Mark 4

Mark 4:1-9

2. THE PARABLES OF JESUS 4:1-34

a. The parable of the sower 4:1-9

TEXT 4:1-9

And again he began to teach by the sea side. And there is gathered unto him a very great multitude, so that he entered into a boat, and sat in the sea; and all the multitude were by the sea on the land. And he taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in his teaching, Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow: and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it. And other fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth; and straightway it sprang up, because it had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And other fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing; and brought forth, thirty-fold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold. And he said, Who hath ears, let him hear.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 4:1-9

At what other time in Mark’s account had Jesus taught by the seaside?

When did this teaching take place? Cf. Matthew 13:1.

How far out do you imagine the boat was from the shore?

How many in a great multitude? 10,000? 20,000? 36,000?

Why teach in parables?

What was the method of sowing to which Jesus referred? Why was the sower sowing?

Why was there a path in the midst of the field?

Why spring up soon in the rocky ground? What does this indicate about the fields of Palestine?

Why were there thorns in a field plowed for sowing?

Notice the plural word others in Mark 4:8 as contrasted with other in Mark 4:5 and Mark 4:7.why?

What is meant by thirty-foldsixty-foldhundred-fold?

COMMENT

TIMEOn the same day of the visit of the relatives of Jesus. Autumn A.D. 28. PLACEAt the Sea of Galilee near Capernaum.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 12:1-9; Luke 8:4-8.

OUTLINE1. The place and the people for teaching, Mark 4:1. 2. The type of teaching, Mark 4:2. 3. The parable of the sower, Mark 4:3-9.

I.

THE PLACE AND PEOPLE FOR TEACHING, Mark 4:1.

By the seaside.

A very great multitude.

II.

THE TYPE OF TEACHING, Mark 4:2.

In parables.

They must give close attention to understand.

III.

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER, Mark 4:3-9.

Some seed by the wayside, its fate.

Some seed on rocky ground, its fate.

Others in good soil, its fate.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I.

THE PLACE AND PEOPLE FOR TEACHING, Mark 4:1.

1. Like Luke (Luke 8:4) and Matthew (Matthew 13:1), Mark records, as a sort of epoch or important juncture in his history, the beginning of our Saviour’s parabolical instructions, as a part of the preparatory process by which he contributed to the reorganization of the Church, although he did not actually make the change during his personal presence upon earth, because, as we have seen, it was to rest upon his death and resurrection as its corner-stone. The other part of his preparatory work consisted in the choice and education of the men by whom the change was to be afterwards effected. Began, as in Mark 1:45; Mark 2:23, is not superfluous, but indicates the opening of some new series or process, which was to be afterwards continued. Again, on the other hand, suggests that this was not the commencement of his teaching ministry, but only of one form of it. He had already taught the people publicly with great effect, but now began to teach them in a peculiar manner, with a special purpose to elucidate the nature of his kingdom, for the benefit of those who were to be his subjects, but without a too explicit and precipitate disclosure of his claim to the Messiahship. By the sea-side, or along the sea, i.e. the lake of Tiberias or Galilee, not only near it, but upon the very shore. Was gathered, or, according to the oldest text, is gathered (or assembled), a more graphic form, exhibiting the scene as actually passing. Another emendation by the latest critics is the change of the positive (great) to the superlative (greatest), either in reference to all former gatherings, or absolutely in the sense of the very great. Multitude, or crowd, the Greek word indicating not mere numbers, but promiscuous assemblage. The situation is like that described in Mark 3:9, where we read that he directed a small vessel to be ready, if the crowd should be so great as to prevent his standing on the shore with safety or convenience. Here we find him actually entering into (or embarking in) the boat, no doubt the one already mentioned as in readiness, and sitting in the sea, i.e. upon the surface of the lake, while his vast audience was on the land (but) at (or close to) the sea, a stronger expression of proximity than that in the first clause. The scene thus presented must have been highly impressive to the eye, and still affords a striking subject for the pencil.

II.

THE TYPEOF TEACHING, Mark 4:2.

2. Taught is in the imperfect tense, and according to Greek usage properly denotes continued or habitual action, he was teaching or he used to teach. This yields a good sense, as the writer is undoubtedly describing one of our Lord’s favorite and constant modes of teaching. But the use of the aorist by Matthew (Matthew 13:3) and Luke (Luke 8:4), and the specific reference by Mark himself (in Mark 4:1) to a particular occasion, seem to forbid the wider meaning, unless it be supposed that he made use of the imperfect (as of the verb began) to intimate that, although this was the first instance of such teaching, it was not the last. Many things, of which only samples are preserved, even by Matthew, and still fewer in the book before us, showing that the writer’s aim was not to furnish an exhaustive history, but to illustrate by examples the ministry of Christ. In parables, i.e. in the form and in the use of them, Parable is a slight modification of a Greek noun, the verbal root of which has two principal meanings, to propound (throw out or put forth), and to compare (throw together or lay side by side.) The sense of the noun derived from the former usage, that of any thing propounded, is too vague to be distinctive, comprehending as it does all kinds of instruction, which, from its very nature, must be put forth or imparted from one mind to another. The more specific sense of comparison, resemblance, is not only sanctioned by the usage of the best Greek writers (such as Plato, Aristotle, and Socrates), but recommended, not to say required, by the employment of a corresponding Hebrew word in precisely the same way. In its widest sense, a parable is any illustration from analogy, including the simile and metaphor as rhetorical figures, the allegory, apologue, fable, and some forms of proverbial expression. In a more restricted sense, the word denotes an illustration of moral or religious truth derived from the analogy of human experience. In this respect it differs from the fable, which accomplishes the same end by employing the supposed acts of inferior animals, or even those ascribed to inanimate objects, to illustrate human character and conduct. The only fables found in Scripture, those of Jotham (Judges 9:8-15) and Joash (2 Kings 14:9), are given on human, not divine authority. The parable, in its more restricted sense, as just explained, is not necessarily narrative in form, much less fictitious, although this is commonly assumed in modern definitions of the term. There is good reason to believe that all the parables of Christ are founded in fact, if not entirely composed of real incidents. They are all drawn from familiar forms of human experience, and with one exception from the present life. This creates a strong presumption that the facts are true, unless there be some positive reason for supposing them fictitious. Now the necessity of fiction to illustrate moral truth arises, not from the deficiency of real facts adapted to the purpose, but from the writer’s limited acquaintance with them, and his consequent incapacity to frame the necessary combination, without calling in the aid of his imagination. But no such necessity can exist in the case of an inspired, much less of an omniscient teacher. To resort to fiction, therefore, even admitting its lawfulness on moral grounds, when real life affords in such abundance the required analogies, would be a gratuitous preference, if not of the false to the true, at least of the imaginary to the real, which seems unworthy of our Lord, or which, to say the least, we have no right to assume without necessity. In expounding the parables, interpreters have gone to very opposite extremes, but most to that of making everything significant, or giving a specific sense to every minute point of the analogy presented. This error is happily exposed by Augustine, when he says, that the whole plough is needed in the act of ploughing, though the ploughshare alone makes the furrow, and the whole frame of an instrument is useful, though the strings alone produce the music. The other extreme, that of overlooking or denying the significance of some things really significant, is much less common than the first, and for the most part found in writers of severer taste and judgment. The true mean is difficult but not impossible to find, upon the principle now commonly assumed as true, at least in theory, that the main analogy intended, like the center of a circle, must determine the position of all points in the circumference. It may also be observed, that as the same illustration may legitimately mean more to one man than to another, in proportion to the strength of their imaginative faculties, it is highly important that, in attempting to determine the essential meaning of our Saviour’s parables, we should not confound what they may possibly be made to mean, with what they must mean to attain their purpose. In addition to these principles, arising from the nature of the parable itself, we have the unspeakable advantage of our Saviour’s own example as a self-interpreter. In his doctrine, i.e. in the act of teaching, or perhaps the meaning here may be, in this peculiar mode of teaching.

III.

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER, Mark 4:3-9.

Mark 4:3. Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow.

Mark has preserved one introductory ejaculation, not in Luke, and one neither in Luke nor Matthew. Hear! implying the power and intention to communicate something particularly worthy of attention. This word, perhaps a part of Peter’s vivid recollection, may be said to introduce the whole succession of our Saviour’s parables. Behold! (Matthew 13:3), lo, see, in one or two specific cases, but intended, no doubt, as a model and a guide in others, both in Hebrew and Hellenistic usage introduces something unexpected and surprising. Some take it even in its primary and strict sense, look! see there! implying that the object indicated was in sight or actually visible; in other words, that Christ was led to use this illustration by the casual appearance of a sower in a neighboring field; and this is often represented as the usual occasion of his parabolic teachings. It seems, however, to regard them as too purely accidental, and too little the result of a deliberate predetermination, such as we cannot but assume in the practice of a divine teacher. A safer form of the same proposition is the one already stated in a different connection (see above, on Mark 4:1), namely, that our Saviour’s parables, though not invariably suggested by immediate sights or passing scenes, are all derived from the analogy of human experience, and in most instances of common life. Thus the three here given by Mark are designed not only to exhibit different aspects of the same great subject, the Messiah’s kingdom, but to exhibit them by means of images derived from one mode of life or occupation, that of husbandry, with which his auditors were all familiar, and in which, most probably, the greater part of them were constantly engaged. But besides these objections to the general supposition that our Saviour’s parables were all suggested casually, such an assumption is forbidden in the case before us by the form of expression used by all these evangelists with striking uniformity. It is not as it naturally would be on the supposition now in question, See, a sower goes (or going) out, but with the article, and in the aorist or past tense, lo, the sower went out. The sower, like the Fox and the Lion in a fable, is generic, meaning the whole class, or an ideal individual who represents it. Went out, as we say in colloquial narrative, once upon a time, the precise date being an ideal one because the act is one of constant occurrence. As if he had said, -a sower went out to sow, as you have often done and seen your neighbor do.-’ To sow, distinguishes his going out for this specific purpose from his going out on other errands. The sower went out as such, as a sower, to perform the function which the name denotes.

Mark 4:4. *And it came to pass as he sowed, some fell by the way-side, and the jowls of the air came and devoured it up.

It came to pass,* or something happened, implying something not indeed uncommon, but yet not belonging as of course to the process of sow-in seed. As he sowed, literally, in the (act of) sowing, and therefore in the field, not merely on the way to it. By the way must therefore mean along the path trodden by the sower himself and hardened by his footsteps, not along the highway leading to his place of labor. This idea is distinctly expressed by Luke (Luke 8:5), and it was trodden down, i.e. it fell upon the path where he was walking. Some is understood by every reader to mean some of the seed which he was sowing, the noun, although not previously mentioned as it is in Luke (Luke 8:4), being necessarily suggested by the kindred verb, to sow, in sowing. The principal circumstance in this part of the parable is not the treading of the seed, which Luke only adds to specify the place, but its lying exposed upon the trodden path, and there devoured by the birds. Fowl, now confined to certain species of domesticated birds, is co-extensive in Old English with bird itself. Of the air, literally of heaven, a Hebrew idiom, according to which heaven (or heavens, see above on Genesis 1:10), is applied, not only to the whole material universe, except the earth (Genesis 1:1) and especially to that part of it regarded as the more immediate residence of God (Genesis 19:24), but also to the visible expanse or firmament (Genesis 1:14), and to our atmosphere, or rather to the whole space between us and the heavenly bodies (Genesis 1:20). The version, therefore, is substantially correct, supposing these words to be genuine; but the latest critics have expunged them as a probable assimilation to the text of Luke (Luke 8:5): Nothing more is here intended by the phrase than birds in general, or the birds which his hearers well know were accustomed to commit such depredations. The familiarity of this occurrence and of those which follow, must have brought the illustration home to the business and bosoms of the humblest hearers, and, at the same time, necessarily precludes the idea of a fiction, when real facts were so abundant and accessible. It is idle to object that this particular sower never did go forth, when the opposite assertion can as easily be made, and when the terms employed, as we have seen, may designate the whole class of sowers, including multitudes of individuals, or any of these whom any one of the hearers might select as particularly meant, perhaps himself, perhaps some neighboring husbandman. Such a use of language, when applied to incidents of every-day occurrence, is as far as possible remote from fiction.

Mark 4:5. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth;

Another (seed, or portion of the seed sown) fell upon the stony (or rocky soil), collective singulars equivalent to Matthew’s plurals (Matthew 13:5.) The reference is not to loose or scattered stones (see below, on Mark 5:5), but to a thin soil overspreading a stratum or layer of concealed rock. Immediately, here used by Matthew also, is emphatic, the rapid germination being a material circumstance, and seemingly ascribed to the shallowness of the soil, allowing the seed no room to strike deep root, but only to spring upwards. The same idea is suggested by the verb itself, a double compound meaning to spring up and forth. The cause assigned by Luke (Luke 8:6), is not that of the speedy germination, but of the premature decay that followed it, as Mark describes more fully in the next verse.

Mark 4:6. *But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

When the sun was up* (or risen), is the literal translation of the text adopted by the latest critics, while the common or received text, though the same in meaning, has a different construction, the sun having risen. There is a peculiar beauty in the Greek here, which cannot be retained in a translation, arising from the use of the same verb (but in a less emphatic form) to signify the rising of the plant and of the sun, as both are said in English to be up, when one is above the surface of the earth and the other above the horizon. Scorched (or burnt) and withered (or dried, see above on Mark 3:1) are different effects ascribed to different causes. The first is the evaporation of the vital sap or vegetable juices by the solar heat; the other their spontaneous failure from the want of a tenacious root. Together they describe, in a manner at once accurate and simple, the natural and necessary fate of a plant without sufficient depth of soil, however quick and even premature its vegetation.

Mark 4:7. *And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

Another,* as in Mark 4:5. Into the thorns, or in the midst of them, as it is more fully expressed by Luke (Luke 8:7). The thorns, which happened to be growing there, or which are usually found in such situations. Came up, appeared above the surface, an expression constantly employed in English to denote the same thing. Choked, stifled, or deprived of life by pressure. This word though strictly applicable only to the suffocation of animal or human subjects (Luke 8:42), is here by a natural and lively figure transferred to the fatal influence on vegetable life of too close contact with a different and especially a ranker growth. Matthew (Matthew 13:7) uses a still more emphatic compound of the same verb, corresponding to our own familiar phrase choked off. And fruit did not give, though implied in all, is expressed only in Mark’s account, which throughout this parable exhibits no appearance of abridgment.

Mark 4:8. *And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up, and increased, and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

Another,* as in Mark 4:5; Mark 4:7.It is a minute but striking proof that the evangelists wrote independently of each other, and that their coincidence of language arose not from mutual imitation, but from sameness of original material, that in these three verses Matthew always says upon, Mark into or among. Good ground, in Greek, the earth, the good, earth or soil

properly so called in distinction from the beaten, rocky, thorny places before mentioned. Gave fruit coming up and growing, the fruit or ripe grain being represented as passing through the changes which are really experienced in the earlier stages of the vegetable process. Bore, the same idea that was before expressed by gave, the latter having more explicit reference to the use and wants of men, the former to production in itself considered. What the seed bore, whether reaped or not, it yielded only on the former supposition. One, i.e. one seed, the proportion stated being that of the seed sown to the ripe grain harvested. As the Greek numeral here rendered one is distinguished from the preposition in by nothing but its accent and its aspiration, which are not given in the oldest copies, one distinguished modern critic substitutes the latter, in thirty, and in sixty, i.e. in this ratio or proportion, and another gives as the most ancient text a different preposition, meaning to (i.e. to the amount of) thirty, sixty, and a hundred. The productiveness ascribed to the nutritious grains in this place is by no means unexampled either in ancient or in modern times. It is indeed a moderate and modest estimate compared with some recorded by Herodotus, in which the rate of increase was double or quadruple even the highest of the three here mentioned, and the recent harvest in our western states affords examples of increase still greater.

Mark 4:9. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

This idiomatic and proverbial formula, like many others of perpetual occurrence in our Lord’s discourses, is never simply pleonastic or unmeaning, as the repetition often tempts us to imagine. On the contrary, such phrases are invariably solemn and emphatic warnings that the things in question are of the most momentous import, and entitled to most serious attention. They appear to have been framed or adopted by the Saviour, to be used on various occasions and in the pauses of his different discourses. There is something eminently simple and expressive in the one before us, which involves rebuke as well as exhortation. -Why should you have the sense of hearing, if you do not use it now? To what advantage can you ever listen, if you turn a deaf ear to these admonitions? Now, now, if ever, he who can hear must hear, or incur the penalty of inattention! But besides the importance of the subject and the juncture, it is here suggested that the very form of the communication calls for close attention, in default of which it can impart no knowledge and confer no benefit. This may be understood as having reference to the parabolic method of instruction which our Saviour now began and afterwards continued to employ so freely. (Alexander)

FACT QUESTIONS 4:1-9

What was the pulpit and the auditorium for Jesus-’ teaching in parables?

Did Jesus give these parables in rapid succession? If not, how were they given (Cf. Mark 4:11).

If this is the first parable of Jesus what are we to say of Mar 3:23?

Show how this parable reveals the method of farming in Jesus-’ dayThere are several intimationsplease find them.

Does Mark suggest there were three groups of seeds growing by making reference to the 30, 60 and 100 yields? Explain.

Mark 4:1-34

SUMMARY 4:1-34

In the parables of this section, especially in those of the sower, the seed and the mustard seed, the prophetic power of Jesus is clearly exhibited. Without superhuman foresight he could not have so accurately traced out the manner in which different classes of men throughout all time would deal with the word of God, as he describes it in the parable of the sower; nor could he have known in advance of experiment, that the seed of the kingdom would grow from its planting until the time for harvest, as described in the next parable; nor that, as declared in the third, the kingdom would ever attain to the prodigious growth which our eyes have witnessed. His divinity is attested by his unfailing foresight into the distant future.J. W. McGarvey.

Mark 4:10-20

**B. THE EXPLANATION OF THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER 4:10-20

TEXT 4:10-20**

And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parables. And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables: that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn again, and it should be forgiven them. And he saith unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how shall ye know all the parables? The sower soweth the word. 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. And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy; and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway they stumble. And others are they that are sown among the thorns; these are they that have heard the word, and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And those are they that were sown upon the good ground; such as hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, thirty-fold, and sixty-fold, and a hundred-fold.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 4:10-20

Why wait until there were but twelve before He told the meaning of the parable?

What is meant by the expression mystery of the kingdom?

Please explain in your own words Mark 4:12.

Why the rebuke in Mark 4:13?

Are we to understand that Satan can actually remove the word of God from the heart? How?

How can we have root in ourselves? Cf. Mark 4:17.

Please notice that those with shallow hearts stumble because of the word. Please explain.

Have the thorns of choking changed? What shall we do with them?

Why do some bear only 30 while others yield 100-fold for the Master?

**COMMENT 4:10-20

LESSON ANALYSIS**

I.

SPEAKING IN PARABLES, Mark 4:10-13.

Disciples Ask an Explanation. Mark 4:10; Matthew 13:10; Luke 8:9.

The Reason for Parables. Mark 4:11-12; Matthew 13:11-17; Luke 8:10.

II.

WAYSIDE AND STONY GROUND, Mark 4:14-17.

The Good Seed. Mark 4:14; Luke 8:11.

Wayside Hearers. Mark 4:15; Matthew 13:19; Luke 8:12.

Stony Ground Hearers. Mark 4:16-17; Matthew 13:20; Luke 8:13.

III.

THORNS AND GOOD GROUND, Mark 4:18-20.

The Seed Choked Out. Mark 4:18-19; Matthew 13:22; Luke 8:14.

Good Seed in Good Ground. Mark 4:20; Matthew 13:23; Luke 8:15.

INTRODUCTION

He privately retired to the margin of the lake, desiring probably to rest awhile; but no sooner had he taken his seat beside the cool, still water, than he was again surrounded by the anxious crowd. At once, to escape the pressure and to command the audience better when he should again begin to speak, he stepped into one of the fishing-boats that floated at ease close by the beach, on the margin of that tideless inland sea. From the water’s edge, stretching away upward on the natural gallery formed by the sloping bank, the great congregation, with every face fixed in an attitude of eager expectancy, presented to the Preacher’s eye the appearance of a plowed field ready to receive the seed. As he opened his lips and cast the word of life freely abroad among them, he saw, he felt, the parallel between the sowing of Nature and the sowing of Grace. Into that word accordingly he threw the lesson of saving truth.W. Arnot.

OUTLINE OF THE PARABLE OF THE SOWERIt will aid in understanding the lesson to have a clear outline in the mind of the application. This is the first parable the Saviour spoke as far as we have record. He spoke the parable to a vast audience in whose minds the story was lodged and left for reflection without an explanation of its meaning. He had sowed, in this illustrative way, the seed of the kingdom broadcast, and in many a heart it would live until it burst forth, full of meaning, to bear fruit. His apostles, not accustomed to this mode of teaching, come to him privately and ask the meaning. In order to understand the parable we must go with the other disciples and listen to the explanation given in Mark 4:10-20. Christ is the great Sower, and all whom he sends forth to preach are sowers under him. The seed sown is his Word, the Gospel of the Kingdom. The soil where the seed is cast is human hearts, Four kinds of human hearts are described: 1. The wayside hearer; the light flippant, indifferent hearer upon whom no impression is produced. 2. The stony hearer; the heart that exhibits an evanescent feeling at the appeal of the gospel, but upon whom no permanent impression is made. 3. The thorny soil; the heart that takes in the Word, but is so full of worldly cares that these presently gain the mastery. This describes the world-serving hearing. 4. The good soil; the good and honest heart; the heart that receives and retains the truth. In such a heart the seed will grow and the new life will be manifest. Three things, then, are needful: 1. A Sower. 2, Good Seed; the pure word of God, 3. A good and honest heart, A dishonest man cannot be converted until he casts out his dishonesty. He who cavils at and deceitfully entreats the word of God will not be profited.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I. SPEAKING IN PARABLES.Mark 4:10. When he was done. This may have occurred after the public labors of the day were over and the multitude had been dismissed. By comparing with Matthew we learn that the Lord spoke seven parables in succession, and it seems to me more probable that the explanations were given in the quiet when surrounded only by the twelve and they that were about him with the twelve, a number of his friends and disciples. Asked of him the parables. This language shows that the Lord had spoken more than once before the explanation was asked for or given. Though the parable was new to his disciples it was not a new method of instruction. A number occur in the Old Testament, and it was frequently adopted by the Jewish rabbis. It differs from an allegory or fable in that its characters are real and it does not violate possibilities. It is an imaginary illustration of real truth. In this instance the Saviour stated some facts familiar to all the farming population of Palestine and made them the vehicle to carry spiritual truth. Perhaps from where the multitude was gathered a sower on the plain of Gennesaret was visible at work and pointed to by the Lord.

Mark 4:11. Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom. A mystery is not something obscure, but something plain to those initiated, but a secret to those without. The Greeks had what were called the Eleu-sinian mysteries, unknown to all without, but fully explained to all who were initiated. The Saviour says no more than that there are matters that my disciples shall know that those without can never understand. When one makes Jesus the Master and himself a pupil (disciple), of course he has the vantage ground and will be admitted to spiritual knowledge that he could never obtain had he not entered the school of Christ. The English alphabet is a mystery to the savage, but is no mystery to even little children who have learned it. To them that are without. parables. The method of instruction by parables was peculiarly adapted to their state. It was interesting, and would excite attention, and many of the similes would be long remembered, and their true meaning would insensibly break forth upon their minds. It would lead them to some correct views before they were aware. At the same time the truths thus delivered were covered by a thin veil, and were not immediately apprehended; thus, while instant rejection might be the result of presenting the naked truth, attention to the truth was secured by the interesting covering under which it was couched. He spake only in parables to these Jewish cavillers, in order to take from them the means of knowing truths which they would merely abuse. He would not cast pearls before swine.

Mark 4:12. That seeing they may see, and not perceive. Did he speak in parables because he did not wish them to know and to enjoy? Everything shows the reverse. But he was aware, that, in consequence of the inveteracy of their prejudice, they could not, in the first instance, see the secret of the kingdom without being repelled in spirit, and confirmed in their dissent and dislike. He wished, therefore, that they should not see. But, at the same time, he graciously wished that they should look, and keep looking, so that they might, if possible, get such a glimpse of the inner glory as might fascinate their interest and attention, and by and by disarm their prejudices, so that they might with safety be permitted to see.Morison. Though they see the truth intellectually, they shall not appreciate it spiritually; they see it as the horse sees the same prospect with his rider, without appreciation.Abbott. But their position was according to their own choice. Christ forbade none; and the disciples in this case were not merely the twelve chosen by him, but all who would come. Moral inability always is the fruit of moral unwillingness. Those who cannot see, were in the first place unwilling to see. Lest. they should he converted. His meaning is not, These things are done in parables, lest they should be converted, but, Their eyes they closed, etc., lest at any time they should be converted. That is, men willfully close their hearts to the truth, lest they should be led to repentance and reformation. They will not, therefore they cannot.

Mark 4:13. Know ye not this parable? It is not a reproof, but means, You find you cannot understand this without assistance. The next question, and how then will ye know all parables? extends the thought to all parables, but intimates further: The first parable of the kingdom is the basis of all the rest. If they understand not this, they could not understand any that followed. If they had the explanation of this, they had the key for the understanding of all others. Hence our Lord gives, not rules of interpretation, but examples, one of which is here preserved to be our guide in interpretation.

II. WAYSIDE AND STONY GROUND.Mark 4:14. The sower soweth the word. The great Sower is Christ; the seed sown is the Word of God, the Gospel, whether spoken by Christ, his apostles, preachers, Sunday-school teachers, any disciple, or written in the New Testament, or upon the printed page of the book, tract or newspaper, All spiritual life depends on a divine seed sown in the heart by the divine Sower. The life of the seed depends on, first, receiving it; second, rooting it; third, cultivating it.

Mark 4:15. These are they by the wayside. The fields of Palestine were not fenced and lay in the open country while the population lived in hamlets. The roads or paths were through the fields. Thomson, in the Land and the Book, says: There are neither roads, nor thorns, nor stony places in such lots. They go forth into the open country, where the path passes through the cultivated land, where there are no fences, where thorns grow in clumps all around, where rocks peep out in places through the scanty soil, and hard by are patches extremely fertile. Some of the seed fell on the hard-beaten paths where it would lie until picked up by the birds. This, said the Savior, represents the hardened, worldly hearts that never allow the seed of the kingdom to enter at all. These never allow the word to get under the surface of their thoughts. The way is the heart, beaten and dried by the passage of evil thoughts. Sin has so hardened the heart, worldliness has so deadened the feelings, sinful pleasures and desires have so dulled the conscience that God’s truth makes no impression, more than a passing dream, or a pleasant song, to be heard and forgotten, Satan … taketh away the word that was sown. The object of the preaching of the word is to save souls; the aim of Satan is to destroy souls. The word lies there ready for him. It has not pierced the soil of the heart. It has found no entrance, It is all on the surface. It lies quite naked and exposed. The word has been heard, and that is all. It is snatched away at once. Guthrie says: Wherever there is a preacher in the pulpit, there is a devil among the pews, busy watching the words that fall from the preacher’s lips to catch them away. Every preacher is familiar with this class. Upon their hard, flinty hearts the most searching appeals fail to make any impression. They come out of idle curiosity, or to cavil and to scoff and go away as they came.

Mark 4:16. They which are sown on stony ground. Under the figure of the stony ground, he depicts that lively but shallow susceptibility of spirit which grasps the truth eagerly, but receives no deep impressions, and yields as quickly to the reaction of worldly temptations as it had yielded to the divine word. Those whose feelings are touched, but not their conscience or their will. Immediately. The seed in such case springs upall the quicker from the shallowness of the soilbecause it has no depth of earth. Receive it with gladness. The hearer described has not counted the cost; whatever was fair and beautiful in Christianity, as it first presents itself, had attracted himits sweet and comfortable promises, the moral loveliness of its doctrines, but not its answer to the deepest needs of the human heart; as neither, when he received the word with gladness, had he contemplated the having to endure hardness in his warfare with sin and Satan and the world.Trench.

Mark 4:17. Have no root in themselves. They make profession and begin, but do not hold out, because the good seed has not rooted deeply. These are they who are moved by emotion, not by a deep sense of conviction. When affliction or persecution. As the heat scorches the blade which has no deepness of earth, so the troubles and afflictions, which would have strengthened a true faith, cause a faith which was merely temporary to fail. The image has a peculiar fitness and beauty, for as the roots of a tree are out of sight, yet from them it derives its firmness and stability; so upon the hidden life of the Christian his firmness and stability depend.Trench. A sneer from some leading spirit in a literary society, or a laugh raised by some gay circle of pleasure-seekers in a fashionable drawing-room, or the rude jests of scoffing artisans in a workshop, may do as much as the fagot and the stake to make a fair but false disciple deny his Lord.

III. THORNS AND GOOD GROUND.Mark 4:18. Sown among thorns. The seed which takes root, but is stifled by the thorns that -shoot up with it, figures the mind in which the elements of worldly desire develop themselves along with the higher life, and at last become strong enough to crush it, so that the received truth it utterly lost. The evil here is neither a hard nor a shallow soilthere is softness enough, and depth enough; but it is the existence in it of what draws all the moisture and richness of the soil away to itself, and so starves the plant.

Mark 4:19. Cares of this world. What are these thorns? First, the cares of this worldanxious, unrelaxing attention to the business of his present life; second, the deceitfulness of richesof those riches which are the fruit of this worldly care; third, the pleasures of this lifethe enjoyments, in themselves it may be innocent, in which worldly prosperity enables one to indulge. These choke or smother the word; drawing off so much of one’s attention, absorbing so much of one’s interest, and using up so much of one’s time, that only the dregs of these remain for spiritual things, and a fagged, hurried and heartless formalism is at length all the religion of such persons.J. F. and B. Our Savior here places riches in the midst between cares and pleasures; for cares generally precede the gaining of riches, and, when gained, they draw men into pleasures and indulgence.Dodd.

Mark 4:20. Sown on good ground, etc. A heart soft and tender, stirred to its depths on the great things of eternity, and jealously guarded from worldly engrossments, such only is the honest and good heart (Luke 8:15), which keeps, i.e., retains the seed of the word, and bears fruit just in proportion as it is such a heart. Such bring forth fruit with patience (Mark 4:15), or continuance, enduring to the end; in contrast with those in whom the word is choked, and brings no fruit to perfection. The thirty-fold is designed to express the lowest degree of fruitfulness; the hundred-fold, the highest, and the sixty-fold the intermediate degrees of fruitfulness. As a hundred-fold, though not unexampled (Genesis 26:12), is a rare return in the natural husbandry, so the highest degrees of spiritual fruitfulness are, too, seldom witnessed.J.F. and B. Some thirty-fold, some sixty and some a hundred. Thirty-fold is now a first-rate crop, even for such plains as Esdraelon, just below Nazareth. But in the time of Christ there might be realized, in favorable circumstances, a hundredfold. Intelligent gentlemen (in the plain of Esdraelon) maintain that they have themselves reaped more than an hundred-fold, Moreover, the different kinds of fertility may be ascribed to different kinds of grain: Barley yields more than wheat; and white maize, sown in the neighborhood, often yields several hundred-fold. An extraordinary number of stalks do actually spring from a single root. Here, on this plain of Sidon, I have seen more than a hundred, and each with a head bowing gracefully beneath the load of well-formed grains. The yield was more than a thousand-fold.Land and Book. Observe the four kinds of seed: The first did not spring up at all; the second sprang up, but soon withered away; the third sprang up and grew, but yielded no fruit; the fourth sprang up, grew, and brought forth fruit. And as there are three causes of unfaithfulness, so there are three degrees of fruitfulness, but only one cause of fruitfulness,Maclear.

FACT QUESTIONS 4:10-20

Show how the parable of the sower was appropriate to the time and place where it was given.

Describe briefly the four types of soils.

196

.Did Jesus speak more than one parable upon this occasion? How many?

Was this a new method of instruction? Show the difference in a parable and an allegory.

Explain the expression mystery of the kingdom.

Show how appropriate the use of parables was to those without.

Please explain: that seeing they may see, and not perceive.lest they be converted.

What seems to be the key to all the parables?

In what way can the seed be sown?

Where was the wayside in the fields of Palestine?

Why are wayside hearers so indifferent?

Explain how Satan takes away the word or the seed?

What causes such a joyful acceptance on the part of someonly to be lost later?

Show the difference between emotion and conviction.

Discuss carefully the three types of thorns and their interrelation.

Show the three causes of unfaithfulness, the three degrees of fruitfulness and the one cause of fruitfulness.

Mark 4:21-23

C. THE PARABLE OF THE LAMP 4:21-23 TEXT 4:21-23

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? For there is nothing hid, save that it should be manifested; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light. If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 4:21-23

When was this parable given? before or after the explanation of the parable of the sower?

Who is represented by the lamp?

Isn-’t there something humorous about the location of the lamp? Why use it?

Jesus states a strange purpose for hiding somethingexplain.

What is the main point of this parable?

COMMENT

TIMEAutumn A.D. 28. At the same time as the first parable. PLACEIn a boat in the Sea of Galilee, the crowd on the shore.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTLuk 8:16-17.

OUTLINE1. The purpose of the lamp, Mark 4:21. 2. Items are hidden for the purpose of later being revealed, Mark 4:22, a. 3. Secrets are made to be told, Mark 4:22 b. 4. Those who can should understand, Mark 4:23.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE PURPOSE OF THE LAMP, Mark 4:21.

Not under the bushel.

Not under the bed.

On the stand.

II.

ITEMS ARE HIDDEN TO BE REVEALED. Mark 4:22 A.

III.

SECRETS ARE MADE TO BE TOLD, Mark 4:22 B.

IV.

THOSE WHO CAN SHOULD UNDERSTAND, Mark 4:23.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I.

THE PURPOSE OF THE LAMP, Mark 4:21.

21. And he said unto them, Is a (or the) candle brought to be put under, etc.

22. For there is nothing hid which shall not be manifested-’-’ (or, save that it should be manifested).

These verses must be taken together, and their meaning seems to be something of this sort. The Lord had for certain wise, and, we believe, merciful reasons, adopted a new role of teaching, in which He veiled His meaning from the multitude under parables, but this was not because He intended their meaning to be permanently hidden from the world, but because He intended that it might be the better known to the world when the fitting time was come. To his end He made known the interpretation to His Apostles, not for themselves, but for the world. His truththe truth of the Gospelwas the lamp; this lamp of truth He intended not for a corner of the world, or for a select few, but for all men of all nations, who would turn their faces towards it and receive it, and so He gave it now to the Apostles, who, after Pentecost, were to make it known to all nations for the obedience of faith.

II.

ITEMS ARE HIDDEN TO BE REVEALED. Mark 4:22 A.

God does not conceal any mystery, any religious truth, merely for the sake of concealing it. If He conceals any truth it is that He may ultimately make it better known. This very parable is an illustration of this, If any truth ever shone forth upon the lamp-stand ofthe Church it is that which is taught us by this parable, that the word of the Gospel is efficacious or not, according to the state of heart of the recipients; so that men must in very deed take heed as to how they hear and what they hear. This meaning is still more clearly enforced by the true reading of the first clause of Mar 4:22. There is nothing hidden, save that it should be manifested. So we have this parable given in full in three out of the four Gospels, and we may safely say that, with the exception of that of the returning prodigal, there is none which has been more expounded and enforced by preachers in all ages. The meaning, however, of Mark 4:21, is much obscured by deficiency of translation. We lose much of the significance if we think of the modern candle and candlestick carried about in the hand. On the contrary, it is the lamp of the house put upon the lamp-stand, or candelabrum, which is so elevated that any lamp upon it can lighten up all the interior.

III.

SECRETS ARE MADE TO BE TOLD. Mark 4:22 B.

The reader will notice that the Lord uses this aphorism here with quite a different significance to that which He gives to it in Matthew 10:26.

IV.

THOSE WHO CAN SHOULD UNDERSTAND. Mark 4:23

23. If any man have ears to hear, etc. If this was said not in the hearing of the multitude, but to the Apostles, or to those select ones to whom He had just expounded the parable, then it implies that there are still deeper mysteries of grace which require, for their apprehension, a more effectual opening of the soul’s ears, and a deeper preparation of heart. Men have ears to hear certain fundamental, or practical truths, who still have not as yet ears to hear certain deep mysteries. (M. F. Sadler).

FACT QUESTIONS 4:21-23

Why interpret Mark 4:21-22 together?

What is the lamp of the parable?

When was the lamp hidden? Why?

When was it put on the stand?

Show how this parable relates to the parable of the sower.

What deficiency in translation has hindered our understanding?

If Jesus spoke Mark 4:23 to the apostles, what does it mean?

Mark 4:24-25

**D. A WARNING FOR HEARERS. 4:24-25

TEXT 4:24-25**

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. 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.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 4:24-25

Please associate these verses with what has been saidwhat is the measure and measuring.

Who would measure to the apostles?

How does this principle apply to today?

Isn-’t it unfair to give to the one who has and take from the one who has not?

Please explain in your own words the principle involved.

COMMENT

The four parables of Mark were all given at the same time and place. The parallel accounts are in Matthew 13:18-32 and Luke 8:11-19.

19. This warning for the hearers is also found in Luke 8:18.

OUTLINE1. Measure determines measuring, Mark 4:24 a, 2. He who has, Mark 4:25 a. 3, He who has not, Mark 4:25 b.

ANALYSIS

I.

MEASURE DETERMINES MEASURING, Mark 4:24.

What amount are you giving of what I have given to you?

What you have given determines what you shall receive,

II.

HE WHO HAS, Mark 4:25 A.

The one or ones to whom Jesus has given.

If this one gives of what he has received he shall receive more.

III.

HE WHO HAS NOT, Mark 4:25 B.

He refuses to give what he has.

What he had is lost.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I.

MEASURE DETERMINES MEASURING, Mark 4:24.

Mark 4:24-25. Thus far the duty of using the truth as light has been grounded in the nature of truth and the purpose of the Teacher; now it is grounded in the law of human life itself. The words, And he saith unto them, repeated here, probably indicate, not a new beginning with a change of time and place, but rather the narrator’s remembrance of the special emphasis with which all this was spoken, very likely after a solemn pause.Take heed what ye hear. Luke, how ye hear. Not, Be careful what you listen to, as if he would warn against dangerous teachers, but, Carefully consider what you are hearing; observe how important it is; remember how necessary that you make the right use of it. It is almost, Take heed to what you hear, The reason assigned for this caution is that, according to the universal law, what one does will return to him.The words that hear are to be omitted, and the omission considerably changes the structure of the sentence: With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you, and added to you.This saying, With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you, proverbial in form, is applied in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 7:2) to the retribution that must come upon uncharitableness and self-willed judgment. Here our Lord gives it a quite different application; it is a law of life, and may be applied in many ways. In this case its lesson is, You will be dealt with, as to truth, as you deal with others. Hide it, and it will be hidden from you; impart it, and it will be imparted to you. How many souls, in dealing with trust as God has given it to them, have found it even sothat concealment was loss, while giving was gain! If the apostles had kept their truth as a private trust, how their souls would have shrivelled!Shall more be given is a promise of a return, which shall be not merely as the gift, but greater. So Luke 6:38. (Compare 2 Corinthians 9:8-14).

II.

HE WHO HAS, Mark 4:25 A.

Mark 4:25 contains what was evidently more or less a proverbial saying with our Lord. He that hath, to him shall be given, etc. (See Matthew 25:29; Luke 19:26.) Here it fits the connection far otherwise than as in the passages referred toanother illustration of our Lord’s various use of single important sayings. Here, by a very striking turn of thought, he that hath is identified with him who imparts his trust of truth to others, the free giver, the true apostle, messenger of grace and truth; while he that hath not is identified with him who keeps his trust of truth to himself, content to be ever a disciple without becoming an apostle. The giver hath, the miser hath not. How true a description of men, and how true an interpretation of the law of life!And now it is declared that for these two classes there shall be retribution. He that hath, to him shall be given. So Luke 6:38a passage that may serve as a link between this and Matthew 7:2: –Give, and it shall be given unto you. (See also Luke 12:48).

III.

HE WHO HAS NOT, Mark 4:25 B.

And he that hath not, from him shall he taken even that which he hath. How is this? He hath not, and yet he hath, something that he can lose. Yes; the spiritual miser possesses much in his own esteem; much truth has been entrusted to him; but if he is not a giver of truth, and so a possessor, his possession shall become no possession: what he hath shall be worthless to him. Such instruction may well have made the apostles careful what use they made of the parables. Partly to this, perhaps, it is due that they were so faithful in putting the lamp on the lampstand, not only by preaching, but also by making record of his words, especially such words as these. (W. N. Clarke).

FACT QUESTIONS 4:24-25

Read Matthew 7:2 and Luke 6:38 and show the difference in the use of the same principle here.

Is this a warning or an encouragement? Discuss.

Who is the one to whom much was given?

How does the attitude of hearing and heeding the words of Jesus relate to this?

Mark 4:26-29

**E. THE PARABLE OF SECRET GROWTH. 4:26-29

TEXT 4:26-29**

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

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 4:26-29

Please settle in your mind a clear definition of the kingdom of heaven. We believe it refers in every reference to the church Jesus establishedeither in the temporal or eternal sense. Do you agree?

What is the seed cast upon the earth?

Who casts the seed?

Who sleeps?

Why mention knoweth not how in Mark 4:27 b?

How can we tell when the grain is ripe? What is the sickle?

What is the main point of this parable?

COMMENT

All four parables of Jesus as recorded in Mark were given at the same time and place. Only this parable is not mentioned either by Matthew or Luke. OUTLINEA picture of the kingdom of God. (1) A man who sows seed, Mark 4:26. (2) He waits for the growth, Mark 4:27. (3) The visible growth, Mark 4:28. (4) The harvest, Mark 4:29.

*ANALYSIS

A Picture Of the Kingdom of God*

I.

A MAN WHO SOWS THE SEED, Mark 4:26.

The seed must be broadcast.

The seed must go into the earth.

II.

HE WAITS FOR THE GROWTH, Mark 4:27.

In the ordinary course of living.

The growth occurs he knows not how.

III.

THE VISIBLE GROWTH, Mark 4:28.

First the blade of grass.

Then the ear.

Then the grain in the ear.

IV.

THE HARVEST, Mark 4:29.

When the grain is ripe.

Sickle thrust in for the reaping.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I.

THE MAN WHO SOWS THE SEED, Mark 4:26.

Mark 4:26-27. *he knoweth not how.*To some extent he knoweth how; it is by the process described in the next verse: the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.

II.

HE WAITS FOR THE GROWTH, Mark 4:27.

He may know still further, that it grows by the chemical action of light, warmth, and moisture; but still there is a part of the process that he does not know.

III.

THE VISIBLE GROWTH, Mark 4:28.

Mark 4:28-29. *But when the fruit.*Although the sower knows not how the seed grows, and remains not to see its growth, still it grows. From sowing time till harvest the man has nothing to do: no intermediate cultivation is required. This is true of the corn (wheat and barley) referred to, though not of our Indian corn.

IV.

THE HARVEST, Mark 4:29.

The kingdom of heaven is like this (Mark 4:26), in that the seed of the kingdom, which is the word of God, when sown in a community, even though the sower go away and neglect it, will spring up of itself and bear fruit, and will be ready at a future day for the harvest. This is often exemplified in the labors of the evangelist. He preaches in a community faithfully, and apparently without success, for a length of time, and then, after a lapse of months or years, returns to the same place, and with comparatively little exertion reaps an abundant harvest. The parable teaches what observation abundantly confirms, that such an adaptation exists between the human soul and the word of God, that when the latter is once implanted a future harvest will usually be the result. (J. W. McGarvey).

FACT QUESTIONS 4:26-29

Does this parable relate to the fourth type of hearers in the production of fruit?

Who is the sower?

Why mention the period of time in this parable?

Why describe the growth of the grain?

Are ministers of the word also reapers? Please discuss.

Mark 4:30-32

**F. THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED. 4:30-32.

TEXT 4:30-32**

An he said, How shall we liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable shall we set it forth? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, though it be less than all the seeds upon the earth, 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.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 4:30-32

Once again settle in your mind just what is represented by the expression kingdom of God. Can you see the fulfillment of this expression in the church? We refer to the church described in the book of Acts.

Why select the mustard seed for comparison? Is it the smallest seed on the earth?

Who are the birds and what are the branches?

What is the principle point of this parable?

COMMENT

This is the fourth and last parable here recorded by Mark. Like the previous three it was given in the autumn of A.D. 28 while Jesus sat in a little boat in the Sea of Galilee.

A Picture of the Kingdom

OUTLINE1. Like a grain of mustard seed, Mark 4:30-31. 2. When grown is greater than all the herbs, Mark 4:32 a. 3. A place for the birds of the heaven, Mark 4:32 b.

ANALYSIS

I.

A GRAIN OF MUSTARD SEED, Mark 4:30-31.

Just like the kingdom of God.

Sown upon the earth.

Less than all the seeds.

II.

WHEN IT IS GROWN, Mark 4:32 A.

Greater than all the herbs.

Putteth out branches.

III.

A PLACE FOR BIRDS, Mark 4:32 B.

In branches.

Under the shadow.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I.

A GRAIN OF MUSTARD SEED, Mark 4:30-31.

Whereunto (or how) shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison (or parable) shall we compare it? In using the plural, we, our Lord seems to conceive of his disciples as deliberating with him in the choice of a comparison; not that he was in doubt as to how the gospel could be illustratedcomparisons thronged upon himbut because he would have them also watch for comparisons. The world was full of them, and they, the teachers of men in higher things, must learn, as well as their Master, to find them. Yet possibly he may sometimes, like any one of them, have had to feel after an illustration in nature that was suited to his thought,A grain of mustard-seed. There seems to be no good reason for looking elsewhere than to the ordinary mustard of the East. Thomson (The Land and the Book) has seen it as high as a horse and rider, (See also the beautiful incident in Dr. Hackett’s Illustrations of Scripture, p. 124.A.H.) This is the Sinapis nigra; but some have thought that the Salvadora Persica was more probably the herb that Jesus had in mind. The former, however, meets all the real requirements of the case, and was the more familiar plant to his hearers. It (the Sinapis nigra) is a small grain producing a large result; the least of the husbandman’s seeds, becoming the greatest of the husbandman’s herbs. This is the point of the parable, and gives the only sense in which the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard-seed (The Bible Educator, 1. 121).Less than and greater than are not to be pressed to the point of minute precision. There may be smaller seeds in existence without giving us reason to stumble at our Saviour’s words. The mustard-seed was commonly spoken of as the smallest of seeds, and that is enough.

II.

WHEN IT IS GROWN, Mark 4:32 A.

Becometh greater than all the herbs. Matthew, is greater than the herbs, and becometh a treei.e., of course, a tree in appearance, not botanically. The great branches are such as one would think impossible upon an herb that sprang from so small a seed.The comparison calls for very little explanation, the lessonsmall beginnings and great resultsbeing very plain. Such is the kingdom, begun obscurely, with no human prospect of greatness, no seeming possibility of success. It began among the Jews, a disappointed people chafing under foreign masters; it was the smallest of sects among them; it contradicted their ideas, and was rejected by them; it seemed to be powerless at home, and without opportunities abroad; and its founder died on the cross. Even after the day of Pentecost it seemed but a feeble sect. Yet compare the strong language of Paul in Romans 16:26; Colossians 1:23 as to the wide extension of the gospel within the apostolic times.

III.

A PLACE FOR BIRDS, Mark 4:32 B.

Consider also the power of the name and principles of Jesus in the world today, and the ever-widening circle of Christian influence. The kingdom has grown out of all resemblance to its humble beginning. Such is the kingdom; and the same rule is to be observed in its agencies. They are often obscure and yet mighty. A single act of a quiet person often seems possessed of a germinant power of usefulness that brings most unexpected fruit to the glory of God. Christian history is full of illustrations. Notice that this comparison does not set forth the greatness of the kingdom absolutely, as destined to fill the earth, but only relatively, in contrast with the insignificance of its apparent promise. (W. N. Clarke).

FACT QUESTIONS 4:30-32

Who does the planting of the mustard seed? Where?

Does it help us in our work for Christ to know the mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds? How?

When was the seed of mustard first planted?

Show how this parable has been fulfilledis being fulfilled and can be fulfilled.

Mark 4:33-34

**G. LAST WORDS ON PARABLES 4:33-34

TEXT 4:33-34**

And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it: and without a parable spake he not unto them: but privately to his own disciples he expounded all things.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 4:33-34

How many parables did Jesus use? Ans. The total number of parables is a matter of difference of opinion. Fahling, in his Harmony, lists 56: A. T. Robertson. 52. Trench. 30. (Earle).

What is meant by the expression as they were able to hear?

Is it indeed true that without a parable He spoke not unto them? Explain.

At this time who were His own disciples?

COMMENT

At the conclusion of the record of the parables we have these concluding words of the writer Mark. No outline or analysis is needed here.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 13:34-35.

EXPLANATORY NOTES

Mark 4:33. And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear (it.)

These are mere samples of the parables by which our Lord elucidated or disguised the doctrine of his kingdom to the different classes of his hearers in proportion to their previous knowledge and their present receptivity of such instruction. As they were able to hear, i.e. as some understand it, to hear intelligently or with patience. It may however have the stricter and more simple sense, as they had opportunity and leisure to attend on his instructions.

Mark 4:34. But without a parable spake he not unto them; and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

This cannot mean that he never taught them in any other form, which would be contradicted by the whole course of the history, but only that whatever he did teach in parables he did not also teach in other forms, but, as the last clause more explicitly asserts, reserved the explanation for a private interview with his disciples. This closes Mark’s account of our Lord’s parables, including, as we have now seen, a full report of one with its author’s own interpretation (Mark 4:1-20), an explanation of his purpose in employing this mode of instruction and direction to his followers how to profit by it (Mark 4:21-25); two additional parables, without a formal explanation (Mark 4:26-32); and a general statement of his practice in relation to this matter (Mark 4:33-34.) (J. A. Alexander)

FACT QUESTIONS 4:33-34

Please explain: as they were able to hear.

Please explain: without a parable He spake not unto them.

Mark 4:34-41

SUMMARY 4:345:43

The argument of this section is the same as that of the corresponding section in Matthew. (See Matthew 8:1 to Matthew 9:35.) It proves the divine power of Jesus by showing that he could control by a word the winds and the waves of the sea; could direct and compel the movements of demons; could by his touch remove incurable diseases; and could instantly raise the dead. In other words, it proves the Sufficiency of his power to save to the uttermost all who come to him, by proving that all the dangers to which we are exposed, whether from the forces of the physical world, the malice of evil spirits, the power of disease, or the hand of death, may be averted at his command, and that they will be in behalf of all who put themselves under his protection.

A very marked distinction is observable between Mark’s treatment of this argument, and that adopted by Matthew. The latter presents an array of ten miracles without much elaboration of any one of them; the former selects four out of the ten, and devotes almost as much space to these as Matthew does to the ten. The one writer depends more on the number of miracles reported, and the other on the character of those selected and on the minuteness with which they are described. Each mode of treatment has its advantages, and the wisdom of God is displayed in giving us both.McGarvey.

Mark 4:35-41

3. THE FIRST WITHDRAWAL 4:355:20

a. The Stilling of the Tempest 4:35-41

TEXT 4:35-41

And on that day, when even was come, he saith unto them, Let us go over unto the other side. And leaving the multitude, they take him with them, even as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him. And there ariseth a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, insomuch that the boat was now filling. And he himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye fearful? have ye not yet faith? And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 4:35-41

On what day (or night) did this incident occur?

What is meant by the expression unto the other side? Where was it? Mark 4:35.

Explain the expression even as He was. Mark 4:36.

How far was it to the other side?

Describe in your own words the storm.

Why was Jesus asleep?

What did the disciples imagine Jesus could do about the storm? Did they lack faith?

Could this power here exercised by Jesus be compared with the creation of the world? How?

There are two uses of the word fear: Mark 4:40-41. Explain each.

COMMENT

TIMEImmediately after the telling of the last parableon the same daysometime in the autumn of A.D. 28. PLACEIn the midst of the Sea of Galilee somewhere between Capernaum and Gerasa.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMat 8:23-27; Luke 8:22-25.

OUTLINE1. The day of the miracle, Mark 4:35. 2. The voyage to the other side, Mark 4:36. 3. The storm, Mark 4:37. 4. Jesus asleep, the fear of the disciples, Mark 4:38. 5. Jesus stills the storm, Mark 4:39. 6. The calm of Jesusthe reverence of the disciples, Mark 4:40-41.

ANALYSIS

I.

THE DAY OF THE MIRACLE, Mark 4:35.

The same day as the parables.

At eventide.

II.

THE VOYAGE TO THE OTHER SIDE, Mark 4:36.

Left multitude.

Jesus taken in the little boat from which He taught the parables.

III.

THE STORM, Mark 4:37.

The great wind.

Waves into the boat.

Boat filling up.

IV.

JESUS SLEEPS, THE DISCIPLES FEAR, Mark 4:38.

Jesus in the stern on a cushion.

Awaked and asked for help.

V.

JESUS STILLS THE STORM, Mark 4:39.

Rebuked the wind.

Stilled the sea.

VI.

THE CALM OF JESUSTHE REVERENCE OF THE DISCIPLES, Mark 4:40-41.

No need of fear when there is faith.

What manner of man is this?

EXPLANATORY NOTES

I.

THE DAY OF THE MIRACLE, Mark 4:35.

These verses describe a storm on the Sea of Galilee, when our Lord and His disciples were crossing it, and a miracle performed by our Lord in calming the storm in a moment. Few miracles recorded in the Gospel were so likely to strike the minds of the disciples as this. Four of them at least were fishermen. Peter, Andrew, James and John, had probably known the Sea of Galilee, and its storms, from their youth. Few events in our Lord’s journeyings to and fro upon earth, contain more rich instruction than the one related in this passage.

II.

THE VOYAGE TO THE OTHER SIDE, Mark 4:36.

Let us learn, in the first place, that Christ’s service does not exempt His servants from storms, Here were the twelve disciples in the path of duty. They were obediently following Jesus, wherever He went. They were daily attending on His ministry, and hearkening to His word. They were daily testifying to the world, that, whatever Scribes and Pharisees might think, they believed on Jesus, loved Jesus, and were not ashamed to give up all for His sake. Yet here we see these men in trouble, tossed up and down by a tempest, and in danger of being drowned.

III.

THE STORM, Mark 4:37.

Let us mark well this lesson. If we are true Christians, we must not expect everything smooth in our journey to heaven. We must count it no strange thing, if we have to endure sicknesses, losses, bereavements, and disappointments, just like other men. Free pardon and full forgiveness, grace by the way, and glory at the end,all this our Saviour has promised to give. But He has never promised that we shall have no afflictions. He loves us too well to promise that. By affliction He teaches us many precious lessons, which without we should never learn. By affliction He shows us our emptiness and weakness, draws us to the throne of grace, purifies our affections, weans us from the world, makes us long for heaven. In the resurrection morning we shall all say, It is good for me that I was afflicted. We shall thank God for every storm.

IV.

JESUS SLEEPS, THE DISCIPLES FEAR, Mark 4:38.

Let us learn, in the second place, that our Lord Jesus Christ was really and truly man. We are told in these verses, that when the storm began, and the waves beat over the ship, he was in the hinder part asleep. He had a body exactly like our own,a body that could hunger, and thirst, and feel pain, and be weary, and need rest. No wonder that His body needed repose at this time. He had been diligent in His Father’s business all the day. He had been preaching to a great multitude in the open air. No wonder that when the even was come, and His work finished, He fell asleep.

Let us mark this lesson also attentively. The Saviour in whom we are bid to trust, is as really man as He is God. He knows the trials of a man, for He has experienced them. He knows the bodily infirmities of a man for He has felt them. He can well understand what we mean, when we cry to Him for help in this world of need. He is just the very Saviour that men and women, with weary frames and aching heads, in a weary world, require for their comfort every morning and night. We have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. (Hebrews 4:15.)

V.

JESUS STILLS THE STORM, Mark 4:39.

Let us learn, in the third place, that our Lord Jesus Christ as God, has almighty power. We see Him in these verses doing that which is proverbially impossible. He speaks to the winds, and they obey Him. He speaks to the waves, and they submit to His command. He turns the raging storm into a calm with a few words,Peace, be still. Those words were the words of Him who first created all things. The elements knew the voice of their Master, and like obedient servants, were quiet at once.

Let us mark this lesson also, and lay it up in our minds, With the Lord Jesus Christ nothing is impossible. No stormy passions are so strong but He can tame them. No temper is so rough and violent but He can change it. No conscience is so disquieted, but He can speak peace to it, and make it calm. No man ever need despair, if he will only bow down his pride, and come as a humbled sinner to Christ. Christ can do miracles upon his heart,No man ever need despair of reaching his journey’s end, if he has once committed his soul to Christ’s keeping. Christ will carry him through every danger, Christ will make him conqueror over every foe,What though our relations oppose us? What though our neighbors laugh us to scorn? What though our place be hard? What though our temptations be great? It is all nothing, if Christ is on our side, and we are in the ship with Him. Greater is He that is for us, than all they that are against us.

VI.

THE CALM OF JESUSTHE REVERENCE OF THE DISCIPLES, Mark 4:40-41.

Finally, we learn from this passage, that our Lord Jesus Christ is exceedingly patient and pitiful in dealing with His own people. We see the disciples on this occasion showing great want of faith, and giving way to most unseemly fears. They forgot their Master’s miracles and care for them in days gone by. They thought of nothing but their present peril. They awoke our Lord hastily, and cried, Carest thou not that we perish? We see our Lord dealing most gently and tenderly with them. He gives them no sharp reproof. He makes no threat of casting them off, because of their unbelief. He simply asks the touching question, Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?

Let us mark well this lesson. The Lord Jesus is very pitiful and of tender mercy. As a father pitieth his children, even so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him. (Psalms 103:13). He does not deal with believers according to their sins, nor reward them according to their iniquities. He sees their weakness. He is aware of their short-comings. He knows all the defects of their faith, and hope, and love, and courage. And yet He will not cast them off. He bears with them continually. He loves them even to the end. He raises them when they fall. He restores them when they err, His patience, like His love, is a patience that passeth knowledge. When he sees a heart right, it is His glory to pass over many a short-coming.

Let us leave these verses with the comfortable recollection that Jesus is not changed. His heart is still the same that it was when He crossed the sea of Galilee and stilled the storm. High in heaven at the right hand of God, Jesus is still sympathizingstill almighty,still pitiful and patient towards His people.Let us be more charitable and patient towards our brethren in the faith. They may err in many things, but if Jesus has received them and can bear with them, surely we may bear with them too.Let us be more hopeful about ourselves. We may be very weak, and frail, and unstable; but if we can truly say that we do come to Christ and believe on Him, we may take comfort. The question for conscience to answer is not, Are we like the angels? are we perfect as we shall be in heaven? The question is, Are we real and true in our approaches to Christ? Do we truly repent and believe? (J. C. Ryle)

FACT QUESTIONS 4:35-41

Who shared in this storm and calm? Cf. Mark 4:36.

Try to approximate the activity of Jesus during the day to understand how weary He was at the close of the day.

Be specific in the reason for the rebuke of Jesus in Mark 4:40.

Do you believe this storm was planned?

What is the greatest lesson in the incident?