February 24 – Mark 4:1-20

As the message of the Kingdom of God spreads, there is always opposition—from the world and from within the human heart. In today’s parable, Jesus explains that the message (the Word of God) is the seed. As it is scattered throughout the world, some people will never accept it. They are the tamped down soil of the path—soil that cannot open to receive the seed. Their hearts are hard, and the devil immediately comes and takes the seed away (v. 15).

When others hear the Word, they are like rocky places with “shallow” soil. At first, they “receive [the Word] with joy” (v. 16), but as soon as they experience trouble or persecution (the scorching sun in v. 6), they fall away. Their comfort is more important than their commitment. They are not rooted in Christ (see John 15:1-5), and without that firm connection to God, they cannot weather persecution.

Some people receive the Word but do not live it out. The seed does not produce fruit in them because they allow the thorny weeds of this world’s fears and desires to overwhelm the message (v. 19). Instead of putting their faith in God’s Word and living it out by following Jesus in their daily lives, they spend their days focused on their worries or on amassing wealth or on fulfilling their own desires.

Only a few receive the Word, retain the Word, and live out the Word by remaining rooted in Christ, surrendering to Christ, and following Christ’s example. These people bear much “fruit.” The world can see this fruit (see Matthew 7:16-20), and that fruit is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-26), which inevitably draws many who see it to Jesus.

Before Jesus explains this parable to His disciples, He tells them they are receiving “the secret of the kingdom of God” that is not being shared with outsiders (v. 11). This is not because Jesus doesn’t want those outsiders to be forgiven and saved—that would conflict with other Scriptures like 2 Peter 3:9, which says the Lord is “not willing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance.” So, why would Jesus teach in parables He doesn’t explain to the masses?

First, Jesus began to use this teaching method more as the Pharisees became more intent on killing Him. So, He seems to have been purposefully obscuring His teaching from them as part of God’s plan for His mission and the timing of His death. Next, the parables separate the serious seekers from the mildly curious. Those whose hearts have been stirred by Jesus’ parables will be drawn to pursue God more, to seek clarity from Him. Those who are only curious will fall away. Many were only curious, so the prophecy from Isaiah 6:9-10 that Jesus quotes in verse 12 of today’s passage was fulfilled. (Matthew’s account of the Parable of the Sower makes this fulfillment of prophecy more prominent—see Matthew 13:14.) Finally, Jesus’ parables and His miracles are enough of an invitation for anyone to come. God could overpower our free will with incontrovertible proof—He could force us to believe in and accept Jesus. But He chooses not to overwhelm our free will because Love always invites and never forces. As C. S. Lewis said in The Screwtape Letters, because of God’s loving nature, “He cannot ravish. He can only woo.” This would explain why the disciples, who had already professed faith and made the decision to follow Jesus, are given more clarity than others. They had already made their choice, and Jesus was tending their “soil.”

How is your soil? How are you receiving God’s Word? Ask God to help you examine your faith today and how you are living it out. Remember, you don’t live it out on your own. You live it out by sticking close to Jesus. He is the Vine; we are the branches. He brings the growth in us, but we have to surrender and follow Him. Listen for His invitations in prayer today.