The Kingdom Comes by a Sower Sowing Seed (Mk 4.13-20) WestminsterReformedChurch.org Pastor Ostella November 29, 2016 And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold (Mk 4.13-20). Introduction We read in Mark 4.34 that Jesus did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything. This means that for extensive seasons, Jesus would teach by uttering one parable after another to the crowds without explaining what they mean. So, interestingly, in 4.1-10, the narrator presents the parable of the sower without explanation; it is an example in which the narrative emulates the reality. Thus, after a summary of the parable as it came from the lips of Jesus, Mark leaves the parable hanging in thin air and goes on to summarize the Lord s teaching about the purpose of parables. Jesus clearly states that for some people parables are designed to conceal the gospel of the kingdom from them, so that in their spiritual blindness and deafness they will not perceive and not understand kingdom truth and not be saved: but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven (Mk 4.11-12). Consequently, our Lord uses parables to enable His elect to grasp kingdom truth, and find salvation for it is given to them to see, understand, turn, and be forgiven. It is in this context that Mark presents the meaning of the parable. We can summarize its basic thrust in a simple sentence with two ideas: Christ establishes His kingdom 1) gradually 2) and triumphantly. I. Christ establishes His kingdom gradually We might add that Jesus establishes the kingdom of God promised in the OT gradually and inwardly instead of outwardly and suddenly. This goes to the very center of things. To make this point stick, let us consider what the central significance of the parable is not, and then we will see what the main idea is more clearly. A. What the central significance is not Although there is force to the impression that different soils is the emphasis (packedpath, rocky, thorny, and good soil), the central significance of the parable is not the risk involved in listening to preaching or the various responses to gospel proclamation. Granted, the seed is the word (4.14) and Jesus elaborates on different responses to that word, different ways of hearing. There is hearing and not retaining (on the packed-path soil, Mk 4.15), receiving with joy then falling away (rocky soil, Mk 4.16-17), hearing and not bearing fruit (thorny soil, 4.18-19), then there is hearing with fruitfulness (good soil, 4.20). However, one observation should make us look beyond the idea of various responses. That observation is this: the point of the parable is not in the details of the various soils; instead, it is in the story as a whole about a sower sowing seed, and within that fact, the seed he sows lands in various soils. We will miss the forest if we concentrate too much on the trees. B. What the central significance is
!2 The parable is about a sower: The sower sows the word (Mk 4.14). It is about the word of God, as Luke makes explicit (8.11, The seed is the word of God). It is about a sower sowing the word of God like sowing seed. It is about a person who spreads his word and his word is the word of God. Once we follow this line of thought, it is easy to see that the person doing this is Jesus Himself. Furthermore, the parable has the kingdom of God as its subject, specifically knowledge of the secret of the kingdom of God (4.11). Therefore, the central significance of the parable is the coming of the kingdom in the history of redemption by the preaching of Jesus, the Sower sowing seed. Present occurrence, what is happening now, is the central point: the realization of OT anticipation. Jesus Messiah proclaims that which was hidden in promise and is now revealed in fulfillment. What, then, is so difficult about this parable? Why do the disciples not understand it (4.13): Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The difficulty is the astounding point that the kingdom of God hidden in His purposes and promises from the foundation of the world is now coming to realization by a sower sowing seed. That is truly amazing: the kingdom comes by words, by God s word. The kingdom promised to Israel is now present in the sowing of the word of God like sowing seed. The kingdom comes in a way unexpected by the multitudes and by the disciples. They, like John the Baptist, expected sudden cataclysmic fiery judgment to accompany the coming of the kingdom (Lk 3.9). They looked for deliverance from the oppression of Rome. Even after the resurrection, the disciples continue to look for a national-political restoration of the kingdom to Israel (Acts 1.6: So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"). Therefore, the parable points to the conclusion that our Lord establishes the kingdom of God gradually by sowing seed, by preaching, rather than by outward and sudden force through military or political means. The kingdom comes by a gradual sowing and reaping process. It comes by the gospel of the kingdom that Jesus preached. That the kingdom comes by means of the gospel is both marvelous and puzzling. The Almighty-God, Creator of the heavens and the earth, establishes His saving rule over the hearts of sinners by communicating a message to them, by giving His word to them. The kingdom does not come by the sword of David or the pomp and glory of Solomon. It comes by a lowly Sower, sowing seed. The Messiah brings sinners under His saving rule by the word of God. His saving rule, that is, His kingdom, comes by His preaching and the preaching of His disciples until His return (until the Son of Man comes, Mat 10.23; at the end of the age, Mat 28.20). II. Christ establishes His kingdom triumphantly There is a challenge here that is essentially this, Can the kingdom come while those to whom it comes, and for whom it comes, close their eyes and stop their ears? The Lord anticipates this challenge, focuses our attention on it, and explains the purposes of God hidden as a secret in Israel s history. Thus, we can say that the point of the different soils is not simply to itemize the fact of different responses to gospel preaching. Instead, the point is that given the various negative responses, and despite them, Jesus establishes the kingdom promised to Israel and purposed from the beginning. Moreover, He does so with a harvest-like abundance. Harvest in general is in 4.8: And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold; and the harvest in individual lives is in 4.20: those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a
!3 hundredfold. In this light, we can now comment on the details of the parable from our Lord s explanation. These are details about different responses to the word of the kingdom as it triumphs in its coming. A. First, consider the negative responses (where the soil is not good) There is the packed-path hearer, the rocky ground hearer, and the thorn-thatch hearer. 1. The packed-path hearer Jesus tells us about the seed sown along the path (Mk 4.15, these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them). The packed-path hearers have the word in them, but its presence there is brief and without germination. The word goes in one ear and out the other. Surely, it is one of Satan s devices to rob people of kingdom truth by blocking the memory. Birds keep seed from taking root by snatching it away: some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it (Mk 4.4). How does Satan (4.15) keep the seed of God s word from taking root in the heart? Generally, he does it by deception. By immersing it in error and distortion, by mixing it with that which is false, he snatches the truth away from view. Thus, he will ask, Has God said? to cast the word aside. 2. The rocky ground hearer In the case of the rocky ground hearer, the word appears to take root in the soil and grow, but the growth is superficial. He has joy in the things of God for a season, but when testing comes through opposition to the claims of Christ, he falls away (4.16-17): 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. In other words, like the packed-path hearer, this person has no depth of understanding, no firm conviction of the truth, and no deep-rooted commitment to discipleship, to learning the word. He reveals his true frame of mind by taking offense (stumbling or falling away) when tribulation or persecution arises. As long as his attachment to the gospel of the kingdom brings smooth sailing, everything is fine. However, when the stormy winds of suffering for the gospel arise, he departs. When he has to count the cost and pay the price of the work of discipleship, he withdraws. 3. The thorn-thatch hearer Jesus says the thorn-thatch hearer is the person who is caught up in the cares of this world and led away captive by the deceitfulness of riches. 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful (Mk 4.18-19). In other words, this kind of hearer worries too much about the things of life, what he will eat, drink, and possess. Worry may be a sign of greed, lust (Mk 4), or pleasure seeking (Lk 8). And those living under the spell of these things are living a lie; they are living in delusion. The cares of this world deceive them. Lust for things, preoccupation with things, greed and materialistic passions are deceptive and intoxicating. Intuitively, it should be evident that these three hearers are not necessarily three different people or three different categories of people. The same person may at one time be totally oblivious to the gospel (a packed-path hearer) but then find kingdom truth interesting and even pleasant until it costs self-denial, effort, or suffering (a rocky ground hearer). At the same time, his preoccupation with the cares of this world may choke the word like thorns choking seed until it becomes fruitless (thorny ground hearer). 2B. Now consider the positive response (where the soil is good)
!4 The positive response to the word of the kingdom involves hearing, understanding, and fruit bearing: But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold (Mk 4.20). These are people of faith. According to Luke, our Lord calls the good soil the good heart. What is the best way to understand the good heart? Where does this hearing and accepting the word come from in sinners who are corrupt from head to toe? How can we explain the existence of good soil and people who receive the word with honest and good hearts? The good soil is prepared soil. It refers to the triumph of God over the hearts of sinners by the power of His select, gracious, and saving work, giving knowledge to some and not giving it to others. Placing the purpose of parables between the parable of the Sower and its explanation guides our understanding of the good soil. Good soil refers to people who know the gospel of the kingdom because it is given to them to know it, believe it, and receive it. Applications 1) Jesus is the king who establishes His kingdom in ways unexpected In the analogy of seed sowing, much seed is wasted. How do we account for this fact? How can it be that the kingdom of God-Almighty appears so weak? How can the word of God be snatched away, prevented from taking root, and choked? This parable shows that Jesus is the sovereign Lord who reveals the wisdom of God in preaching. What men count as foolishness, He uses to give particular people a saving knowledge of God. He is the king and He establishes His kingdom in the unexpected way of the spreading of His word in the sowing of seed with various responses. It is all in His plan; it all serves His will. 2) Jesus is the king who establishes His kingdom in ways efficacious This Sower not only sows the seed in various soils, but He also prepares the soil for germination and growth. If you understand the secrets of the kingdom and embrace them, it is because Christ, the king subdued your heart. Otherwise, you would see but not perceive, hear but not understand. Your eyes would glaze over at the mention of spiritual things; you would balk at the call to live under the absolute and final authority of the risen Christ. In other words, seeing shows that your eyes are blessed: But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it (Mat 13.16-17). Preaching has a high place in the coming of the kingdom. The working of God among men is a process that extends over the ages and across the face of the earth. We have to wait on the Lord of creation to bring forth crops a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown (Mk 4.20). So much seed seems wasted, but the Lord multiplies what was sown in diverse and unexpected ways. As we preach, and as we witness to loved ones and friends, much of our sowing seems to be of no avail, to be in vain, and to be fruitless. However, time will tell, and in the end of the great historical process, God will give an abundance of fruit to His people for His glory. There will be a great harvest at the end of the age because Jesus, our king is a seed-sower. Let us fall down before the majesty of our God who is working all things after the counsel of His will; may we thank Him for the work He is doing in history through preaching in ways that appear foolish to the wise of this world, but that are marvelous in our eyes because, through Christ by the Spirit, He has opened our eyes and unstopped our ears. To the triune God be all glory now and forevermore, amen. Let us sing verse 1 of 397, I sought the Lord and afterward I knew
What then shall we say to these things? Communion is a nourishing ritual like baptism is a washing ritual. From the nature of the elements, we recognize two voices in symbol: God s voice and ours. Primary is the voice of God directing us in remembrance of our Lord; all our remembering comes to pointed focus in the symbols of food and drink. Then, in response, we say some things too. We say three basic things in the very partaking of the sign; three things that we ought to say in our hearts in prayer. I need Him (confession of my sin) Like I need bread and drink, I need Jesus Christ, the Son of God who established the kingdom of God in a way unexpected, as a Sower sowing seed. Here, I acknowledge my bondage in sin that would remain except for His work of the cross and resurrection, and the gift of the Holy Spirit to open my eyes to see the gospel of the kingdom, to turn me from myself to God in repentance. So, by His body and blood, He gave me the forgiveness of sins. Now I need Him every day to direct my path. O Lord Jesus, above every need, I need you. I appropriate Him (submission to His instruction) Taking the food and drink to my palate represents appropriation, the appropriation of faith and submission to Jesus Christ, the risen Lord. I am saying in symbol what is in my heart: I submit to Him to be His disciple. I have been given eyes to see and ears to hear, so, I commit myself to listen and consider with the goal of understanding in order to live in the joy of sins forgiven. O Lord Jesus, I give my very body to you as a living sacrifice. I renew my baptismal pledge to live for you as my prophet, priest, and king and I ask that you teach me thy holy way and give me an obedient mind that in thy presence I may find my soul s delight from day to day. I own His family (love to His family) The one loaf represents Christ the one body to whom we are all joined, so, because the body is one then we being many are one body in Him. Of course, this applies to all who credibly profess His name across the world, but it especially and specifically applies to all who are here today in this little flock. As a prayer: Lord, teach me how to love your brothers and sisters in this local expression of the body of Christ. and enable me to do so for your honor and glory for you said, whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother. Lord, my commitment therefore is to be a disciple under your authority and there to learn how to love your family better and better. Partaking of the elements with reflection on trinity hymns 192 Stricken smitten and afflicted 187 Hark the voice Closing with 549, v. 3!5