Mk 4

Kingdom parables

Context: In chapter 2, we studied what is ‘the good news’ (forgiveness of sin), and for whom it is good (the ‘paralytics’ who cannot help themselves), and how Jesus preached it by introducing himself as the Son of Man, physician, bridegroom, and Lord of the Sabbath. Chapter 3 described what dark forces of death and hell Jesus was up against, and that his plan to overthrow them involves a community of genuine disciples, rather than a royal dynasty of biological relatives.

Warm-up: Do you like riddles or solving puzzles? Why or why not?

Read: Mark 4

1) Why did Jesus start now (and only now) to teach parables about the kingdom?

  • Have we heard from Mark about “the kingdom” already? Mk 1:15
    • Where did the dream about this kingdom of God come from? 1Chr 17:11-14 (cf 2Sa 7:12-16)
    • What do you think about this idea of a theocracy as a form of government? Can it work? Is it an idea of the past, or for the present, or only for a distant future?
    • The promises to king David mention ‘violent men’, and that these will not oppress Israel again (1Chr 17:9), and that God “…will give you relief from all your enemies” (2Sa 7:11). Who are those enemies, and how will this relief look like? =>
  • Why did Mark compile all the parables that describe the kingdom of God in this one chapter?
    • Note: A second series of kingdom teachings in Mk 9 & 10 shifts the focus from the nature of this kingdom to who can see and enter it, and how (Mk 9:1, 47; 10:14-15, 23-25; cf Col 1:13)
    • How many parables do you count here? [1. Seed & soil (1-20); 2. Lamp on the lamp stand (21-23); 3. Measuring with a “measure” (24-25); 4. Sower/reaper (26-29); 5. Mustard seed (30-32) [cf Mt 13, where Matthew adds parables on leaven, weeds, treasure, pearl, fishing net, and new/old treasure, while omitting all others, except the seed and mustard seed parables]
    • How does the deliverance of the boat from storm & waves fit into this chapter (35-41)? Is it a kingdom parable too? [Raging sea (of nations, cf Mt 13:47), Isa 17:12, stirred by a wind, a boat of those being saved (cf ark of Noah), the prayerful agony of the martyrs for deliverance (Rev 6:9-11), and the stillness at the return of Christ, Zeph 1:7-18; Rev 8:1]

2) The first parable here is about the seed and four kinds of soil. What do you find unsettling about it?

  • How does this description of the kingdom of God compare to expectations of the Israelites? e.g. Lk 17:20-37; Lk 19:11-12; Lk 23:51; Acts 1:6
  • What questions does this parable provoke, especially after the detailed explanation in vv13-20?
  • We discussed earlier (Mk 1) whether there is power in God’s word: What does this parable clarify about how the spoken word is or is not a power?
    • Hint: Does it accomplish something in everyone, Isa 55:11? Why does not everyone respond in the same way? =>
  • Does this parable teach that born-again believers must live in fear that their new life is less than eternal, because they can lose again their salvation?
    • v15: How can Satan take away the word? Can he do that from anyone who does not shift from what it says? Col 1:23
    • v17: What does it mean to “have no root in themselves”?
      • Hint: Lk 8:13-15 contrasts this “lack of a root” to the “honest and good heart” of true believers. What is that, why do we need it, and where does such a heart come from? Ez 36:26
    • On a scale of 1 to 100, how important do you rate this promise and doctrine about a new heart in the Bible?

3) What did Jesus teach here about how the heart is made new for God’s kingdom?

  • v8: Do we have to do it? Can we?
  • vv9 & 23: Why did Jesus so emphatically emphasize that “if anyone has ears to hear, let him hear”?
    • Read Deut 29:3-4. How did Moses recognize that proper hearing can only be received as a gift?
    • Can we make ourselves more eligible for this gift (Pelagianism)? Why not? cf Ro 9:11; Eph 2:9; 1Cor 1:30
    • Why are people offended by this doctrine? cf Ro 9:19
  • v11: Why did Jesus put it on the front page of his kingdom teachings that knowing its secrets is a gift [also in Mt 13]? Why does this matter so much?
    • Read Gal 3:1-2. Why is it impossible to be born again through any “works of the law”?
    • In other words: Why not give the Spirit also to those who at least try hard to be good? Why make the gate so narrow?
      • Hint: Why is boasting about our own merits so antithetical to the kingdom of God?*
    • If it is a free gift, does that increase or reduce your chances to receive it when you hear about it? cf Mt 7:7; Lk 18:13
    • Did Jesus introduce this as a new doctrine, or did he expect his disciples to know it from the OT? v13

4) vv21-25: What misunderstandings about the ‘kingdom of heaven’ are addressed by the following parable about the lamp under the bushel?

  • What is represented in this parable by the lamp?
    • Jesus used a lamp metaphor in each synoptic gospel in different contexts: Mt 5:16 Your light; Lk 11:33 the eye of the ‘body’.
    • Here in Mark, it probably means the light of the truth as taught by the gospel
  • v22: What ‘hidden secrets’ did Jesus have in mind?
    • The secret double life of hypocrites, Lk 12:1-3? Or:
    • v13: The parables and their meaning, i.e. their correct interpretation that Jesus taught his disciples in private, cf Mt 10:27
  • A bushel was a measure of >8 liters to measure grain. Of all possible containers to cover a light, why pick a grain basket?
    • Hint: What has grain to do with the previous parable (and with all others related to seed)? cf Mt 7:24-29
    • How can theology obscure the light of the gospel?
  • And how about a bed? cf Ro 13:11
    • How will our laziness obscure that light?
  • Why did Mark put this most difficult parable between two explicit warnings about how we hear?

5) vv26-29: What other aspect of the first parable is further elucidated by the parable of growing seed?

  • Fruit is the response of the earth to seed, and not its cause, cf 1Jn 4:19
  • Kingdom growth may occur in phases: God is immutable; the church is not, it matures; it will not always remain the 1st century church.
    • Not in the sense of an “emerging” church (evolution/change of DNA), but in the sense of growth and differentiation of one body with the same DNA, cf Eph 4:13

6) vv30-32: What do you make of the parable of the (small) mustard seed?

  • The metaphor of a tree giving shelter to ‘birds’ is borrowed from the OT, first in Ezk 17:23 where it was a metaphor of the kingdom of God. And from Nebuchadnezzar’s dream about his worldly counter kingdom in Dan 4:21 that will be brought low – accommodating in its shade both clean and unclean birds, (Jews and Gentiles).
  • Instead of re-using the metaphor of a cedar (Ezk 17), Jesus compared his kingdom to a mustard tree: Why? =>
    • Because of the size of this ‘tree’? (It’s a lot smaller than a cedar). Or because its seed is disproportionately small?
    • What is the lesson of the size comparison of the mustard tree with its seed?
    • Why is this parable necessary? In other words: Why does the doctrine about the smallness of the seed matter? 1Cor 1:26-29

7) Personal & application

  • How can any of these teachings about God’s kingdom change what you will do tomorrow, or how you will do it?
  • Is there anything in this chapter about doing? Or is it about attitude in how we do what we do?

* The ultimate hardening of heart boasts even of being thankful to God for our merits (Lk 18:11)