Dwell in the Word Mark 4:21-29
As we dwell in Mark 4:21-29 consider these questions:
1. Jesus speaks of the parables as a means of keeping His message hidden for a specific purpose. How does this concept of the "Messianic secret" play a role in understanding Jesus' teaching ministry? What are the implications of this intentional concealment for his mission?
2. The parable of the seed growing in the ground emphasizes the miraculous process of growth that occurs through the Word of God. How does this imagery shed light on the nature of spiritual growth and transformation? How can believers foster an environment conducive to this growth?
3. The passage underscores the importance of trusting in the sufficiency of God's Word for spiritual development. In a world seeking quick fixes, how does this perspective challenge common approaches to spiritual growth? How can individuals cultivate a patient and enduring commitment to the Word of God?
Transcript:
Alright, so what we're seeing and what we've read for today is actually a continuation of the thoughts that were prior to this in regards to the parables, the stuff that we saw last week, and particularly the idea that what Jesus is teaching is hidden. Remember, He was saying that those who have ears to hear are going to understand the parables, but those who don't aren't going to get it. And basically, the idea is that the Pharisees are going to be confused because they don't have the Spirit at work in them to help them to understand. And so, he's speaking in these parables to keep his message hidden. Again, this is a form of the Messianic secret, right? We've talked about this that they can't know too much about Jesus just yet, because if they were to find out who He really was, the Son of God, come to Earth in human flesh. They would raise Him up and they would try to take over. But that's not His mission. His mission is to suffer and die for His people. So, what do we have here? Jesus saying, Hey, if you put a lamp, you don't put a lamp under a basket or under the bed, you put it on a stand.
And what He's saying is, For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest, nor is anything secret except to come to light. The idea here is that this secret teaching will eventually come to light. It's hidden now, but the reason it's there is because it's going to go out and it's going to be earth-shattering, world-changing. The message will go out, but right now it's not to be known. Again, Messianic secret. Now, notice that Jesus comes back to here in verse 23, If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear. That's the idea once again, that if they can understand, they are going to understand. Jesus wants us to know that those who will understand His word, those who will hear His word and act upon it, are the ones who are meant to hear it. And so, what does Jesus do? He goes back to another parable. He expands upon what He is trying to teach by talking about sowing seed again. And notice that it talks about the Kingdom of God. It's as if a man should scatter the seed. He sleeps and rises night and day. It happens, but what happens? The seed comes up.
And it's a miracle. Ever since you were a kid and you put the soil in the little cup at school and put the bean in and you put it on your windowsill and you watered it, it's a miracle how this stuff comes up. It's amazing. And the same is true of the Word of God. The word is planted and it grows. We don't necessarily understand how it works. It's not mechanical. We can't look at it and see it. But it's an amazing thing to see it at work, how it grows within us. And so, Jesus uses this parable here. The earth produces the blade, the ear, the full grain into the ear. And then here's the important part. But when the grain is ripe at once, the sower, he pulls out the sickle because it's time for the harvest. And so, Jesus is saying that His word is going to go out. It is going to do its work. It is going to continue. It is going to expand. It may be secret. It may be in the ground, but it's going to come and it is going to grow. And when it's time, the harvest will take place.
And so, we know, as the Kingdom of God has been shown to us here in the Gospel of Mark, that it's this amazing thing that is growing and it comes from the sowing of the seed that is the Word of God. And so, as we think about what this parable and what this passage means for us, it is so important that we trust in the sufficiency of God's word, that we believe that as we hear it, that as we read it, as it is proclaimed to us that God, the Holy Spirit, is going to be at work. We sometimes get frustrated with our spiritual growth. Sometimes it feels like we aren't going anywhere, right? But if we are hearing the word, and if we trust that the Spirit has enthralled us. We can believe that that word will grow. Now, it might not happen at the pace we want it to. It might be faster. It might be slower. We don't know. Like I said, we can't look at this and see a mechanical way. If you read 25 verses, you'll experience this level of spiritual growth. That's not what happens. Instead, we put the seed within us of God's Word, and we trust that it will grow, that the Spirit will be at work.
And then when it's the time, we will harvest, we will be harvested. We will show that we are bearing fruit. And so may we trust in that sufficiency of the Word. May we trust that God is going to do what He has always done in us. We live in an age where we want quick fixes. Don't you wish there was a, or as seen on TV, item that you could buy for spiritual growth that would make it easy? Wouldn't that be wonderful? Well, no, it wouldn't. What is what God has ordained is what God has ordained, and it works. It works. So trust that word. Don't try to find a shortcut. Just hear the word. Have it proclaimed to you. Sing it. Say it. Proclaim it. Hear it. All of those things, and trust that that word is at work in you and that God is making you holy. He is refining you. He is setting you apart. It will be accomplished and there will be a harvest.
