Everyone is confused by Jesus at one time or another, and sometimes the crowds and even his opponents seem to understand his parables quite well. Ministry in Galilee, Mark 1:14-4:34 Summary of the preaching, Mark 1:14-15 Call to four fishermen, Mark 1:16-20 Ministry in Capernaum, Mark 1:21-34 Excitement in the synagogue, Mark 1:21-28 Healing of Peter's mother-in-law But “there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.” So, we follow Jesus’ instructions, without giving up: listen, look, pay attention. Transparency is something we value. Mark appropriates this text by pairing it with the parables in such a way as to apply it to those who think they’ve got things figured out. The lamp is often hidden under the bushel basket. But the reason Jesus gives for his pedagogical choices in verse 11 is famously unsettling: he teaches in parables so that some people (the ones Jesus chooses) will understand what the dominion of God is like and so that some other people (the ones “outside”) will not. This last buttress of the reader’s epistemological edifice Mark demolishes with the disciples’ lack of understanding. It does its own thing. Read Mark 4 commentary using Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete). Mark 1:34 (NASB) And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. Mark will provide a narrative answer to the questions raised by the parables, and the answer is one that leaves its onlookers in fear. And then Jesus has to explain the parable to them, bit by bit. We trust that when faith seeks understanding, it finds it, at least to some degree. 3 u And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. But surely disciples do not need to worry. (35-41) Commentary on Mark 4:1-20 (Read Mark 4:1-20) This parable contained instruction so important, that all capable of hearing were bound to By his thus instructing them, they were made able to instruct others; as candles are lighted, not to be covered, but to be placed on … Lesson 4 Conflict, Mountaintops, Redefinition Mark 3:1–35 LAST WEEK IN REVIEW Mark recorded four examples of great and defining works of Jesus … Mark 1 – The Beginning of the Gospel A. The wise preacher will resist the temptation to explain it all away. Introduction: The unique character of the Gospel of Mark. But it sure would be nice to know what exactly Jesus meant when he said that thing about the unforgivable sin, or why he sent that herd of pigs off the cliff, or his claim that you can will a mountain into the sea if you pray just right — I’m sure you have your own list. We expect that we will be able to see more clearly what the dominion of God is like, day by day. Many things are veiled from our eyes, even the most learned among us. Parable of the Sower—Reason for Teaching in Parables—Parables of the Seed Growing We … Seeds. 1C. The use of parables is typical of Jesus’ enigmatic method of teaching the crowds ( Mk 4:2 – 9 , 12 ) as compared with the interpretation of the parables he gives to his disciples ( Mk 4:10 – 25 , 33 – 34 ) to each group according to its capacity to understand ( Mk 4:9 – 11 ). Mar 4:35-41 This miracle which Christ wrought for the relief of his disciples, in stilling the storm, we had before (Mt. We deserve to know. They came with stopped-up ears. It turns the tables on those who think they are insiders, who think they are the ones ushering in God’s kingdom. Mark 4:26-29, for example, highlights an aspect of the Kingdom of God that fits with the parable of the sower and its aftermath in the narrative just explored. The sower is indiscriminate, wasteful, or perhaps optimistic; soil types are entrenched in their own ways. If some be laid aside, others shall be raised up, to carry on the same work. The parable of the sower plants a question: who is the good soil? The “good” news for them is that this is not their kingdom, it’s God’s. Commentary on Mark 1:14-22 (Read Mark 1:14-22) Jesus began to preach in Galilee, after that John was put in prison. So there is transparency, for them at least. THE CONTEXT Jesus' role as teacher is important in this Gospel. By giving parables without explanation, Jesus can count on sparking the crowd’s … But it turns out things are more complicated than that. But we still see through a glass dimly about many things, including, often, the teaching of Jesus. In Mark 4:34 we learn that this becomes a pattern: Jesus teaches the crowds with parables, the disciples are confused by what has been said, Jesus explains things to them in private. According to this parable, the Kingdom of God surprises. Mark here begins to expose the troubling confrontation between humanity and the Kingdom of God. Mark 1:34 - And He healed many who were ill with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He was not permitting the demons to speak, because they knew who He was. The Greek most literally says, “And they feared a great fear.” The NRSV translates this as, “And they were filled with great awe.” Awe does not cut it in this context. Then how will you understand any of them? (Not so much different from today.) Mark 4:1-2; 33-34 Jesus began to teach using parables. Mark 1–4. "There is no easy take-home message for us in these parables. Amen. What had happened Chapter 4 opens with a series of parables (the sower, the lamp and the bushel basket, the growing seed, and the mustard seed). Mark here dashes any hope that the disciples might be on special epistemological footing. Jesus crossing the Sea of Galilee, miraculously stills a tempest - He cures the demoniac of Gadara. These parables are given on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. Is that what it means that the disciples know the secret of the reign of God, that they get this extra tutoring on the side? 1. That alone is worth pondering, since the lines between inside and outside are pretty blurry as the Gospel of Mark unfolds. Sometimes it is enough to be clear about what the mystery is, and then, let it be. Mark 8:34, NLT : "Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, 'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me." Fear is intended, and without it, the reader misses the point. How, precisely, are we to understand God’s message to Isaiah to speak in such a way that the people will not turn and be healed? ); but it is here more fully related. Parable of the Sower—Reason for Teaching in Parables—Parables of the Seed Growing We Know Not How, and of the Mustard Seed. . A resource for the whole church from Luther Seminary. . The string of parables in chapter 4 ask, and then begin to answer, one specific question: in whom does the kingdom best take root. In Jesus' encounter with these demons, we have evidence of Jesus being the Messiah, and those who saw these things that day could only come to that conclusion. And maybe that should not come as a surprise. Mark will eventually answer the question about who is the good soil. Exploring the Gospel of Mark, Part 2 Mark 4:1-34 The Secret of the Kingdom: Many of the people who came to see Jesus were curious, but they didn't want to hear what Jesus had to say. In what sense do the disciples know “the secret of the kingdom” if they don’t even grasp the meaning of Jesus’ opening parable about the fate of some widely-sown seeds? 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. The answer comes in a way unexpected (like a fecund seed) and from a place easily overlooked (like a mustard seed). A quotation from the movie No Country for Old Men summarizes this nicely: “It ain’t all waiting on you. The time of this ( = Mt 13:1-23, 31, 32; Lu 8:4-18). 8:23, etc. We want to know what is going on and why. Matthew 13:1-53; Mark 4:1-34 Listen Luke 8:1-18 In these passages, we see the following events in Jesus' ministry: Jesus is still traveling and ministering in Galilee. Nurture the seeds of your word in our hearts and help us to grow in faith and love. There are five parables of Jesus cradled among these verses, which are described as “teaching.” That sounds promising — while teaching is not the same thing as learning, surely learning is Jesus’ desired outcome. In Mark 3:6-7 Jesus, aware of his rejection by the Pharisees and their plotting to kill him, withdrew from the villages and taught by the lakeside. (1-20) Other parables. Sure, we pray for illumination, and sometimes, it seems to come. Images. © Rosemary Bardsley 2013. Probably the great multitude, last mentioned in 4:1. A close look at these stories will quickly reveal that they are not just quaint quotidian creations. A windstorm arises; the disciples are terrified. (21-34) Christ stills the tempest. This inevitably leads to questions about free will: do we have any? But a second troubling realization is this: whether present-day disciples are insiders or not, whether we are gifted with the “secret of the kingdom” or not, what we don’t have is a Jesus who explains things to us when we get confused. Apparently, God does keep some secrets now. While the initial encounter with the parable may be troubling in its idea that soil cannot change, the next brief episode (4:10-11) might start to provide comfort: at least the disciples are cuddled up to Jesus and on the inside so they can understand what is going on. Jesus then berates them for a lack of faith. If they are not the insiders, then who is? Our modern world of combines, fertilizers, massive irrigation, and land-leveling equipment can make almost any soil farmable. Mark 4 can challenge modern readers in a variety of ways. “Make it plain” is good advice, of course, but what should we make plain? The kingdom of God, it claims, is so small and insignificant that it might be missed or overlooked. Lord, let my heart be good soil ELW 512, TFF 131 Sent forth by God’s blessing ELW 547, NCH 76, UMH 664, He who with weeping soweth, Heinrich Schütz, Associate Professor of Homiletics and Worship. Arriving at 4:12, however, the shock increases: Jesus chastises the disciples: “Do you not understand this parable? Mark 2:13; 3:7) but now that the synagogue was becoming increasingly closed to Him, He continued these open air teaching services. God of the Word, in the parable of the sower you showed us how your word can take root and grow within us. The initial hunch is confirmed: the disciples, those on the supposed inside, are hopelessly ignorant. Jesus and Parables of the Kingdom (Mark 4:1-34) * Parable derived from 2 Greek words that mean "to throw along side of" * They usually take a concrete, everyday image and use it to elucidate an abstract idea 6.1. What hope do we have in our quest for divine transparency, if they needed help? Mark 4:1-34 English Standard Version Update The Parable of the Sower 4 Again he began to teach beside the sea. ” (Mark 4:38) When we think Jesus doesn’t care about us, it shows we have no faith, because we don’t believe the truth about Jesus. Do people who have grappled deeply with the witness of Scripture over many years grow more confident about what they know, or do they increasingly testify to the vastness of God’s Word and the mystery of God’s ways? Mr 4:1-34. The reference to “those outside” is a call back to the story that immediately precedes this text (Mark 3:31-35); in that story it is Jesus’ family who are outside the house where he is teaching: they are the ones who don’t “get” him. (= Matthew 8:23-34; Luke 8:22-39). We don’t even have access to many of the parables Jesus told, much less his explanations. 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