Jesus continues to teach by parables, patiently explaining to his disciples those things that they do not understand. He begins by offering his own interpretation of the parable of the sower.
4:14–20 The sower soweth the word. Unidentified, this sower represents anyone who sows the Word—even any of us!
Metaphorically speaking, the seed does double duty. On the one hand it is the Word of God, but it also represents the one hearing the Word. Some people are like seed along the path .... As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. NIV. The King James Version reads: "And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts." Robbed of the Word by Satan, this seed never has a chance to grow and bear fruit; it is stymied from the beginning, thwarted by a state of thought trodden with worldly affairs and thus resistant to spiritual growth.
Other seed is sown on stony ground, representing those who hear the word, and receive it with gladness. They take it to heart and flourish for a moment but without a root in themselves. So in the face of affliction or persecution, they fall away. This seed grows a little, but has no root to withstand the hardships.
Next, is the seed sown among thorns. They hear the word, but are choked by the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things. This seed grows for a time, but ultimately their desires for other things win the day. Upon hearing the Word and taking it to heart, these people let go of the message in the lure of "attractive" alternatives.
Despite the elaborate description of all these failures, there is still seed which is sown on good ground, with amazing results, bringing forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred. Receptive, these people repent and truly take the message to heart. They hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit. What wonderful encouragement for all of Jesus' followers! The parable says that despite all earlier failures, ultimately nothing is going to prevail against the fruitfulness of the seed. Satan may deceive, followers of the Word might have a change of heart when the going gets tough or be dissuaded by the attractions of the world, but in the end, the Word of God is irresistible and irrepressible, and it will be fruitful. Despite any obstacles, God's kingdom is. It is at hand; the time has come. The harvest will prevail, and it will be abundant.
4:21–25 Jesus continues his teaching by parables: Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? The purpose of a candle is to give light. Its whole reason for being is to shine. The parable present the patent absurdity of trying to cover it up, not to mention the danger of putting an open flame under a bed!
Lacking an interpretation, this parable is quite straightforward if one considers "light" in the context of understanding, illumination. The purpose of this light is to make things comprehensible, accessible. This light is available now, made plain now; its meaning is to be understood now.
Yet, many scholars focus on the next line. For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. Seen as a great promise, the verse suggests that something now hidden will someday be revealed. Scholars often relate that "something" to Jesus' identity and purpose—saying that he came to suffer and die, and that his ignoble end on the cross overshadows everything else, including his mighty works to come. Still, the fact remains that his death was not the end; through the resurrection, he overcame even death.
The light from the candle can be seen, felt, and realized in accordance with Jesus' preaching that "the time is fulfilled, ... the kingdom of God is at hand."
If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. He continues, Take heed what ye hear. A literal rendering would be, "Look what you hear," underscoring again the point of listening attentively, followed by his admonition With the measure you use, it will be measured to you. NIV. The King James Version reads: "With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you." More familiar within a context of judging others, these words stand as a warning about not listening.
Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. NIV. The King James Version reads: "And unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath." Listeners have a role to play; they will receive in accordance with their response. What they know is related to how receptive they have been. True knowledge leads to even more knowledge. But if there is no response to the truth, they will lose even what little they know. Knowledge and understanding left idle, deteriorate and eventually lead to spiritual paralysis.
To summarize the parables thus far, we should note that the Word is meant to be heard, seeds are meant to bear fruit, and lamps are meant to give light. And people have a responsibility to make the effort to hear the Word, let it grow in their hearts, and receive the light.
4:26–29 Jesus follows with some parables regarding the nature of the kingdom, explaining, the kingdom of God, is as if a man should cast seed into the ground. The man, then, settles into the normal rhythms of life, sleeping and getting up, tending to his daily affairs. The seed also has a normal rhythm in that it will spring and grow up. The farmer knoweth not how. The seed just grows—because it has to, inevitably and in an orderly way. It starts small with the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. While that farmer might not have contributed to its growth, he certainly monitored it, for when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
If the first seed parable acknowledged a mixture of good results and bad, this one knows only good. The power of this seed, likened to the kingdom of God, is unstoppable, directed by God's creative power. It flourishes apart from growing conditions, the quality of the soil, or the attention of the farmer.
4:30–32 Continuing his teaching on the kingdom, Jesus states, It is like a grain of mustard seed, which ... is less than all the seeds ... but when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. How could something so small grow so great? The surprising ending challenges the notion that smallness equals insignificance, that bigger is better. This parable is also the only one to specifically identify the seed. Besides being small, the mustard seed was very ordinary, common. In thinking about this, if the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed, common and ordinary, doesn't it suggest that the kingdom will be realized in common and ordinary ways, in the minutiae of our lives? Far from being thunderous, this change occurs quietly, unpretentiously, one thought at a time, as it transforms one heart after another.
Again, there is no mention of failure. And perhaps this is the most hopeful message of all.
4:33–34 To summarize, Mark states, with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. ... And when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. Obviously, these have been representative samples of his many parabolic teachings—parables suggesting that successes and great harvests will overshadow failures. These ideas were challenging even for those with ears to hear. Yet, Jesus took great pains to ensure understanding, giving the disciples private and explicit explanations.
The next section focuses on the mighty works—signs of Jesus' understanding and authority. Unfortunately, we will soon find that the bigger the sign, the bigger the lack of understanding on the part of those who look on. And despite what has just been said about the disciples' having received explanations of everything, we will find their behavior and their questions to be quite astonishing.
