Hope? Mark 4:1-20

The existential psychiatrist Viktor Frankl (1905–1997) lived an influential life. His best-selling book ‘Man’s Search for Meaning’ chronicled his experiences as a prisoner in the concentration camps of Auschwitz and Dachau. He had been sent there by the Nazi regime because he was Jewish. He realised that those who had a purpose and hope in life always coped better, even under very trying circumstances, than those without hope. Freidrich Nietzsche famously said,

“He who has a ‘why’ to live for, can bear almost any ‘how’.”

Viktor Frankl often quoted this. He also taught that it is through the ‘whys’ in people’s lives—their goals—that they establish a sense of meaning.

His experiences in the concentration camps had confirmed this view that it is through a search for meaning and purpose in life that individuals can endure hardship and suffering. He had a profound problem however. Although he was Jewish, he was also an existentialist, a movement which teaches that there is no purpose or meaning in our existence - we just are. His problem was how can hope and meaning be found in a world that has essentially no purpose and no God. He found meaning in families and the possibility of something wonderful happening to us but clearly death snuffs out such personal hopes.

‘Cabaret’ was a musical, starring Lisa Minnelli, about Germany between the two World Wars. It was based on the book ‘Cabaret’ by Christopher Isherwood. Both the book and the musical wrestle with the question of hope. He wrote:

“There is only one question worth asking each other, and we rarely ask each other because it is such a brutal question. What is the quest that we rarely ask each other? It is this, “How do you carry on. What keeps you going amidst the various turmoils, griefs and pains of life?”

It is a brutal question that confronts us all. The non-Christian has a problem as the only answers they can give are short-lived. Suffering and death, in some form or other awaits us all. The problem is also there for a Christian, particularly if we are active for Christ. We will face rejection and even persecution so we all need a substantial ‘hope’!

Hope can be erased so easily by the problematic realities of life. What keeps us going can be so artificial – even for Christians. You hear some Christians saying glibly,

“Keep looking up, brother!”

We can so easily be full of cliches when what we really need is to be sure of the future, a realistic substantiated hope that all will be well in the end.

The Parable of the Sower

This, the first parable in Mark’s gospel, is so realistic and is here to give us all real hope. We have to think hard about Jesus’ parables. Jesus loved to put the unknown in the context of the known so that the unknown might be known! Everyone listening to Jesus would have known something about farming in those days, what was unknown were the spiritual truths about God’s kingdom.

Bear Grylls has become known worldwide as one of the most recognized faces of survival and outdoor adventure. representing courage, kindness and never giving up. He is a Christian who was trained in the SAS. Grylls has shared how his Christian faith has been ‘a real backbone’ and a ‘secret of strength’ in those difficult moments which abound in his life. He jumps out of aeroplanes, hikes, eats frogs, worms snakes and spiders! What is extraordinary is that nothing ever seems to go wrong for him. He always seems to succeed, always gets to the end of his journey unscathed. A Christian should surely be ashamed of presenting such a viewpoint. He should fail occasionally because all the rest of us do!

This passage is written by Mark in the form of a sandwich with the top layer being chapter 4:1-9, the filling being 4:10-12 and the bottom slice being 4:13-20. Mark loves to use this technique to stress a point.

Top Slice

This parable can be read with different emphases:

1. We are called to sow

This approach focuses on us as the sowers. This parable is nothing like Bear Grylls, this is much more realistic, stressing that failure is to be expected – the majority will not respond to the message as God wants. The New International Version of the Bible calls this story, ‘The Parable of the Sower’, and this keeps the emphasis on the sower who keeps spreading the seed because only as he sows will there be a harvest. This is certainly not wrong. Jesus is the great sower and so should his followers be. That is a major priority in life and suggests we should be moving away from self absorbing hobbies and constant television and get sowing. It is so easy for Christian leaders to be so absorbed in administration and organisation that they do little sowing themselves. At one conference, attended by sixty Christians involved in university mission, they were asked how many had they help to become Christians that year. The answer was none. They were all too busy doing other things! The speaker said to them,

“You all need to come face to face with unbelievers.”

They determined to do this and in the next month twelve people became Christians.

We are all called to be sowers.

“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.” Mark 4:3

Farmers have contact with the soil. Sometimes this will cause them to get dirty but that can easily be washed off. However this doesn’t matter to him. You can feel the determination in the wording, ‘He went out to sow’.

2. The focus is on the seed

“The farmer sows the word.” Mark 4:14

Our message is about God’s eternal kingdom and how people can be admitted into this by submitting to the rule of the king. This change in direction is called repentance. The fate of the seed is variable.

a. This seed can be immediately whisked away by Satan

b. Some seed has a short-lasting effect, they acknowledge the king until it begins to cost something.

c. Some seed is choked. These people come to Jesus on their terms so do not last.

d. Some seed produces a massive harvest which makes the work of sowing so worthwhile.

The seed must remain the true seed. No-one should change Jesus’ message to make it more palatable! The lesson is clear, we should expect failures but we must have expectations. The Christian life is not like Bear Grylls expectations. As we sow the seed some will produce a good harvest and that is exciting so we keep sowing.

3. The focus is on the soils

This does seem to be Jesus’ emphasis, the seed falls in different places:

v. 4 along the path

v. 5 on rocky places

v. 7 amongst thorns

v. 8 on good soil

The way the seed is received depends on the each person’s reaction to the message. Note that this parable was told to the masses, they must all hear this message. Jesus wanted everyone to realise the meaning of what he is saying. The key word ‘hear’ keeps being repeated:

v. 9 “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

v. 12 “. . . so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; . . .”

v. 16-17 “Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time.”

v. 18 “Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but . . .”

v. 20 “Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop . . .”

v. 23 “ If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”

v. 24 “Consider carefully what you hear,”

Clearly what is important is how we receive the seed of God, how we hear! Paul later wrote:

“. . . faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.” Romans 10:17

For anyone to be saved, and to be admitted into the Kingdom of God, they need to hear the message about the real Jesus and this comes from learning from the Bible the first-hand witnesses about what he did and taught.

The emphasis of this parable is mainly on the soils. Several of my wife’s relatives bought farms in Kenya. Some were wise and bought farms where the ground was fertile. Others bought stony infertile land. The farmers put in equal work in preparing the ground and sowing the seed but some land was simply not good at producing good crops!

In verses 3-9 Jesus says ‘listen and hear”. Seed on the path has no chance. In verse 5 there is thin soil so the seed germinates but the sun rises and the seedling quickly perishes. In verse 7 the weeds choke the young in faith so they also die. In verse 8 the seed in the good soil multiplies 30, 60 or 100 times. The lesson to us all is ‘Be careful how you hear.’ We are each responsible for how we listen and respond to God.

When this brilliant story is recounted it would be possible to think it emphasises what I ought to do. However, remember this account is another sandwich. The story is separated in the middle by another story about parables. So verses 10-12 should be our guide on how to understand the whole.

The filling

When Jesus was alone with his disciples sitting around him, they ask him the meaning of the parable. He replies:

“The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” Mark 4:11-12

For outsiders the parable reveals their hardness of heart. This parable is an instrument of judgment. They see but don’t really see, they hear but don’t really understand. If anyone does not respond to God’s offer of admission into his kingdom this parable will harden their heart. To those outside the kingdom this is just a good yarn, whereas to those who are engaged with him this is thrilling.

Only once on my evangelistic walks with my evangelistic dog have I had a complete rebuttal. I was chatting amicably with a man and his wife and I asked if I coukd give him one of my articles. I explained that it is to try and encourage people to think about the big issues of life such as what we are here for. His reaction was startling - he turned from being amicable to saying abruptly,

“Don’t talk to me about God. I don’t believe in him and I don’t want to talk about him.”

He then walked away. I suppose that that is like seed sown on stoney ground.

David Cook, the Australian Bible teacher and evangelist was at a school reunion. One old classmate asked him what he was doing now.

“I work in a Bible College.”

“Oh is that what you do, you teach people to cut hair.”

He obviously heard ‘Barber College’

“No, Bible College!”

His reply was typical of many,

“Oh, I believe everybody has their own right to believe whatever they want.”

At this point he turned and walked away. He had the opportunity to ask more questions but he demonstrated a judgment on himself.

God always shows mercy to genuine enquirers but judges those with a hardness of heart. Hearing this parable gives people an opportunity to change direction in life and to want to produce fruit for God. Where there is no response it confirms a person in their unbelief and that they are under God’s judgment. So we must be careful how we respond.

Verse 12 is a problem for some:

“. . . so that, ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” Mark 4:12

Is Jesus really saying that he is deliberately keeping people from being saved?

Certainly not. Jesus is quoting from the book of Isaiah. This reads:

“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go and tell this people: “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Isaiah 6:8-9

God is sending out his prophet to warn people. There is an opportunity of receiving mercy because that is what God longs to give us. The following chapters in Isaiah describe the hope that there is because God is going to come into this world as a Saviour, a son is going to be born:

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6

There is always hope for those willing to turn but only judgment for those who are hard of heart.

The second slice

Notice how the seed that is sown is the ‘word’. This is obviously an emphasis of Jesus:

v. 14 “The farmer sows the word”

v. 15 “The word is sown.” Then “ Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.”

v. 16 “Others . . . hear the word”

v. 17 “When trouble or persecution comes because of the word . . .”

v. 18 “Others . . . hear the word”

v. 19 “but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.”

v. 20 “Others . . . hear the word”

The seed is the ‘Word of God’. The repeated use of the word stresses this. It is the message about Jesus, the Word of God that is revealed in the whole Bible, which is also called the ‘Word of God’. The vital difference between people is how they respond to God’s message:

v. 15 Some hear but it goes in one ear and out of the other.

v. 16-17 These people respond superficially but ‘troubles and persecution’ make this commitment no longer fashionable or cool so they are lured away from Christ to their peril.

v. 18-19 these people also start living with God but ‘worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word.’

It is striking that in the Greek all these sentences so far use the aorist tense, it happened once – they fell away. This is stark realism. In contrast verse 20 uses the present continuos tense:

“Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” Mark 4:20

They go on hearing the word. Those who continue to feed on the word are the ones who produce a remarkable harvest. Paul emphasises this same truth:

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom . . .” Colossians 3:16

As we feed on God’s word the information we learn will lead to transformation, just as hearing leads to adhering. Psalm 119 is a remarkable psalm in that nearly every verse speaks about the word of God, using different words for this. For example:

“How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.

I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:9-11

Application for Christians

1. God is the director of his farm

If the sower knew precisely where the good soil was he wouldn’t waste his seed elsewhere. We certainly do not know who will respond and who won’t and we have been told to spread the word around widely. Solomon understood this need to be active in spreading the message widely:

“Ship your grain across the sea; after many days you may receive a return. Invest in seven ventures, yes, in eight; you do not know what disaster may come upon the land. .

Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.” Ecclesiastes 11:1-2, 6

When Paul was in Corinth God said to him,

“ ‘For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.’ So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.”

Indiscriminate scattering of the word of God was his practice. There is a time however to move on. Jesus said to his disciples when they were on their trainee missions:

“If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.” Matthew 10:14

The Gideons have distributed 2.5 billion Scriptures since they were founded in 1863. Their Bibles are placed in hotels and hospitals throughout the world. Although many of those have ended up in the dustbin or burned, some have helped people to faith in the Lord Jesus. Understanding God’s word leads some to eternal life by leading them to become followers of Jesus.

2. The right seed needs to be sown

The Bible, from beginning to end, is all about how God saves individuals to become his servants. In contrast ‘religion’ is all about what man should do to impress God. When we share the news about the grace of God seen in Jesus, some will respond and turn to Christ. We mustn’t have unreal expectations, like Bear Grylls, but we must continue sowing the word in the knowledge that God will act in peoples lives through our doing this. Ordinary activity will bring about extraordinary results.

The right seed is teaching what the Bible teaches and nothing else. Ministry is all about sharing the Word with people. Discipleship is all about being in the Word. What a disaster it is that so many churches have moved away from being known as Bible teaching centres.

Ministry of the Word is far from easy. We need to be studying the Bible every day and learning how to communicate its message in a fascinating and exciting way. Jesus used stories and so should all who want to share the Word with others effectively.

I have a friend who is a professional golfer who plays off scratch. When I asked what I was doing wrong and how I might improve he simply replied,

“There’s nothing fundamentally wrong, you’ve just got to practice six days a week, year in and year out.”

I wanted a short cut, something easy, but to be effective for Christ is not easy. Anyone can preach a poor sermon which, although the theology is orthodox, influences no-one.

3. The key to entering the Kingdom of God is to come to Jesus

Belonging to God comes in no other way. Trying to please God by being religious saves no-one. Being a recognised, baptised, confirmed, ordained, consecrated person does not save anyone.

Bishop Taylor-Smith was a corpulent Chaplain General to the Forces. One Sunday morning he was preaching in Salisbury Cathedral on this passage. In order to emphasise this necessity of the new birth he said,

“My dear people do not substitute anything for the new birth. You may be a member of a church, but church membership is not new birth. Jesus said, ‘Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God’.”

On his left sat the Archdeacon in his stall. Pointing directly at him the Bishop said,

“You might even be an Archdeacon, like my friend in his stall, and not be born again. Remember, ‘Except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God’.

A day or two later he received a message from the Archdeacon.

“My dear bishop, you have found me out. I have been a clergyman for over thirty years, but I have never known anything of the joy that Christians speak of. I never could understand. Mine has been a hard legal service. I did not know what the matter was with me, but when you pointed directly at me and said, “You might even be an Archdeacon and not be born again; I knew in a moment what the trouble was. I had never known anything of the new birth.”

Next day the Archdeacon and the bishop met up and they went through the Bible together. Then the Archdeacon knelt before his Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, and took his place as a sinner who desperately needed Christ’s MERCY.

George Whitfield was an eighteenth century evangelist who often preached on this same verse especially to religious people. Someone complained to him, “Why do you preach on this text so often?” He answered, “Because you must be born again!”

Everyone needs to determine which type of ground they are willing to be. A personal submission to Jesus as your Saviour and Lord is essential if you are to be accepted by God. There is no other way.

Christians need to get into the word, learn it and sow it widely. Resist the word, have little or nothing to do with it, or respond in a superficial, temporary way and your eternal future is in dire peril. This is the message of Jesus in his parable of the sower, the seed and the soils.