The Secret of God's Kingship and Kingdom

At this point, Mark introduced a new word - parables (see Mark 3:23; 4:2; 4:10-11; 4:13; 4:33-34). Our English word parable comes from two Greek words that mean “to cast alongside” (para -  alongside; ballo - to throw or cast). A parable is a story or figure placed alongside a teaching to help us understand its meaning. It is much more than “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” A true parable gets the listener deeply involved and compels that listener to make a personal decision about God’s truth and his or her life. So penetrating and personal are parables that, after they heard several of them, the religious leaders wanted to kill the Lord Jesus! (see Matthew 21:45-46 – the parable of the vineyard and the tenants)

Warren Wiersbe gives insight on the way parables work: “A parable begins innocently as a picture that arrests our attention and arouses our interest. But as we study the picture, it becomes a mirror in which we suddenly see ourselves. If we continue to look by faith, the mirror becomes a window through which we see God and His truth. How we respond to that truth will determine what further truth God will teach us.

In this parable Jesus gives a fundamental insight into the coming of the Kingdom of God. It reveals that the coming of God into the world in the person of Jesus the Christ, goes the way of seed which is sown. In the right time there will come the harvest, the consummation. Note in Mark 4:11, the word “secret” (“mystery” in the KJV), is the Greek word, “mustērion” from which we get our English word “mystery.” Believers are given insight into the mystery or secret of the kingdom of God.  

To believers, Jesus’ parables unveils the “secret of God’s Kingship and Kingdom; to unbelievers, a parable drops a thick curtain upon their understanding. Mystery, in this sense, is not a puzzle that can be solved by human reasoning; it is a lifting of the curtain by divine revelation. Like a great drama played before the audience of mankind, John the Baptist conducts the overture, God raises the curtain and Jesus stands on center stage. He, and He alone, is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Some of the audience, however, hoot and howl while others applaud and receive Him. Consequently, God drops back down a transparent screen in the form of a parable which confuses the hooters with an aura of mystery, but focuses the vision of those who applaud the truth.

The Vital Throwing of the Seed

There are three factors in this parable.  Those being the sower, the seed, and the soil.  The Sower first and preeminently is Jesus.  Secondly, it is any person who broadcasts the Word of God, whether through a teaching ministry, personal witnessing, preaching or sharing a piece of gospel literature.  However one articulates or disseminates the Word, they are doing the work of a sower.

The second factor in the parable is that of the seed.  Jesus explains in verse 14 that the seed is the Word of God, in particular the Gospel, the good news of saving grace.

The soil represents four conditions of the human heart. The vital throwing of the seed involves a sower who is actively broadcasting the seed.  In verse 4 the expression, "as he sowed", is a present tense verb which denotes that continual sowing was occurring.  We are to be continually broadcasting the seed.

Secondly, the sower abundantly broadcasts the seed. Broadcasting is a method of sowing in which one scatters the seed by slinging them out of the hand in a large sweeping motion. This is the picture portrayed in this parable. We are to be continually and abundantly broadcasting the seed of the gospel.

The Various Traits of the Soil

Although there were four different types of soil, or conditions of the human heart, they all shared several things in common. 

First, in all four instances the true message of the Word of God was heard.   

We often fail to realize what a unique God-given privilege it is to be able to hear the whole counsel of the Word of God presented clearly, soundly, consistently, authoritatively, and weekly in many churches.  Many people are not given that privilege. Instead they sit week after week under the ministry of a man who shares nothing but the opinions of men and the philosophies of this world.

Secondly, in all four instances there was a response to the Word of God. 

This reveals that you cannot window shop with the Word of God. When one goes window shopping, they stroll leisurely by the shops and look at the merchandise displayed in the windows making wishes and dreaming about possessing the items that appeal to them.  One can waste hours window shopping and spend nothing more than their time and energy.  But you cannot do that with the Word of God.  Every exposure to its truths creates responsibility and demands action. Those who do not respond obediently to the truth are hardened by that truth.

Third, in all four instances the fate of the seed was determined by the state of the soil.  

None of the soils are good by nature. The type denominated `good' is made so by the deep plowing of the Holy Spirit.

The Variety of These Soils

Those who hear the Gospel message INATTENTIVELY.

Jesus explained the response of the wayside hearer as representing the situation in which the Word of the saving message of the gospel is sown, and upon hearing it, Satan, who is represented as a bird,  comes immediately and takes away the Word from the hearer's heart. The wayside hearer represents the Closed Mind.  The seed is on the heart but the person is brainwashed by the adversary.  The action upon the soul of the wayside hearer is from the devil. The result is the Word was stolen.

In ancient Palestine the fields were long, narrow, and often serpentine strips divided by little paths which became beaten hard by the continuous traffic of men, animals and the loaded carts they drew behind them.  As the Sower broadcast the seed, some fell on these hardened paths were germination was impossible due to impenetrableness of the soil coupled with the swiftness of the feeding fowls ever ready to snatch away the seed. Jesus likened this to a condition of a person's heart.

The message of this particular point of the parable is beware of the busyness of trafficking in the sacred truths of Scripture without a heart response of obedience. Failure to obey results in a person becoming hardened.  One can become sermon-hardened as well as sin-hardened.

Kent Hughes in commenting on this type of hearer said: "There are those who hear this way who are unsophisticated. They are those who are busy coming and going and the frenetic traffic of life has so hardened them that nothing of the truth of God stirs them. Life for them may be no more than the sports page and a beer. Sunday is a time to get up and read the paper and then go out and get a little exercise maybe or cut the grass and come back and kick back and watch the ball game and drink a beer and go to bed and get up and go to bed the next day.  Or it may be a movie magazine in an hour at the beauty shop.

There may be no gross sin in this individual's life, but there is no interest in spiritual things whatsoever. Life is so crowded with other things they don't have time for this. Do you know someone like that? You probably do. You may be living in the same house with someone like that or living next door to someone like that, and I am sure you work around someone who is just like that. They are busy, they are nice people basically, but they have no interest in the things of God, they have no heart for the things of God, they have no ear for the things of God. Their lifestyle could be summed up this way: “into this world to eat and sleep and to know no reason why he was born save to consume the corn, devour the cattle, flock and fish, and leave behind an empty dish.”  Do you know people like that? “Eat, drink and be merry, for sure tomorrow you are going to die. Big deal; everybody does."

This type of hearer is the self-satisfied, self-righteous, practical atheist. He says he believes in God but lives like God was dead.  He may be religious, respectable, and active in the church but with only a form of godliness. Our churches are filled with these types of hearers.  You can talk about budgets and buildings, facts, figures and finances and their eyes light up in interest and intelligence. But begin to open the Word of God and talk about spiritual things, about faith in Christ, salvation from sin, a daily intimate fellowship with God and there is a blank stare that comes into their eyes, revealing that they do not understand because they do not have ears to hear.

What we do not use we lose. Just as in the physical realm, if you do not use your muscles, you lose them, so in the spiritual realm if you do not use truth you hear you cannot keep it as a treasure. Instead you will become truth-hardened.  Some people's lives are hardened with distortions and prejudices and they hear inattentively.

Satan works overtime to keep people from giving serious attention to the Word of God.

Those who hear the Gospel message IMPULSIVELY – Mark 4:5, 16

In Palestine there is a stratum of limestone rock that runs throughout the country.  Sometimes only two or three inches of topsoil covers the solid layer of rock. During the rainy season the seeds that fall onto such an area spring up and appear to flourish until the rain ceases and the sun comes out. Then its superficial root system causes it to wither.

This type of hearer is represented by the emotional mind.  The seed is on and in his heart.  The action upon the heart of this type of hearer is by the flesh.  This person is bewildered by adversity.  In the first instance the seed was stolen. Here it is it starved for lack of root.

Lest we should appear to be depreciating the importance of human emotions, let me go on record by stating that I do not believe you can be soundly converted to Christ without emotions being involved.  That does not mean one has to cry or shout, wallow on the floor or experience spine-tinkling thrills. But emotions must be involved because they are essential part of our makeup as human beings. The nature of the subjective experiences varies according to the emotional makeup of the person. By no means are we to depreciate the emotional aspect of salvation. However, we need to be reminded that not all joyful or emotional response to the Word of God is a saving response!

The Stony-ground type hearers are those who upon hearing the message exclaim: "Why hasn't someone told me this before?  Wow, this is exactly what I needed!" They bow their heads, confess their sins, call upon Christ, shed bushels of tears, get goose bumps all over their bodies, and jump up shouting, Hallelujah! They are baptized, join the church, and become active in everything that is going on, as well as wanting to start a dozen new programs. Their friends say, "they are on fire for the Lord!"  Then after a few months, the pastor looks out over the congregation one Sunday morning and they are absent.  He pays them a visit and discovers that they are upset because of severe problems which have come their way or because persecution has become their lot in life. Because of the pastor's encouragement, they come back to church periodically for a few weeks and then they are gone. One more visit reveals that they have become hostile to the very faith they once professed and begin to say, "Why before I professed faith in Christ things were a lot better than they are now! Since then, my wife has turned against me. I broke my leg, lost my job, and found out my son was on drugs! If that is the way God treats those who try to serve Him, then I do not want any part of such a religion."

What has happened?  Exactly what Jesus said: "The sun comes up...."  There is an immediate thrill but this is always followed  by imminent tribulation and testing.  All professions of faith will be tested. The thrill fades under the scorching heat of testing and reveals that there was only an emotional response to the claims of Christ. Eventually they are offended because of Him.

Tribulation is the great revealer of a work of grace. We read in Mark 4:17, "They have no root in themselves and so they endure only for a time. Afterwards when tribulation or persecutions arise for the Word's sake, immediately they stumble."  Tribulation did not cause the withering of the profession of faith; it only revealed that there was no reality to it from the first.

Time is the great confirmer of a work of grace.  Yes, we should be excited when a person confesses faith in Christ.  We should avoid being critical. Yet we must be cautious in appointing new converts into positions of leadership. We should put forth every effort to disciple them and if they don't have a heart for discipleship, they are a stranger to saving faith. A person who doesn't want to live the life, love the Lord, and learn from His Word, is a spiritual illegitimate from the outset, irrespective of the nature of his emotional experience.

A classic illustration of an impulsive hearer is found in the testimony of Media-mogul Ted Turner. In June  of 1990, he made a public apology in First Baptist Church of Woodstock, Georgia to all Christians everywhere for his previous comments about Christianity being a religion for losers, and how he didn't "want Jesus dying for him,"; how he thought it was kind of weird and far out that a man would die and shed His blood like the Mayans shed blood down in Central America in years gone by." Ted was raised in the Episcopal church. The following is his sad testimony taken from an article that appeared in the Christian Index: "I was an extremely devout Christian at one time. I took Christ as Lord and Savior seven times." At 17 he determined that he would become a missionary.  Instead, he turned his back on Christianity after watching his 12-year-old sister suffer for 5 years with lupus disease.  He said: "I was so angry.  I couldn't see how someone so innocent should suffer so long for no reason.  I don't want any part of a religion that allows this much suffering." He continued by saying he has respect for all the people in their belief, whether it is Christian, Muslim, or Buddhist. "The thing that I look forward to most in my religion is when I die I will go back to the dust from which I came, my soul as well as my body."

This is the case of a stony ground hearer. Ted Turner was never saved the first time much less seven times. There was an emotional response that gave the appearance of real spiritual life, but it proved to be only leaves and foliage without fruit. And were there is no fruit there is no life.  Perhaps Ted Turner heard the true gospel message and no doubt thought he was a Christian. But tribulation came in the form of suffering, not that of himself, but of his sister, and as a result he was offended by it and turned his back upon Christ. Now he wants nothing to do with a God who would treat anyone like He treated his sister.

Those who hear the gospel message INDULGENTLY - Mark 4:7,18

"Thorny ground" was a condition in which the surface area was clear and the soil looked so weed-free and so perfectly prepared to receive the seed. However, beneath the surface the soil was cluttered with the roots of thorns, weeds, and other impurities. When the seed began to germinate, so did the weeds and thorns, with the results being a strangulation of the life of the plant.

In the first instance the action upon the heart or soul was by the devil, with the results being a brainwashing by the adversary.  In the second type of hearer, the action is by the flesh, with results being bewilderment by adversity.  In this third type of hearer, the action upon the heart is by the world and the person is beguiled by its attractions.  This type hearer has a worldly mind. In the two previous incidents the Word was stolen and starved. Here it is strangled.  The seed is on, in, and down in the heart, but it produces only foliage - not fruit.

"Thorny ground" type hearers are preoccupied with three things: the distractions of this age or worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire to possess things. This type of person is double-minded or has a divided heart.  One part of their mind thinks about the blessedness of possessing eternal life, but there is a stronger appeal to have, taste, and experience the things this world has to offer.

Kent Hughes illustrates the divided heart or thorny-ground hearer: "A young man once proposed to his girlfriend. He said, "Darling, I want you to know that I love you more than anything else in the world. I want you to marry me. I am not rich. I don't have a yacht or a Rolls Royce like Johnny Brown, but I do love you with all my heart." She thought for a minute and then replied, "I love you with all my heart, too, but tell me more about Johnny Brown."

We must remember that a person can pass through a great change and yet not pass through a saving change. He may become another man but not be a new man. He may look like a Christian and yet not be a Christian.

Those who hear the gospel message Illuminatingly – Mark 4:8,20.

This type of hearer may be called, "the good ground" type.  Jesus offers the explanation in 4:20: "But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it and bear fruit, some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  What constitutes good ground? Are there hearts that are good by nature?  None - no not a single heart! (Roms 3:10) By nature we are all the same common, dirty soil. How is the good soil type hearer produced? We aren’t told in this parable, but with the completed New Testament, we know that it’s by the preparatory work of the Holy Spirit, who through His deep plowing in conviction, who through exposure to the Word of God has produced brokenness and repentance over sin. This individual has an illuminated or understanding mind.  The Word is blessed because of appropriation by faith.  In the first case the Word was stolen, in the second it was starved, in the third it was strangled, but in the fourth instance it is successful.  The Word is on, in, down, and up with the results being fruitfulness. There is a 3,000 percent increase, (30-fold), a 6,000 percent increase, (60-fold), and a 10,000 percent increase (100-fold). The action upon the soul is faith wrought by the Spirit of God.

Although by nature all men's hearts are stone deaf, suddenly after having the Word sown in their hearts, the Spirit of God breaks up it's hard, rocky, weedy ground and opens their spiritual eyes and unstops their spiritual ears. For the first time in their life, they hear discerningly.  They understand that they are sinners and that Jesus is the only Savior of sinners.  They understand that as they turn from their sins and trust Christ, He will save them from their sins.  They understand delightfully and thank God that His way of salvation has become clear to them. They delight in discovering that it is not a way among many ways to God, but the only way. They hear dutifully. They ask, "Lord, what would you have me to do?"  In other words, they report for duty. They bow to His Lordship. Then they hear demonstratively. Some fruit will be demonstrated. I do not believe that you can know the Lord Jesus Christ savingly and people not know be cognizant of it. A personal, soul-saving relationship with Christ results in the bestowal of eternal life. This produces an obvious change of lifestyle, of language, and of one's love and affection.  There will be something wholly different and other worldly about the good-ground type of hearer. Men cannot help but notice that you have been with Jesus. Although the soul of the regenerate has its winters in which it may appear to the casual observer to be dead, yet closer examination will reveal evidence of genuine spiritual life.

What kind of hearer are you?

What kind of sower of the precious Word of God are you?