Mark 4:14 - Printer Friendly

Mark 4:1–9 records Jesus' parable of the sower. In it, a farmer spreads seed over a hardened path, rocky ground, land filled with weeds, and fertile soil. He is not stingy with his seed, but spreads as much as he can to ensure the biggest harvest.

In the parable, the "seed" is actually the "word." "Word" is from the Greek root word logos. Logos has a rich definition that includes speaking, instruction, decrees, moral precepts, prophecy, and reason. In John 1, however, logos is specifically identified as Jesus. Jesus is God's Word. He is God's truth. The sower sowing seeds is a metaphor for anyone who teaches the gospel of Jesus (Luke 8:11), and by extension, those who teach further truths found in God's Word.

The parable goes on to describe how different types of soil react to the seed in different ways. Mark 4:15–20 explains the metaphor of hearing and acting on the gospel. In Mark 4:20, Jesus exhorts His disciples to be the good soil that readily takes the seed and nurtures it to maturity where it produces thirty, sixty, or a hundred times what was sown. But He doesn't expect them to merely spread the gospel. These are the people who will become the leaders of the church after Jesus dies, rises, and ascends into heaven.

Later, Paul will say, "How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?" (Romans 10:14). All good preachers start as good soil that takes in Jesus' logos and allows it to change their hearts. Only by accepting the seeds of the gospel can we be effective sowers of the gospel.

Mark 4:10–20 follows Jesus' telling of the parable of the sower, and now and the disciples would like to understand the deeper truths in the story. Jesus made a habit of explaining parables to those who wanted to know more than the general crowd. The fact that they are curious proves that they are the good soil that will produce much fruit. Jesus explains how the growth of the seeds represent why people react differently to His message (Mark 3). The subsequent parables will go deeper into what it will take for the gospel to spread successfully. You can also find this account in Matthew 13:10–23 and Luke 8:9–15.

Jesus speaks in parables to the assembled crowd, giving them an opportunity to decide how much spiritual truth they want to absorb. The disciples, wanting to learn more, ask Jesus to explain the meaning of the parables He has taught. As Jesus explains these ideas, He demonstrates that a person's spiritual knowledge is based on their willingness to pursue truth. After describing Jesus' teaching in some detail, the Gospel of Mark describes how Jesus calms a storm on the Sea of Galilee.

Mark 3 explores the different ways people react to Jesus' teaching and miracles. They either follow Him, use Him, hide Him, or destroy Him. In Mark 4, Jesus explains why people react the way they do. He uses parables to explain who is serious about learning from Him. The softer a person's heart is, the more truth God will reveal. Soon, the twelve will also spread Jesus' message, although they will not be responsible for the spiritual growth of those who believe. The following chapter returns to depicting Jesus' miracles, including two of His most famous.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.