SECTION FOUR A SERIES OF Mark 4:1-34 1. THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER Mark 4:1-9 (Matthew 13:1-9; Luke 8:4-10) 1 And again he began to teach--Mark, having stated the opposition of the scribes and Pharisees to Jesus, which resulted in organized action, and in charging Jesus with being in league with the devil, now gives a change in the manner of our Savior's teaching--that of parables. This was not the beginning of his teaching, but only of one form of it. by the sea side. And there is gathered unto him a very great multitude,--This shows the eagerness of the people to see and hear Jesus. The scribes and Pharisees slandered and tried to discredit the person and hinder the ministry of Jesus, yet the people followed in great multitudes, more than ever, to hear and be instructed by him. All the power and malice of the devil and evil men is not able to suppress the gospel, or kill the force of it. The more the gospel is opposed, the more it prevails. The more the scribes and Pharisees tried to disgrace our Savior, and vilify his doctrine, the more the people followed him to be partakers of his ministry. They were good advertisers of both him and his work. When the church at Jerusalem was persecuted through the influence of the devil and all were scattered abroad except the apostles (Acts 8:1-4), the disciples went everywhere preaching the word, and as a result new congregations sprang up wherever they went. Instead of checking the work and the influence of the gospel, the devil aided in spreading it. He doubtless thought his plan of persecution would put an end to it, but he could not have adopted a better plan in spreading it. so that he entered into a boat,--The multitude was so large that it was necessary for Jesus to enter into a boat, and from it speak to the people on the shore. and sat in the sea; and all the multitude were by the sea on the land.--He sat in the sea on the boat. 2 And he taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in his teaching,--The parables that follow are a specimen of his teaching. All that Jesus said and did are not recorded. What is recorded was written to produce faith that Jesus is the Son of God. (John 20:30.) Only samples of the many things taught by Jesus are preserved. Teaching is important in the scheme of redemption. So much so that no man can come to Jesus except he first be taught. Jesus draws men to him through teaching. (John 6:44-45.) Jesus taught much by parables. A parable is literally the placing of two things side by side. It is a comparison of things familiar and well known to illustrate and enforce things obscure or not well known. 3 Hearken:--Hear. Give attention. Behold, --Lo, see. Introduces something unexpected and surprising. the sower went forth to sow:--"Sower" is a general term meaning any one who sows or scatters seeds. Machinery for sowing seed was unknown at this time, hence farmers broadcast, sowing by handfuls from a bag hung over the shoulder. The sower is Jesus who went out from heaven to sow the spiritual seed in this world. Luke (8:11) says: "The seed is the word of God." Every Christian is a sower as well as a hearer. Seed scattered from the hand of a child will grow as readily as if from a grown man; though it may not be scattered as skillfully. So the spiritual seed, the Word of God, will develop as readily when sown by a new convert as when sown by an old and well developed Christian. The sowing should not cease. 4 and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it.--"The way side" was not only where the road and fields joined, but was the many narrow footpaths trodden through the fields. The fields were not fenced, and many paths led across them. These paths were hard, and the seed lay naked upon them. 5 And other fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth;--Not simply rocky land, for often soil is deep and very productive in rocky places, but a rocky surface slightly covered with soil. The stones did not lay upon the surface, but where the rocks lay just under the surface with only an inch or two of soil on top. and straightway it sprang up, because it had no deepness of earth:--The underlying rock held the heat from the sun like a hotbed, and forced the seed to sprout and immediately come through the thin soil. It would grow here more quickly than elsewhere, as long as there was any moisture, because of the heat of the rock. The rocks attracted the heat of the sun, which forced the grain up. 6 and when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root; it withered away.--Matthew says: "No deepness of earth." The thin layer of soil on the rock, having nothing below it to draw moisture from, would soon dry out; the root, short because there was no deep soil into which to bury itself, was soon deprived of vitality, and the plant died. For a plant to thrive, its roots must grow downward, as the stalk grows upward. 7 And other fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.--Where thorns grow deep and brambles are not rooted up by the plow we may sow the good seeds, they will germinate, spring up, make a feeble growth, but the thorns and brambles, already deeply rooted in the soil and congenial to their surroundings, will spring up and grow vigorously and rapidly. In their growth they will draw the substance and moisture from the soil, starve and choke the feeble wheat until it perishes and fails to bear fruit. This is a common state and results in badly cultivated grounds. The thorns are not bushes already developed, but an aftergrowth as suggested in the phrase, "The thorns grew up, and choked it." They are stumps with their roots penetrating deep in the ground, and which the farmer fails to dig out and extirpate, contenting himself with chopping down the year's growth. Matthew (Matthew 13:7) says they "fell upon the thorns." That is, upon thorn roots left in the ground, or seeds from last year's growth waiting their opportunity to seek the light and heat of the sun, and able to grow much more quickly and luxuriantly than the grain. 8 And others fell into the good ground,--That is, ground well prepared for receiving the seed. Deep rich soil, neither hard, nor rocky, nor infested with thorns. and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing;--It went through all the processes of growth and development until the fruit was perfected. and brought forth, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundred-fold.--[Only one class of soil out of four sown brings fruit to perfection. The thirty, sixty and hundredfold may indicate the common yield of grain in Galilee in the days of Jesus. This is above what is common in our country. Special cases, with favorable surroundings, greatly surpass this. A truthful and observant man says he planted a few grains of wheat in his garden under very favorable circumstances, cultivated them well. One grain put up thirty stalks that produced an average of fifty grains to the head, or fifteen hundred grains from one. But Jesus, I take it, gave the ordinary results of what was common in the country in which he was, and that is much above the average in our land and time. But the good seed must find lodgment in good soil to bear fruit. It is not enough for the soil to be naturally strong, but it must be prepared. The rocks, the thorns, and briers are rooted out so that nothing may hinder the growth of the seed. Ground naturally rocky and full of thorns may be made good by well-directed labor.] 9 And he said, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.--Having spoken the parable, Jesus requested all to heed the truths therein contained. Jesus said this to impress all with the importance of giving heed to what he said. (See Matthew 11:15; Luke 8:8; Luke 14:35; Revelation 2:7; Revelation 2:11; Revelation 2:17; Revelation 2:29; Revelation 3:6; Revelation 3:13; Revelation 3:22; Revelation 13:9.)