Mark 4:11-20 The Parable of the Sower Explained

He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables ^so that,

“‘They may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”

Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ^but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

It was recorded in Isaiah that the Jews see, but don’t perceive, hear and don’t understand. God had hardened the hearts of the elect and will one day again revitalize their belief in Him through the Son. For the time being, the church has received Christ’s revelation and will continue to proclaim the gospel until Christ comes again and gathers all of His own unto Himself.

Daily Prayer: Father, create in me a clean heart. Not one spoiled with self-interest, but concerned for Your glory. Use me as Your own and draw others to Yourself through my proclaiming the gospel. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Mark 4:1-9 Parable of the Sower and Soils

He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, ^“Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Parables, especially ones of farming, were a means of communicating with a simple people who understood farming and such things. In Jesus’ parable, he describes how many ways in which seed fails to bring forth fruit. But he describes to seed that is planted in good soil, it will bring forth fruit and favor. So it is in our walk with Jesus. If his word in taken to heart (good soil), it will show itself by bringing forth fruits of the spirit and will lead to godly living this side of heaven.

Daily Prayer: Lord, count me among the good soil to whom you were sent. Let Your word bring the desired result in my life that you desire and which glorifies my Father who is in heaven. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Mark 3:31-35 Who is worthy of God?

Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.” Answering them, He said, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, “Behold My mother and my brothers! ³⁵ For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

We have all heard the saying, “Practice what you preach.” And this is the situation we have here. Jesus has told his disciples that whoever put their father or their mother, their sister, or their brother ahead of him, is not worthy of him. Now Jesus, who is also the Son of God tells his followers that if he places his mother and brothers ahead of God then he too, would not be worthy of Him. He goes on to say that if you practice doing God’s will as I do, then you too are worthy of Him.

Daily Prayer: Lord, so often we find things in the world that allure us away from You. This too is idolatry. Let us not lean unto our own understanding, but in wisdom only take our instruction from you. Amen.

Mark 3:22-30 The Unpardonable Sin

The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. “ Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

There are two ways of suffering eternal demnation. The Bible teaches us that our only means of salvation is trusting in Jesus Christ alone and His finished work on the cross for our only hope of salvation. Apart from this, there is no forgiveness. To receive Jesus as Savior, one must be born again, a new birth not of flesh, but of spirit. The Holy Ghost is the imparter of life. If you reject the Holy Ghost, you reject birth through the spirit and you cannot enter into Jesus’ offer for forgiveness without this new birth.

Daily Prayer: Father, often times, especially in times of anger, we say things that we do not mean. We exaggerate what we say and even have used Your name if vain. Forgive us Father. Since this is such a serious offense, by Your Spirit, quench our tendency to use exaggerated speech, but instead remain humble in our heart and allow you to bring justice and fairness and grace in our time of need. In Jesus name I pray Amen.

Mark 3:1-5 The Golden Rule - Love One Another

He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. He said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” And He said to them, “Is it lawful to do well or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill? “But they kept silent. After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.

In the time of Jesus, the Jews had historically been through some very troublesome times. Their ancestors received the law, but broke it to the extent of being removed from the land. Now this generation of Jews is so zealous for the law that they cannot see the author of the law which is God himself. The letter of the law and its intent are very different things. This is why so often Jesus is redefining the law as one of authority, because even though they have been striving to keep it, they have let their heart go cold.

Daily Prayer: Father, I and my generation are only under the Law of Christ which is to love You and the Son and to love one another. Yet I am sure there are times we do not follow the Golden Rule and do not do unto others as we would like to be done to us. Like the Jews in this story, soften our hearts in my day, so that we can love God, the Son and yes, our neighbors as ourselves. In Your Holy Name I pray Amen.