask for anything, but not every prayer will be granted, and sometimes the results are different from what we imagine. Obviously, they did not have such faith during Jesus’ lifetime, because when He was arrested, “And they all left Him and fled.”(Mark 14:50). This is a general statement, so you cannot say the description of the Bible is wrong just because Peter and John did not run away. Peter went out and repented weeping bitterly after denying the Lord three times (see Matthew 26:69-75), and John was the only apostle who was at the foot of the cross (see John 19:25-27).
(Verses refer to those in NASB95 unless otherwise specified.)
(You can get all articles in “https://a-christian-voice.com/” under “On spiritual understanding about life.”)
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