Mark 4: 1-20

Theme: The Kingdom of God

It has always puzzled me. Why is it that some folk hear the Gospel and don’t bat an eye, nothing ever changes in their lives? And why is it that some seem to accept it and even live it for a while and then fall away? I have seen long time Christians who suddenly stop coming to church. The excuses are legion but most often it is that something at church has changed, it is worldly or it is off track or it is too confining or too religious. Upon close examination, nothing has changed, except the excuse maker. They lose the luster of faith. They suddenly find something more appealing, more inviting that lures them away from God’s people. It is sad to think if you don’t entertain Christians in a certain way on Sunday, they will drop out. It makes you wonder what is going on.

I think that was on the mind of Jesus as he was teaching the disciples. By this time, even though he was popular, many were also falling away from him. Some of the Pharisees began to question his authority charging him with blasphemy, madness, and sorcery. We saw that the Pharisees and the Herodians were plotting to kill Jesus. Eventually one of his own disciples would betray him. How could any kind of movement survive this kind of environment? This parable explains why different people react to the gospel in different ways. And in spite of the various reactions, the Church will thrive.

The sower went out to sow his seed. And he just slung seed everywhere. He did not take care, no careful, systematic farmer here, he just slung his seed. The rabbis of the day taught that the farmer should be careful when sowing seed. But this farmer was so committed to producing a harvest that he sowed seed anywhere with the hope that good ground might be found. His seed fell onto four kinds of soil. The first was on the footpaths. The farmer would plant all over and even spread some of the seeds on the roads that ran through his farm. But the seed was exposed there and the birds would come along and eat it.

Some of the seed fell on rocky soil. Here the seed sprouted but the soil was shallow, the rocks were just beneath the surface, the roots could not go deep and there was no moisture, so the seeds withered and died. Some of the seed fell into good ground and grew. But, in the dirt was the seed of other plants, all weeds. It was good soil, in fact, weeds will grow only in good soil. The seed of the sower grew up, but it was chocked out by the weeds and it never produced fruit. One commentary said there were 125 species of thistles in Israel that could choke the harvest. And it would seem that three quarters of the sower’s labor was lost. (Edwards, 128) But much of the seed fell on good soil and it sprouted and grew and it produced a bumper crop of 100 fold. This was an extraordinary yield, a sign that the farmer was a farmer extraordinaire, a sign of divine blessing.

Later, the disciples and other followers began to question him. Master, what does it mean. Jesus' answer is somewhat cryptic, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but those who are outside get everything in parables, in order that while seeing, they may see and not perceive; and while hearing, they may hear and not understand lest they return and be forgiven." Parables are to be understood from the inside out. Only the insider can understand it.

Jesus is speaking in parables because the outsiders have deliberately rejected his message. It is important that we grasp this. The hearer is given the responsibility to hear the gospel, it is up to the hearer to hear and understand. If we don't understand the simple gospel it is because we rejected it. Let us look at the interpretation that Jesus gave to us.

We are the soil, the dirt in which the seed is planted. And what happens to the seed has something to do with the kind of dirt the seed falls in. Back home we had sand and red clay that could grow nothing. But we also had the rich loam that smelled earthy and could raise anything. When you eat potatoes, you can taste the earth in it. The dirt here is often black, ages of sediment from the ever moving Mississippi River. And when it rains like it has for the last several months, it stinks, it is rotten. And yet, it too is very rich and provides a great base for gardens and crops and swamp vegetation. There are all kinds of dirt and many of the varieties can grow crops. But we all know about bad dirt. It is too sandy or has too much clay. Sometimes, for reasons we don’t understand, a patch of ground in the yard won’t grow anything. As my dad use to say, you couldn’t even raise an umbrella on that ground. What happens to the seed, depends on the kind of dirt it falls on.

Jesus says very plainly that the seed is the Word of God. God sows his seed very liberally, all over the place. He is not discriminating about where he sows the Word. It is for all people in all walks and stations of life. But some of the seed falls on people who simply out right reject it. He says Satan comes and takes away the word from their hearts so that they may not believe and be saved. They are so committed to their sin that they cannot believe. Notice that believing is connected with being saved. That is why so many people reject the gospel, they simply would follow evil rather than follow God. It is a deliberate decision on their part. It is heart breaking to know someone and to love someone who will not even give God's Word a hearing.

The second group is the seeds which fall upon rocky ground. They receive the word with joy, but it is a shallow reception. It is an emotional response. Underneath the shallow soil is hard rock and the roots cannot penetrate the heart. The first crisis comes along, temptation knocks on their door and they fall away. Our church rolls are full of people like that. They did not really commit themselves to Christ. They gave their hearts to religion or a way of life.

Third kind of seed is very common in the church. It is the seed that fell among thorns. These are the ones who have heard the gospel and seem to have accepted it. But they are choked by the worries and riches and the pleasures of this life. They bring no fruit to maturity. They will not participate in the life of the church. They are too easily swayed by the things of this world. They will always find something more important to do than to worship and serve God. They are more concerned with the weeds and the thorns. And I have to tell you, the text seems to indicate that they are not part of the kingdom of God.

You make a profession of faith and joined the church. But if you bear no fruit, is it real? And what does it mean to bear fruit? Well, seeds will ultimately produce other seeds after its own kind. It seems that the fruit here is a life that has characteristics of the original seed and, produces other seed. Christians act like Christ and produce other Christians.

There is the final kind of soil. It is good and deep and without thorns. This is the Christian who has heard the word and acts upon it, he translates the truth that he loves into action. Often they are criticized by those who are being choked by thorns for being too jubilant, too enthusiastic, taking their faith too seriously. But the one who takes his faith seriously is the one who not only produces fruit, he produces a hundred fold.

That is the way the kingdom is. The word is proclaimed. Satan is there trying to do his damage. But, note that there is a lot of good soil and the word takes root and the farmer tends to the crop, he cultivates and feeds it and waters it. Soon, it does more than just grow. It produces an abundant crop. That is the secret Jesus was telling the disciples. The kingdom will be fruitful.

So the real question this morning is, what kind of dirt are you? Are you the hard ground where the seed never takes root? Maybe the rocky ground where the roots can’t go and take up water? Maybe you are full of thorns and the things of this world are more important than the Word of God. I hope you are good ground. The place where God can plant his seed and when he cultivates it and waters it, it yields a bumper crop.