Mark 4

1. Background

So far we readers have been brought along with Jesus as He continues His public ministry.  Everyone is trying to make heads and tails of who He is as He doesn’t seem to fit preconceived notions of the Messiah. More importantly, the audience and the readers are being drawn to a point of decision to whether they will believe Him or not.  To believe Him also means to face the opposition mounting against Him.  There seems to be no room for flippant followers as all the examples of good discipleship are those who are clearly with Him and put God’s kingdom in priority.

2. Theological Observations

God desires for us to actively seek Him.  We will see other examples in the Bible of God seeking us.  And no doubt, He is ultimately the seeker in this relationship we are able to have with Him.  Yet, once His initial connection is made with you and you have some sense of where to find His word, He desires for us to purpose in our hearts to dive deeply in the source of His word. This point is demonstrated by the purpose of His parables such as the ones mentioned in chapter four.  The parables is not straightforward communication.  They are likened to riddles that require some thought.  For those who have no care of God’s word will immediately dismiss them at first glance.  But those who find value in God will put the effort forward to understand.  God cherishes this effort because it shows our heart for Him.

At the end of the parable of the Lamp, Jesus added an explanation for these parables that reveals God’s heart behind their use:

²⁴ And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. ²⁵ For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.

In other words, in terms of intimacy with God, you get out what you put in. The measure you mete is what you have determined in your heart the worth of God’s word.  If you find God a worthy pursuit, you will pursue and God desires this in a relationship as anyone of us would.  So when God sees a soul searching for Him, He rewards the search according to the intensity of the searcher.

This rewarding of those who wholeheartedly pursue God is confirmed all over the Bible perhaps most notably in Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

Also notably in the Psalms:

O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee:

My soul thirsteth for thee,

My flesh longeth for thee

In a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Psalms 63:1

When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee,

Thy face, Lord, will I seek.

Psalms 27:8

David’s life story is a good example of how God rewards the diligent seeker, but David did not begin until God first sought Him out of the sheepfold.

…Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I took thee from the sheepcote, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people, over Israel:

2 Samuel 7:8

God does discriminate outsiders from insiders.  In relation to the previous point, because God desires to be sought after, therefore there are lines drawn that distinguish those who are within and those who are without.  This observation about God may fall uncomfortably on our present culture of inclusion.  But the objective truths of God cannot be overturned or changed by our ever-changing popular thoughts.  God does exclude a certain group of people, though their exclusion is not based on any physical trait but rather their heart.  Those who have chosen to pursue God are rewarded by finding Him, they are included.  Those who listen to God flippantly are excluded, though they hear the same truths as everyone else.

Jesus makes this point in verse 11,

And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

In other words, God’s way of speaking to the outsiders is through parables.  In this way, God does not arbitrarily choose who will believe and not believe, rather those who do not believe will fail to listen with the heart and walk away from Jesus.  Those who believe do not necessarily understand the parable but show their faith by remaining with Jesus to hear it again.  The insiders believe there is value in God’s Word and so they remain faithful to hear it from Jesus.  The outsiders walk away considering the words of Christ to be unworthy of the time spent to understand it.  By these means, the insiders and outsiders are classified as such by their own choices to remain faithful to the word once they’ve heard it.

The parable of the sower makes this precise point that who belong to the “good ground” are those who hear and receive God’s word, v20.

And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

Also in verse 40  Jesus rebuke comes when the disciples faith waver during the storm.

Other parts of the Bible confirm this theme for us such as in the book of Hebrews which summarizes it for us.

 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

Hebrews 4:2

Belief and faith is exhibited by the effort of the individual to pursue and understand God’s word.  Such is the means that God distinguished those who are within and who are without.

3. How the Passage Is Fullfilled in Jesus and the Gospel

God desires for us to pursue Him through Jesus Christ. It is obvious how Christ fulfills the questions raised in the parables of the passage.  Those who wanted to know the answer stayed with Jesus after everyone else walked away.  Being near Him was the answer, v10.

And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

How much of our pursuit of God happens when we are alone with Jesus?  How much is our faith built when we are still and listening to His word speak to us again?

God wants us to pursue Him, but He also knows on our own without Him we could never find Him. Because sin has robbed us of any spiritual sight, the lost person doesn’t even know where to begin or ask the right questions.  Thats a good way to define the lost in sin.  So blind to the real problem, they don’t even know what questions to ask.

And so God came to find us in Christ.  “He came to seek and to save that which was lost”. (At the end of this chapter He will get into a boat with His disciples to seek out the man who was possessed with the “legion” of devils. ) He spoke to them in parables to get them to begin asking the right question.  Those who did not want Him did not stay to hear an answer, but those inclined towards God stayed with Jesus.

If pursuing Jesus is the same as pursuing God, then the opposite is also true, to reject Jesus is to reject God.  The disciples knowledge of Jesus was incomplete as they rode the boat with Him. But Jesus rebuke to them was not for their lack of knowledge

God’s Insiders are those who are faithful to Jesus.  Verse 11 already established that God distinguishes those who are on the outside and those who are inside–the accepted verses the rejected.

And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:

Their privilege to know God’s plan was not based on superior knowledge but their relationship with Jesus.  Later Jesus would rebuke them while on the sea, not because they didn’t  understand who He is, but because they were afraid and did not have the faith to trust.

⁴⁰ And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

The passage demonstrates that it is possible to have great knowledge but yet possess little faith. But these men were on a journey.  The chapters following will eventually lead them to the cross and the resurrection where they will understand “what manner of man” He really is. To be an insider, you need to to have a perfect knowledge of all things, but you trust Jesus Christ who does–the one whom even the wind and seas obey.

4. Application

As I think about the truths of this passage I think about the questions I’ve had in my heart for some time concerning the future regarding my autistic son Ian and anxiety over the power of my sin nature.  I care deeply about the young people connected close to me and particularly the happiness of my wife.  Yet the one thing that seems to threaten that is my sin. It seems to me the only real threat to the ministry under my care and the happiness of my family is when I fail God with my sin.   I resonate what Paul explained about his sin nature in Romans 7, “who shall deliver me from this body of death?”  I’ve failed to understand the battle sufficiently.  Perhaps there’s some great truth that my deaf hears do not want to hear.

In regards to my son, I have anxiety that he will ever understand the Gospel.  That he will live independently, that he could be married and have a family. These thoughts swell in my mind and the battle against sin rages on to raise itself up into a great terrible tempest in my heart. God has given me great blessings and fear the loss of them. Yet the truths of this passage are clear to me–run towards Jesus.  Like the disciples, I know my answer to the storm may not be an intellectual one, but a faith one.