“The Servant’s Parables”
Mark 4:1-34
And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching…” – Mark 4:1-2
Jesus “began to teach,” “by parables,” and this time Mark recorded it. Up until now, Mark only referenced His preaching and teaching, but he had not recorded them. The red-lettered words in Chapters 1-3 were responses to questions, and mostly from the scribes and pharisees. But this underscored Mark’s emphasis on Jesus as the Servant of God [ref. Mark 10:45].
Chapter 4, however, is the first record in Mark’s Gospel of a formal teaching. And interestingly enough, from this point on, the multitude dwindled. It is a curious phenomenon to observe. So popular was Jesus during His miraculous works, but His popularity waned as He began to teach, and especially by parables.
When you read this account in Matthew’s Gospel, you can zero in on this transition between the fourth and fifth parables [Matt 13:36: “Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.’”]
It was time to “separate the men from the boys,” as they say, and that came by way of parables. The crowds who were so eager to come to the healings were less excited about learning the Parables of the Kingdom.
It discerned disciples’ hearts that wanted to know the King more than His miracles. And it was a time when the multitudes were reduced to handfuls of disciples; tiny but mighty, to continue the work and the message.
How appropriate it was to begin with the Parable of the Sower; four soils representing four hearts. It was the multitude before Him. Jesus was preaching to the four soils, and it is the same today. Notice, however, one soil yielded fruit.
Warren Wiersbe wrote that, “A parable begins innocently as a picture that arrests our attention and arouses our interest. But as we study the picture, it becomes a mirror in which we suddenly see ourselves.” [Wiersbe]
In reading the Parable of the Sower, we ought not to be pointing the finger but asking the question, “which soil am I?” If the answer is anything but the fourth soil bearing fruit, then we need to do some soul-searching and ask the Lord to renew our heart.
Because at the end of the day, it will become clearly true that we are known by our fruit [ref. Matt 7:19-20].
