3rd Quarter 2024

The Gospel of Mark

Lesson 4: Parables
Outline by Joel D. Abonales, Jr.

Key Text: 24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the
same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear,
more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but
whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
(Mark 2:27, 28, NKJV).

Introduction:

 The Gospel of Mark has the fewest parables of any of the Synoptic
Gospels
(Matthew, Mark, and Luke).

 Mark 4 has just five parables—the sower, the lamp, the measure,
the growing seed, and the mustard seed. The majority of the chapter
revolves around the parable of the sower.

Three Points:

1. Parables Point Us To The Kingdom of God

 The idea of the kingdom of God is made prominent from the start of
Mark’s Gospel. Mark 1:15 states, “ ‘The time is fulfilled, and the
kingdom of God is at hand’ ” (NASB). Other references related to the
kingdom of God include Mark 4:11, 26, 30; Mark 9:1, 47; Mark 10:14,
15, 23, 24, 25; Mark 12:34; and Mark 14:25. Hence, the kingdom of
God is a recurrent theme in the Gospel of Mark.

 The vision of Daniel 7 explicitly presents the theme of the kingdom of

God. The Son of Man, according to Daniel 7:13, 14, receives a
kingdom and—different from the earthly kingdoms presented at the
beginning of the chapter—it is “one which will not be destroyed” (Dan.
7:14, NASB). This heavenly vision is about both the Son of Man and
the kingdom. Further, it is connected to the earthly scene in which the
 “little horn” has dominion upon the earth and particularly over the
saints of the Lord, after which time, the Son of Man, comes to the
Ancient of Days for judgment. Daniel 7:26 states, “The court shall be
seated, and they shall take away his dominion” (NKJV). Thus, the
persecuting power against the saints will lose its dominion. This
scene in Daniel represents a turning point in the history of the plan of
salvation, depicting the vindication of God’s people and the end of the
sovereignty of the little horn. Then “the kingdom and dominion, and
the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be
given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an
everlasting kingdom” (Dan. 7:27, NKJV).

 Let us consider the important implications of these future events. First,

the little horn will lose its authority over the saints. Second, the
judgment means the vindication of God’s people, the saints. The
kingdom of God is not an isolated kingdom, confined to heavenly
realms only. The kingdom of God includes the saints; in other words,
it is the kingdom of God’s people.

 Mark 1:14 and 15 state that “Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the
good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom
of God has come near’ ” (NRSV). These verses provide many
important elements for our consideration. First, the essence of Jesus’
preaching was the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is explicitly
referred to in Matthew 4:23: “Jesus was going about in all of Galilee, .
. . proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom” (NASB). Second, the
content of His proclamation was eschatologically oriented—“the time
is fulfilled.” What time is Mark referring to here? It must be the time of
the last week of the 70-week prophecy of Daniel 9.

 In Mark 1, the author does not explicitly define what the kingdom of
God is but instead offers us some valuable insights, in Mark 4 and in
the following chapters, into the nature of this kingdom. Also, Mark
presents the kingdom of God in a prophetic time frame. Perhaps for
that reason, the Gospel of Mark has been identified as “the gospel of
the fulfilled time.” (See Merling Alomía, Joel Leiva, Juan Millanao,
eds., Mark: The Evangelist of Fulfilled Time [Lima: Ediciones
Theologika, 2003].)
 In other words, the coming of the kingdom of God means the fulfillment
of the time spoken of by Daniel. In this case, Jesus Christ personifies
the kingdom of God, and such an interpretation is by the pragmatic
point of view of Mark. In Mark 1, the kingdom of God is the kingdom
of Jesus Christ, who has come by the divine prophetic agenda to
proclaim the good news about God’s kingdom. Thus, the kingdom of
God implies the redemption and restoration of humanity. Jesus was
asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, and
He replied, “For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst” (Luke
17:21, NASB). Paul also seems to support this perspective when he
writes, “But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His
Son. . . so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that
we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters” (Gal. 4:4, 5,
NASB).

 Jesus appeals to His disciples to believe the gospel—the gospel about

the kingdom—and to repent. The verb metanoeō, in addition to
meaning “repent,” also denotes “to be converted,” and it is “a
prerequisite for experiencing the Reign of God.”—Frederick W.
Danker, et al., A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and
Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago
Press, 2000), p. 640. Everything concerning Jesus’ proclamation
centered on this point. People are invited to believe and accept the
gospel of the kingdom. It was a priority in the orientation of His
ministry. For instance, Jesus urged His disciples, “ ‘Let’s go
somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may also preach there;
for this is why I came’ ” (Mark 1:38, NASB; emphasis added).

 These “secrets” of the kingdom (which are no longer secrets because

they have been revealed) are not going to be understood by all
people. The gospel, the seed, is scattered over all kinds of soils, but
unfortunately, not all soils produce the same results (Mark 4:3–20).
Spiritual development in the kingdom of God is similar to the growth
process of a plant: “ ‘The soil produces crops by itself; first the stalk,
then the head, then the mature grain in the head’ ” (Mark 4:28,
NASB). This development also includes the harvest of the fruits: “
‘Now when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle,
because the harvest has come” (Mark 4:29, NASB). Implicit in this
idea is the following notion: before Christ gathers together the people
for His kingdom in the final harvest at the end of the time, He first
 needs to cast the seed—the gospel—upon the soil (Mark 4:26). The
kingdom of God seems small at the beginning; its seed looks
insignificant. But “ ‘when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger
than all the garden plants, and forms large branches’ ” (Mark 4:32,
NASB).

 The fulfillment of the time spoken of by Mark in his Gospel started

when the kingdom arrived in the Person of Jesus Christ at His first
coming. Christ incarnate is the essence of the gospel—the good
news. In every village that would welcome Him, Jesus came to
preach about that kingdom. He came to cast that seed upon the soil
of every heart. Although small in the beginning, the kingdom shall
become great in the end.

2. Parables Point Us To Different People’s Response

 The seed is the same in each case but falls on four different
types of soil. The type of soil greatly influences the outcome
of the seed. Instead of one continuous story, the parable is
four individual stories told to completion in each setting. The
length of time for completing the story lengthens with each
successive story.

 The seed that falls on the road is eaten immediately by the

birds. “ ‘And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell
by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured
it” (Mark 4:4, NKJV).

 The seed that falls on the rocky ground takes a few days or
weeks to reach its failed outcome, which includes being
scorched by the sun. The seed that falls on the weedy soil
takes longer still to reach its unproductive end, choked as it
was by thorns.

 The seed that falls on the good soil takes the longest of all,
presumably an entire growing season, as is the normal
pattern for a crop.

 Three of the stories are about failure; only the last is about
success, a good abundant
crop. The length of the stories, the longer and longer period
for each successive story, and the fact that only one story is
about success, all point to the risk
of failure but the abundant outcome of success.

 The parable seems to point to the cost of discipleship and

the risks involved, but it also highlights the abundant
reward of following Jesus.
Jesus identifies the seed as “the word.” This would refer to
the Word of God, particularly as preached by Jesus.
James 1:21 states, “Therefore put away all filthiness and
rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the
implanted word, which can save your souls” (ESV).

 The different soils are different types of listeners. In Jesus’

interpretation, everyone hears the Word; that is, all the
types of soil have seed sown on them. But the reception is
different. Path soil is hard, and the birds snatch away the
seed. Jesus links this to Satan’s taking away the truth.
Rocky soil has little depth. Jesus links this to people with
shallow commitments; they have not counted the cost of
discipleship. Weedy soil chokes the seed sown on it.
Jesus explains that this stands for the cares of life and
riches that choke out the Word. But the good soil stands
for those who hear the Word and receive it so that it grows
and produces an abundant crop.

 The longest explanations are for the rocky ground and the
weedy ground. In describing the rocky-ground hearers,
Jesus points to contrasting elements—they receive the
Word with joy but are temporary disciples. When
persecution comes, they fall away. The weedy-ground
hearers are a contrast. They do not fall away because of
hard times but because of good times—their focus is on
the things of the world instead of the kingdom of God.
Their cares and concerns revolve around what the world
has to offer.
  Jesus’ special emphasis in the parable of the lamp (Mark
4:21-23)

 Jesus conveys the lesson of the parable of the measuring

basket (Mark 4:24, 25)

 Mark 4:26-29 focuses on the growing process. Jesus

indicates that this is how the kingdom of God works.
Humans have a part to play, but the real growth is the
work of God. It is not an endless process. The story comes
to an abrupt end with the maturation of the grain. Just so,
the return of Christ a second time will suddenly bring an
end to our world’s history.

 In verse 30-32 the mustard seed parable stresses that

the kingdom of God, which began very small, will
become large and impressive. People in Jesus’ day
may have looked down on the dusty itinerant preacher
from Galilee with His band of disciples, but time has
shown that His kingdom of grace continues to expand
throughout the world.

3. Parables Point Us To The Human Condition

 A surface reading of these verses gives the impression

that Jesus taught in parables to keep outsiders in the
dark. But such a perspective does not fit with Jesus’
actions elsewhere in Mark. In Mark 3:5, 6, Jesus is
grieved by the hard hearts of the religious leaders.

 In Mark 3:22–30, Jesus takes the arguments of the

scribes seriously and explains in detail why they are
mistaken. In Mark 12:1–12, the religious leaders
understand that Jesus’ parable of the tenants is about
them. It is actually a warning of where their plot against
Him is heading and the terrible consequences to follow.
 If He had no concern for them, He would not warn
them. Consequently, Jesus’ words here in Mark 4 need
a closer look in order to recognize what His point is.
Jesus is paraphrasing Isaiah 6:9, 10.

 In Isaiah 6:1-13 the message is given to shock the

people awake so they will turn from their evil ways. The
point of Jesus’ quotation from Isaiah 6 is not that God is
keeping people out but that their own preconceived
ideas and hardness of heart prevent them from
accepting the saving truth.

 This truth is the overarching concept of the parable of the

sower. Each one chooses what type of soil to be. All
decide for themselves whether or not they will surrender
to Jesus. In the end, we each choose.

Conclusion:

Ellen G. White states, “All who became the subjects of Christ’ s

kingdom, he [John the Baptist] said, would give evidence of faith and
repentance. Kindness, honesty, and fidelity would be seen in their lives.
They would minister to the needy, and bring their offerings to God. They
would shield the defenseless, and give an example of virtue and
compassion. So the followers of Christ will give evidence of the
transforming power of the Holy Spirit. In the daily life, justice, mercy, and
the love of God will be seen. Otherwise they are like the chaff that is given
to the fire.
”—The Desire of Ages, p. 107.