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PARABLES ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD
PARABLES ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD Mark 4:21-34 Key Verse: 4:34 “He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.” In last weeks passage we saw Jesus teaching the people using parables – short stories that use everyday objects and events to describe something else. Jesus told the crowds gathered around him a story of a farmer sowing his seed and the results of that based on the type of soil the seed fell on. This story might have confused most of the people in the crowd because, if you look closely at the story, Jesus makes no mention of the Kingdom of God or anything spiritual for that matter. Apparently it confused the disciples and those around Jesus because they asked Him about the meaning of the parable when they were alone. Jesus explained to them that because they had Jesus with them, the secret of the Kingdom of God would be revealed to them, but those who just heard the parable would be ever seeing, but never perceiving and ever hearing, but never understanding. Then he went on to explain that the seed represented the word of God which is sown into the hearts of mankind and depending on the soil in our hearts what the outcome of that word would be. In today’s passage we have three more parables of Jesus. Each of the parables tells us something about what we are expected to do as Christian or what the Kingdom of God is like. May God bless our study of this passage and open up our spiritual eyes and ears so that we see and understand what the Kingdom of God is really like. First, What God reveals to us in secret is meant to be revealed to the world. (21-25) Look at verses 21 and 22 “He said to them, ‘Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.’” Jesus taught his disciples the meaning of the parables in private, but He did this so that they could reveal it to the who world. Jesus simply didn’t have the time to explain the meaning of the parables to everyone, so he chose a select few whom he could teach basically one to one. Then He sent them out into the world to explain in detail to the people. The same goes for us today. As we learn the word of God through prayer and carefully considering it, we are not to keep it to ourselves. If we do, we are as useless as a light hidden under a bed. Jesus goes on to say that whatever is hidden or concealed is meant to be revealed. The secret of the Kingdom of God that Jesus reveals to those who carefully consider His words is meant to be made known to the whole world. In verse 24 Jesus tells us that we should consider carefully what we hear. In order to carefully consider something, you must spend time to think about it – that is we must meditate on the words that Jesus is saying. He goes on to say “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” Jesus is telling us that the effort and time we sped considering the word of God will be matched or exceeded by God. What will this result in? Those who deeply meditate on the meaning of the word God and the secret of the Kingdom of God, God will reveal even more to them. However, if we just read the Word of God and forget about later in the day, that is exactly what will happen to any of the spiritual secrets God may have already revealed to us – we will forget about them or they will be taken from us. Second, two parables about the Kingdom of God (26-34) Look at verse 26 “He also said, ‘This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.’” Jesus goes back to the analogy of a man scattering seed on the ground like in the first parable. The word of God is being spread in the hearts of mankind and day and night it is growing. How is it being sowed? It is being sowed by the Bible teachers of the world. They pray and meditate on the word of God until God reveals the secret of the Kingdom of God to them. Then they go out and tell others about it. A Bible teacher knows nothing about the soil of the person’s heart that they share the word with, and therefore cannot know how that seed of the word of God will grow. Although we might not know exactly how, the word of God will grow in those who have good soil in their hearts. As the word of God grows in us and we continue to pray and meditate on the word of God the Holy Spirit quietly guides us into all truth. Just as we cannot know where the wind will be coming from or where it will go next, so is the Holy Spirit’s working in the hearts and minds of those who deeply meditate on the word of God. Over the years I have read the Bible many times, but every time I read a passage again and prayed and meditated on it, God reveals something new to me. I often wonder how I missed such obvious truths when I read the passage before, but I did. However, God is a faithful God and His word is true – to those who have even more will be given – so give yourself over to study and restudy the word of God and put it into practice in your life. Even though we do not know exactly how, the word of God will grow in us until it produces fruit. Look at verse 29. “As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.” Just as no plant can live forever, so no man or woman of God can live forever. We all will have to face our harvest time, but this a great thing. At harvest time the grain and fruit of the field go into the owner’s barn. The owner of our field is God. Therefore, at our harvest time we go back to our creator – into His barn. But that is not the end of our story. The seeds we sowed during our life will continue to grow. Jesus went on to tell one more parable about what the kingdom of God is like. Look at verses 31 and 32. “It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” Once again Jesus goes back to the analogy of the Kingdom of God being like a seed. This time, He begins by comparing it to one of the smallest of all seeds, a mustard seed. This seed starts out small, but grows into one of the largest of garden plants. As I thought about this parable in context of the whole Bible, I was amazed to see just how true this has been time after time. God started the growth of his kingdom here on earth by calling one man, Abraham. He was a mustard seed in all the earth, but by the time God’s people left Egypt some 500 years later, they were a complete nation with about 2 million people. Think also of the beginning of the Christian church. It began like a mustard seed with just a few people gathered in one room but look at it now. It is a huge organization that has spread over the face of the whole earth. The work of God always starts out looking small. In any individual Christian, the same is true. At first, when the seed of the word of God is planted in a person, we may not see anything at all that sets that person apart as different. But as that mustard see begins to grow you can see that person branching out and beginning to produce many more seeds that can be spread around the garden of the world. This is the way God works. Starting off small with just one man or maybe twelve. Revealing the secret of the Kingdom of God to them and sending them off into the world to tell others. Once they tell this secret to others, God takes over and begins to grow that seed of the Gospel in that person’s heart until they can go out and tell more people. Finally, let’s look at our key verse. “He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.” Jesus taught the ordinary people only through parables, Why? Because they used everyday objects and events that the people could relate to. However, Jesus didn’t have the time to teach everyone the true meaning of the parables, so he chose a select few who were around Him 24 – 7. When they were alone, Jesus explained everything to them. Jesus did not want the disciples to keep these things a secret between himself and them. He wanted the disciples to reveal these hidden things to the whole world. Likewise, today Jesus wants to reveal the secret of the Kingdom of God to you, so that you can reveal it to the world. Jesus has given us the parables. Now it is time for us to spend quiet time together with Jesus in prayer meditating on them so that He can reveal to us the secret of the Kingdom of God, make it grow in us, and we in turn can share this with others around us. |
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