SERIES: Parables of Jesus
MESSAGE: Mark 4
SPEAKER: Skip Heitzig
SCRIPTURE: Mark 4

MESSAGE SUMMARY
"To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God" (Mark 4:11). One of the ways that Jesus taught was through parables. On many occasions, Jesus shared a story of something familiar—farming or shepherding, for instance—in order to reveal truths that were previously unknown. These were stories with a message. Jesus wanted to teach the people spiritual things; He did it by showing them physical things. The power of a good, well-told story drives the truth home so that it can be applied in the life of the hearer.

STUDY GUIDE
Mark 4
PREVIEW: In Mark 4, Jesus spends the day teaching the multitudes and His disciples, then at evening He tests His disciples.

Parable of the Soils - Read Mark 4:1-20


1. The word parable comes from parabole in Greek. The Greek word para means alongside, while ballo means to cast or to throw. Thus, the word parable means to cast alongside. Parabolic teaching places a story alongside a truth or a principle. Where was Jesus and who was listening to Him when He began teaching in parables (vv. 1-2)?


2. In Jewish culture, rabbis would stand when they preached; when teaching or explaining, they would sit. When Jesus got into the boat, He sat. As Jesus sat in the boat and began to teach, He started with the word listen. Why is it extremely important to listen to Jesus’ teaching? (See Romans 10:17, Matthew 7:24-27, and Hebrews 2:1-3.)


3. The sower went out to sow seed (v. 3). Carefully identify the four different places where Jesus said the sower’s seed fell (vv. 4-8).


4. Carefully identify what becomes of the seed in each of the four different places it fell (vv. 4-8).

5. Based on the description of the place that yielded a crop (v. 8), what can you infer about the other three places?

6. In Mark 4:9, Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" What did He mean? How can you be sure that you're hearing?


7. Once the multitude was gone, those around Jesus with the twelve asked Him about the parable (v. 10). What did they ask Him? (See Matthew 13:10 and Luke 8:9.)


8. Jesus responded to the disciples’ question by stating that it was given to them to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. The word mystery means secret or hidden truth. The Greek word musterion, or mystery, refers to a truth previously hidden but now revealed. Name some of the mysteries that were made known to Christ's disciples. (See 2 Thessalonians 2:7, 1 Timothy 3:16, Ephesians 3:3-6, 5:32, and 1 Corinthians 2:7-10 and 15:51.)


9. As Jesus began to explain the Parable of the Sower He asked, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?” (v. 13). In effect, He said that understanding this parable is the key to understanding all the parables. Jesus explained what the pictures in the parable represent. What did Jesus say each of these pictures represents: sower, seed, soil, wayside, birds, stony places, sun, thorny ground, thorns, good soil, and fruit? (See also Matthew 13:18-23 and Luke 8:4–15.)


Parable of the Lamp - Read Mark 4:21-25


10. Jesus asked two rhetorical questions: “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand?” What did Jesus say the light of this lamp would do (v. 22)? (See also Ecclesiastes 12:14, Matthew 10:26-27, Luke 12:3, and 1 Corinthians 4:5.)



11. What do you think the light of the lamp refers to in Jesus’ Parable of the Lamp? (See Psalm 43:3, 119:105, Proverbs 6:23, John 3:19, John 8:12, Matthew 5:14, Ephesians 5:8-13, and 2 Peter 1:19.)




12. Jesus said, “Take heed what you hear” (v. 24). That might be translated, “be very careful what you are hearing,” (AMP) or “be very careful how you listen.” How should those who hear carefully listen (v. 24)?




13. What did Jesus say will be given to those who hear (v. 24)? What is the reward for those who take heed to what they hear (v. 25)? (See also Proverbs 8:17, Jeremiah 29:13-14, Matthew 5:6, and Proverbs 2:1-6.)


Parable of the Growing Seed - Read Mark 4:26-29


14. Jesus explained what the seed represents in the Parable of the Sower: It is the Word of God (v. 14 and Luke 8:11). In this parable, the sower had already sowed the seed. What did he do next (v. 27)?



15. What activity was taking place in the soil while the sower was doing what he was doing, yet he himself did not know how that was happening (v. 26)? (See also John 17:17, 2 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Peter 3:18, Psalm 19:7, John 8:32, 15:3, 2 Thessalonians 2:13, James 1:21, 1 Peter 1:22-23, and Ephesians 3:20.)



16. The seed is the Word of God (v. 14 and Luke 8:14). The soil is the heart of man (Luke 8:12). What should we sow into our hearts? (See Hosea 10:12 and Proverbs 11:18.)



17. What is the result of sowing this into our hearts? (See Proverbs 15:9, John 14:23, Matthew 5:6, Psalm 17:15, and Romans 12:2.)




Parable of the Mustard Seed - Read Mark 4:30-34


18. Jesus gives us a picture (v. 30) of what the kingdom of God can be likened to. What is that picture (vv. 31-32)?



19. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus gave us the key to knowing all parables (v. 13). What do the birds of the air refer to (v. 15)?



20. Birds are a biblical symbol of evil and these birds of the air lodge themselves in the branches of the mustard seed tree, which represents the kingdom of God. Because of this, how should we be careful, taking heed (v.24) to what we hear? (See 1 Thessalonians 5:21–22 and Acts 17:11.)



21. Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables (v. 1) and without a parable He did not speak to them (v. 34). Why did Jesus speak only in parables to the multitudes? (See Isaiah 6:9-10 and Matthew 13:13.)



22. When the multitudes were not around Jesus, what did he do for His disciples that He did not do for the multitude (v. 34)? Why did He do this? (See Mark 4:11, Matthew 5:6, Luke 24:44-45, and Psalm 1:1-4.)


The Sea is Stilled - Read Mark 4:35-41


23. Jesus and His disciples spent the day in the boat off the shore (v. 1) as Jesus taught the multitudes. When evening came, what did He tell His disciples they should do (v. 35)?


24. The disciples departed in multiple boats (v. 36) for the other side of the Sea of Galilee. While they were crossing the sea at night, a great windstorm arose (v. 37). What was Jesus doing? What was the disciples’ concern? What did they do about their concern (v. 38)?



25. What did Jesus do when the disciples woke Him (v. 39)?



26. The word for rebuke in verse 39 is the same as the word in Mark 1:25. Literally it means ordered. Jesus ordered the wind and the waves, “Peace, be still!” or “Be muzzled and remain so!” Why do you think He rebuked the wind? (See Mark 1:25 and Ephesians 2:2.)



27. Jesus rebuked the wind and then He rebuked His disciples. Why did He rebuke the disciples (v. 40)?


28. Jesus’ disciples feared exceedingly at His response to the great windstorm. Why did they fear exceedingly (v. 41)?



29. After teaching comes testing. The disciples spent the day listening to Jesus teach and then they encountered a great windstorm while Jesus was with them in the boat. What can you learn from what the disciples did in the midst of their storm? What you might do when a great storm arises in your life (v. 38)? (See also Matthew 8:25.)


DETAILED NOTES

  1. Introduction
    1. A good story and a good story teller
      1. Some books are not written well and it's difficult to get through them
      2. Some authors have a gift of conveying information in an interesting manner
      3. Skip took a class in radium physics (boring) but the instructor used stories to convey unknown truths
    2. Jesus told stories to convey truth
      1. Parables, from the Greek word parabole; to cast along side of
      2. Used 48 times in the New Testament
      3. It's more than a story
      4. Cast something that is known along something that is unknown
      5. Jesus spoke often in parables; the ancient Rabbis also taught 1/3 of the time in parables
    3. The power of a story
      1. King David sinned but went on with his life
      2. Nathan the prophet told him a story (see 2 Samuel 12:1-14)
      3. The parable laid bare David's sin; he was convicted
  2. Jesus teaches
    1. By the Sea of Galilee
    2. The multitude listened/watch as Jesus taught from a boat
    3. It had been a strenuous and emotional day for Jesus
      1. His own family came and tried to take Him away
      2. Attacked by the scribes who said He was in league with Beelzebub
      3. Explained that His family was those who heard and did the will of God
      4. Multitudes pressed in until Jesus was in a boat teaching
    4. The Lord knew something about the crowd
      1. Not everyone was listening in the same way
      2. Some were hard-hearted
      3. They didn't really enter in so the truth penetrated
    5. Jesus tells a story of a man scattering seed
      1. Some of the seed would fall among weeds where it would be choked out
      2. Some of the seed would fall onto shallow ground and the roots would not go deep
      3. Some of the seed would fall onto tilled and ready soil
    6. Jesus says "He who has ears to hear, let him hear" (v. 9)
      1. "If you're listening, and you can figure out what I'm saying, take it to heart"
      2. "If you are tuned into the spiritual message, great"
      3. Later, when Jesus was alone with the disciples and others, they asked Him what the stories meant
      4. Jesus pulls out of Isaiah 6 to explain to them (v. 12) (see Isaiah 6:9-10)
      5. These parables served two purposes
        1. Revealed truth
          1. It depended on who you were and what kind of heart you had in listening
          2. For those who already had a spiritual understanding, these stories generated a deeper curiosity for spiritual things
          3. The parables were like windows and mirrors
        2. Concealed truth
          1. Those resistant to the truth did not get it
          2. They were never stirred by the message
          3. They didn't get any depth
        3. The same sun that melts the snow, hardens the clay
        4. Listening to truth can be dangerous if it doesn't go deeper than entertainment; it could be serving to put a callous over your heart
    7. This parable is the key with three main elements
      1. The seed, the sower, the soil
      2. The seed is the truth of God
        1. There's great potential for life in the gospel
        2. Throw the seed into someone's heart, it can produce life
        3. Peter is listening to this and goes on to write the book of Peter
          1. "Having been born again not of corruptible seed" (1 Peter 1:23)
          2. He remembered the explanation that Jesus gave
      3. The sower, in its original context, probably refers to Jesus Christ
        1. He's the one giving out the gospel truth
        2. He's going to commission His disciples
        3. The sower is the person who dispenses the gospel
        4. Skip is the sower and you are the soil
        5. You are sowers also
        6. The person who speaks the Word of God needs to be careful to sow just the gospel; "Don't sow mixed seed" (see Leviticus 19:19)
      4. The soil is the heart
        1. If it is ready and is fertile, it can produce
        2. If it is left alone, nothing will grow, or weeds will grow
        3. Jeremiah the prophet said, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9)
        4. King Solomon advised, "Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23)
        5. The wayside, the pathway
          1. This is the calloused heart
          2. Soil beat down
          3. The seed is prevented from penetrating the soil
        6. Birds
          1. Come and take the seed
          2. This is the person who is not open to spiritual truth
          3. If there is no openness to receive, the truth will just bounce right off
          4. Stiff-necked people
          5. Do you know people like that?
            1. Don't give up on people them
            2. John Booth, the jock at Skip's high school got saved
            3. Eric, the Mormon, came to faith in Christ
            4. Tony, the guy Skip met in Israel, became a born again
            5. God's Word is the hammer that breaks the rocks in pieces (see Jeremiah 23:29)
        7. The stony ground; rocky soil is the shallow heart
          1. In Israel there are rocks everywhere
          2. Seed will grow quickly
          3. The roots don't go deep
          4. When the sun comes out, it doesn't last
          5. The Mount of Olives is all rock; sheds light on what Jesus said about the rocks crying out (see Luke 19:37-40)
          6. This is the emotional hearer
            1. They are excited about anything
            2. There is no depth to their faith
        8. The seed sown among thorns
          1. The weed's roots compete with the roots of the good seed
          2. There are believers who never really make a break with the world
          3. They chase riches
          4. They chase other things
          5. They are struggling between two worlds
          6. Jesus said that He wished us to be cold or hot, not lukewarm (see Revelation 3:14-15)
          7. Farmer with a beat up tree because it lives on the edge of the property
          8. Young girl with a divided heart
      5. Seed sown on good ground that bears fruit
        1. They are receptive and open
        2. Love Psalm 1; a tree planted by the water yielding fruit
        3. 3,000, 6,000, 10,000 percent return on investment
        4. Invest your life into spiritual things
          1. Eternal rewards
          2. Joy temporally
          3. Joy spiritually
      6. Discover something sad in this parable
        1. 25% there is no growth at all; complete rejection
        2. 50% the growth is minimal and only temporary
        3. Only 25% is real, spiritual growth
        4. This is one of the reasons many pastors leave the ministry
        5. You have to live for the 25%
          1. This will give you the joy to keep going forward
          2. John said, "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth" (3 John 1:4)
    8. A lamp
      1. A shallow dish made out of clay
      2. A lampstand was a little shelf to set the oil lamp on
      3. The gospel was never intended to be kept secret
      4. Our responsibility is to communicate the light of the gospel to the world
      5. Skip preached at a church in California; made altar calls
        1. Unbelievers, come hear the truth
        2. Nominal believers, get serious, deep, and real
    9. If you hear spiritual truth and apply that truth, more truth will be given to you
      1. This is why some people are bored with Bible study; they never apply the truth to their lives
      2. Ask God to use that truth to transform the way you
        1. Do business
        2. Love your wife
        3. Love your husband
        4. Speak to the world
      3. God won't reveal anything to you unless you put into practice what He has already revealed to you
      4. After the gospel is presented, the Word of God works in the individual heart
        1. You don't know what is going on in someone's heart
        2. All of a sudden you may see a leaf pop out and then a full head of grain
        3. God harvests a new believer
        4. When we share, we don't know what effect it's going to have
        5. It will be cool when you get to heaven and folks that you shared with are there—you may be very surprised at who is there
    10. Kingdom of God likened to the mustard seed
      1. Smallest seed in that region at that time
      2. Can grow up to 15 feet tall
      3. The branches are firm enough to withstand birds
      4. Some think this is a parable of the church
      5. Jesus doesn't explain this parable
      6. We look to other parables to find meaning
        1. Birds represent power, Satan
        2. Tree represents world power
        3. It's going to grow so big that it's prone even to have evil lurking within its branches
      7. Our definition of Christianity is different than the world's
        1. The world says a Christian is anyone who falls under anything that fits with church—anything—it's all Christian to them
        2. Christianity is not the same thing as Christendom
        3. The tree of Christendom is full of all sorts of things
        4. World Council of Churches
    11. "Let's cross over to the other side" (v. 35)
      1. It's important to listen to the Lord carefully
      2. They are going to cross over
      3. They are not going down
      4. The storm comes up; Jesus calms the storm
        1. They were afraid during the storm
        2. They were more afraid after the calm
        3. Jesus controlled the wind and the water
  3. Closing
    1. We go through storms in life
    2. Watch your attitude
    3. Trials cause the roots to go down deep
    4. We listen to the truth
    5. We're open to the truth
    6. We ask God to help us apply the truth
    7. When the trials come
      1. Bless Him
      2. Thank Him
      3. Lean hard on Him
      4. Be amazed
      5. Be fearful
      6. God allowed this; "Whom the Lord loves He chastens" (Hebrews 12:6)
      7. He knows how to give it to you in measured response so that the result is fruit
      8. Take heart (see Hebrews 10:35-39)


Greek terms: παραβολή; parabole, a parable, comparison
Cross references: Leviticus 19:19, 2 Samuel 12:1-14, Psalm 1, Proverbs 4:23, Isaiah 6:9-10, Jeremiah 17:9, Jeremiah 23:29, Luke 19:37-40, Hebrews 10:35-39, Hebrews 12:6, 1 Peter 1:23, 3 John 1:4, Revelation 3:14-15

Topic: Parable

Keywords: seed, sow, sower, soil, heart, Jesus, devil, bird, trial, heart, hear, truth


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