As we continue walking through the gospel, marked with that question in mind, we come to Jesus speaking in parables. What are we to make of that? We look to the reading of God’s word. If you please join me in prayer. Most gracious God, our heavenly Father, in you alone dwells all the fullness of light and wisdom. We ask them that you would enlighten our minds by your Holy spirit to truly understand your word, that you would give to us grace to receive it reverently and humbly, that it would lead us, but our a whole trust in you alone. And this we ask through our savior Jesus. Amen. Continuing in verse 10 of chapter 4, When he, Jesus, was alone, those around him with the twelve, asked him about the parables, and he said to them, ‘To you has been given the secret of the Kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven. He said to them, Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand us when Professor Dan Doriani once shared this parable with us in his Gospels class?
A little short in form of it, but it went something like this. A little songbird was freezing to death in the cold, and a man traveling along came upon it and feeling sorry for the little bird, but was not sure what to do with it. He looked around and he saw a fresh cow patty, and he placed the little bird in it. In a short while, being refined by the heat, the little bird began to sing. A passing fox heard the little bird, snatched him up and ate him. Now, I don’t know if you’ve heard that parable before. What is its meaning? What are we to make of it? Is it merely humorous or is there more to it than that? Now, if I just left it here, you’d all be like, Well, what is it? I don’t get it. What’s the point? I want the weight of that to hit for a minute. That is a parable that you’ve not heard. There’s probably a meaning to it, maybe. But what is it? To think about that. Now, our professor went on to give us three main points. The first one is the one who put you in a tough spot isn’t necessarily your enemy.
Second, the one who takes you out of it isn’t necessarily your friend. And third, if you find yourself there, it’s best to keep your mouth shut. But it’s the context that gives it further meaning. Because Because where he heard this was as a new teacher, and the professor of a university was speaking to the gathering of new teachers. It was very clear what he meant to those who had ears to hear. If you want to keep your job, don’t complain about what we put you in. It’s a nervous laughter moment. Okay. The text gave the meaning that it wasn’t just simply humor. And that’s the nature of parables. We hear them and we’re like, what do we do with this? There’s more to it than that. And one of the problems that we have understanding the parables from Jesus is that we’re just so familiar with them. We already know their basic meaning, and because of that, they can lose their edge. We can fail to be captured by their vivid descriptions and disorienting purposes. But this is true of more than just the parables of Jesus. There’s often much in the teachings of Christ and the rest of scripture that is hard for our minds and our hearts to penetrate beyond the basics.
There are many layers of meaning. The mark of a disciple is one who pushes in for the explanation, for the meaning. A follower of Jesus is not content with vague guesses, but draws near to meditate and to reflect deeply upon what Jesus is saying. They allow the words of Jesus to sift them. Our professor also told us this. He said, We interpret the parables, but the parables also interpret us. Because Jesus has given the insights of his kingdom to his disciples, we are then to press into him for our understanding. We said it before, a disciple is one who has heard the call of Jesus, responds responded by repenting and believing in the gospel, and now is following after him. Why did Jesus make it harder to understand him? It’s hard enough. Why make it harder? Why the parables? Now, the synoptic Gospels, which is Matthew, Mark, and Luke, they record, depending on your counting, 38 parables, 60 if you count proverbial expressions. That’s about a third of his teaching in the synoptic Gospels. Now, in the Gospel of John, there are no parables. There are allegories, but no parables. The I am the door, I am divine, the I am statements, but no parables.
Some think of the parables as this quaint teaching tool. Easy to understand, very memorable. Now, they certainly are memorable, but they’re not easy to understand for those hearing them for the first time. Even the little parable I said, unless you heard it before, it’s certainly memorable. I think you will probably remember that one. But the meaning wasn’t immediately obvious. So too for the listeners of Jesus. But why? Why would he do this? As opposition increased, Jesus changed his teaching method. He went from teaching openly in the synagons and everything in full view. Now he’s teaching outside and he’s more guarded. He actually would warn people at times, Tell no one what I’ve done. Tell him not to share some of his miracles. And speaking now to these large numbers of people in a way that many of them are puzzled. He makes a distinction between those on the inside of his ministry and those who are still on the outside. Mark Chapter 4 begins with Jesus teaching this large crowd from a boat. And in verse 2, it says, he was teaching them many things in parables. And in his teaching, he said to them, ‘Listen, behold, a sower went out to sow.
‘ And we know this parable really well. Some seed fell on the path which the birds ate. Some on the rocky soil. It grew up but had no roots. Some among the thorns and the thisdles, and it was choked out. Then some fell in good soil and grew abundantly. Jesus ends by saying, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. Our Sunday school kids know the answer to this one. We could ask them about this parable and they’ll give us the right answer. What soil are you? What listener are you? Now, we’re going to look at that in a moment. But what immediately followed this in verse 10, says, When he was alone, those around him with the twelve ask him about the parable. They didn’t get it. Matthew records him asking that question, why do you speak to them in parables? They could include themselves in there, too, because that’s why they’re asking him. Jesus answers a little shocking. He said, to you have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything is in parables. Then he quotes from Isaiah 6 as a support for what he’s so that they may indeed see but not perceive.
They may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven. If you’ve walked on the outside of a church with stained glass windows. These are painted glass, they’re not proper stained glass. But if you have walked on the outside of the beautiful stained glass windows from the outside, what do you see? You see gray shades, you see colored glass. You know there’s something there, but you don’t really know what the picture is. It’s like, I bet that’s amazing on the inside. But you can’t really tell. You actually have to step inside to witness their vivid splendor. Jesus invites you in to see. But if you choose to remain on the outside, you remain in the dark, willingly. In he fills this out a bit more. There he says, For to one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away from him. That’s a bit unsettling for us. It certainly cuts against our American sensibilities. In what way? Well, it seems unfair and unkind. Wow, the guy doesn’t have anything. You’re going to take away from that and give it to the person who has?
That just seems a little unfair and unjust. Remember, Jesus’ invitation stands open for any to draw near. The Lord is not indifferent to a refusal to understand. Actually, we’re told you’re in a worse spot. God is not indifferent to our unbelief. A refusal puts you in a worse than when you started. Now, there were some parables that were told by the rabbis that weren’t too dissimilar to Jesus. They talked about some of the same things, but they weren’t near in the volume. Jesus spoke a lot of parables, and no one spoke quite like that. But the difference, one New Testament scholar, Craig Blumber, he points out the difference between them. He said, For the most part, Jesus parables subvert Jewish tradition, whereas the rabbinic stories reinforce it. They would say the things that you would expect to hear. Good Israelites do these sorts of things, and God blesses them. Jesus comes in and he’s subversive to the status quo. He’s proclaiming in no one else the kingdom has been revealed other than him. He was the one who’s breaking into their history and all of it revolves around him. He would say very unsettling things like, You have heard that it was said, but I say to you.
That’s an incredible claim. The parables use images from the visible everyday common world and it taught an invisible or spiritual truth. They gave witness to a deeper understanding of the person and work of Jesus and of the Kingdom of God. Like the good news he was preaching, these parables were easily misunderstood. Understood. The disciples were often confused, too. This message of the Kingdom could be an uncomfortable one because Jesus turned things on their head repeatedly. He offended the sensibilities of the religious and the self-proclaimed good people. They were threatened by a message that called them to bend the knee to Jesus and to repent of their sins. Jesus essentially is telling these righteous people, You’re not good enough. And they hated him for it. His eating and conversing with what they thought were terrible and offensive sinners highly offended them. Even his close followers were on a very slow course of being reeducated by Jesus. Their own expectations were being rebuilt and refounded. Jesus was wiping the debt clean and building their faith in an astonishing direction that none of them foresaw. The message of the Kingdom was veiled to those who did not want to hear it.
The message of the Kingdom of God, breaking into human history, is both veiled and revealed at the same time. It brings both grace and judgment at the same time. I said earlier, we interpret the parables, but the parables interpret us. It’s asking this question of us, what soil are you? Well, what does that mean exactly? Well, the disciples didn’t get the story about the soils. Jesus said to them, verse 13, Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The parables of the soils lays it all out there. He’s asking that question, what soil are you? What here are you? Because this is the crux of the matter. It’s both an explanation of Jesus He’s bringing in God’s Kingdom, and it’s a warning to hear this message rightly. Now, the warnings Jesus explains. Jesus comes as the farmer who sows the seed. The seed is the message of the kingdom. There are those in the crowd of followers who are deaf to his words of truth. Some of them just don’t want to hear. They’re either filled with opposition, accusing Jesus of being in league with the devil, or They are just simply indifferent to what he has to say.
They don’t care. This good news is quickly taken away from them through the cares of life, willful blindness, distracted following, disinterest Christ. Satan comes through many means and snatches this truth away from them. Then there are some who are just shallow. They can’t take the heat. They’re happy and good They’re rejoicing with the good news. They’re all right there. But the minute things get a little hard, they fall away. I thought Jesus was going to keep me from suffering. I thought there would be blessing upon blessing in my life. And look what’s happening now. Why would I want to follow this? Superficial followers, distracted followers, in the end, will not be followers. But this is also an explanation to his disciples of what’s happening running around them. Everything about what Jesus was teaching and doing was unexpected. The good people were rejecting Jesus, and the bad people were running after him. That was strange and unsettling. And his disciples miracles, Jesus is also preparing them for what will happen in their ministry so that they’re not discouraged or disheartened. There will be many who will refuse this good news that they offer about Jesus. Some will betray them.
You think they’re all in, and they look all in until they turn on you. That’s really discouraging. It’s coming. He’s telling them the things that are happening are a demonstration or reality that the kingdom has come. This is the types of things that happen when God’s kingdom breaks into humanity. You cannot remain indifferent. It forces you in a direction. Are you going to follow or Are you going to go your own way? But you cannot be indifferent. Jesus is preparing them also for the harvest that’s going to come along with the discouragement. God is bringing the gospel seed to growth in their lives and the lives of those who are going to hear this message they proclaim. And there’s going to be wonderful and amazing fruit that they are partakers of because of God’s goodness and grace. But to be a disciple of Jesus, it doesn’t mean you understand everything, but you keep pressing in. God will cause you to grow and to bear fruit. You are to stay near to Jesus. To keep pressing in through those hard moments and those hard teachings. The apostle Paul, he wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2, he had written to him some several things, and he said, Think over what I have said, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.
He recognizes that, Timothy, you’re going to have to ponder some of this for a while. But I’m confident that God will give you understanding. Peter even acknowledged that there were some things that Paul wrote that were hard to understand. In the Kingdom, it takes effort and perseverance. Don’t give up. Don’t pull away from Jesus. In the Prophet Amos, it’s a well-known verse, chapter 8, Behold, the days are coming to declares the Lord of God, when there will be a famine in the land. Not a famine of bread, not a thirst for water, but of hearing the word of God. Amos is speaking about the rebellion that Israel is going through, that it’s removing them from the word of God. They are taking themselves out of the very place for God’s truth to be heard, to be followed, and to be listened to. Hard-heartedness, rebellion, going your own way, produces a famine of God’s word. And hear this, God is not obligated to tolerate our disobedience. He’s not. At the same time, many did follow Jesus and drew near to him to understand, to ask, to seek, to knock. This is the fruit of the kingdom at work.
It’s mysterious to be sure. Pastor Robert Rayburn, he spoke once of this account of the great British statesman William Wilberforce. You may recall that William Wilberforce spent his political life working to abolish slavery in Great Britain, which it did largely due to his efforts. In 1833, he died three days later after that announcement. But Wilberforce, he was good friends with with the British Prime Minister, William Pitt. Wilberforce was a serious Christian, and he was worried about the spiritual condition of his dear friend. William Pitt was like many nominal Christians of his day, no real interest in the things of the kingdom, raised up around Christianity, but disinterested, to say the least. Well, one day Wilberforce persuaded Pitt to come and to hear the great preaching of Richard Cecil. Cecil was a biographer and a friend of John Newton. He was a well-known and excellent evangelical preacher, a pastor of the soul. As Cecil was preaching, Wilberforce thought, This is magnificent. He was presenting the gospel clearly and powerfully, and he couldn’t wait to find out what his friend made of the sermon. But as they were walking out, William Pitt turned to his friend and said, Wilberforce?
I have no idea what that man was talking about. That’s what we look like in our state of sin and misery. We need the light of Christ to penetrate our darkened hearts to reveal our need of him. Let’s point out a great truth. Our Our being elected by God from the foundation of the world is indeed unconditional. Right out of Ephesians. Yes and Amen. The unconditional election and calling of God upon his people. But our salvation is not unconditional. What do I mean? This gets worked out in real time in history. There is a call to surrender, a call to believe. The gospel of Mark, like the rest of the Bible, does not attempt to explain God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. We are confronted with both. You see, the seed that’s planted today is not a full-grown tree tomorrow. The Lord takes us through the ordinary stages of growth. So too with each of us, we must hear the good news of Jesus, and we respond to him. Our response is to draw near to him, to go from the outside to the inside. When you are in the inside, looking at the radiant light of grace shining through the stained glass, fully depicting Jesus before you, you are not sitting there saying, Look what I accomplished.
I’m amazing. No, you’re looking back, and now you are seeing the sovereign hand of God directing your every step to get you to where you are. His sovereign purposes being revealed and directed and getting you to that place to where now you can see the brilliance and the magnificence of Jesus. Repeatedly, we hear in the Gospels that the disciples fail to understand. They fail to get it. Jesus at times rebukes them for their lack of understanding. What you also see repeatedly in the gospel is the persistence of Jesus, weeding out the soil, picking out the weeds of disbelief, removing the rock of hard-heartedness, deepening their roots to endure affliction and suffering. Brothers and sisters, stay close to your savior. His kingdom is at hand. He’s He’s calling us to be near to him. There are moments and times in your life, like the Apostles, like the disciples, you’re not really sure of what’s going on. It’s puzzling. It’s unsettling. And Jesus is saying, Just stay near me. Just stay near me. Understanding comes that sometimes it’s over time and decades. But outside of Christ, outside of him, there is no life. There’s just your own way, your own death and rebellion.
For you who’ve been called from the foundations of the world, God has brought you to be confronted with the reality of his son. He has opened your eyes, he has unstopped your ears, and that is an amazing thing. It is often a lifetime… Often, it is always a lifelong process. The things you’re like, Oh, I see this so much more clearly now than I did so many years ago. And so much is the case that it is through the affliction that it deepens the roots of our faith. And it is those moments of affliction that those who are just superficial flee. It’s not working out the way that they wanted to. Now, I’m not getting the things that I think I need. Because Jesus is just a means to a greater end for them. Jesus is not a means for your greater end. Jesus is the end. He is the one in whom the words of life and truth have been given. And for those who want to stay on the outside, it can be impenetrable, it can be opaque. It doesn’t make sense. The invitation is, come on the inside. Follow after me, and I will reveal my truth and my understanding to you.
And even the things that you don’t get, don’t worry so much because I am the one who is pursuing you. My sheep hear my voice. I will lose none of those the Father has given to me. That great promise comes and combines together with the call to persevere and to pursue. That we would have the insights and the reflection of the truth of Jesus by following after him, by not letting go, by recognizing that it is in him and him alone. I would tell you, if there are things you’re just like, I don’t fully understand. I don’t fully understand lots of things. I will tell you. I said to a few people, The reason I went to get a PhD is because I wanted questions answered. I have more questions than answers. But I can tell you unequivocally, the wonder and the splendor, the magnificence of Jesus continues to be so much more real to me in the shared life that we have together as his people. That new things come and you’re just like, I can’t believe that. How did you do that? How did you take this person from darkness into life? How did you change his heart and his stony heart?
Brothers and sisters, draw near to your savior. Come expecting that he will provide for you the understanding that you need. And know that in that expectation, there is a lifetime of walking with him, that these layers of meaning will continue to fall apart as you see more and more the beauty of his grace shining through this stained glass of the multifaceted brilliance of Christ before you. Press in. Press in to Jesus. Pray with me. Father, as we come before you this day, we just say thank you. Thank you for opening our eyes. Father, giving us ears to hear. And Lord, we also come confessing that so often we have turned from you We have displayed our disappointment in what we think you should do or how you should answer us. We ask you would forgive us. Lord, for doubting you. Father, again, I there are any here that do not know you. Father, I pray, grant them saving faith, open their eyes to see, Father, that you would move even now by your Holy spirit illuminating their hearts to know the person and work of your son, that their lives now would find their meaning and end in bringing glory to him.
Would you be pleased to do that? And Lord, even as we would go forth from here, Lord, continue to put your words of truth on our lips. Our actions. Father, that we would be your disciples following after your son. We pray and ask this all in his mighty name. Amen.
Discaimer: This sermon text was generated by an automated transcription service.