Behold, a sower went out to sow

 And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that

'Seeing they may see and not perceive,
And hearing they may hear and not understand;
Lest they should turn,
And their sins be forgiven them.'"

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among the thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."

- Mark 4:1-20

On Saturday, we read that Jesus and the disciples entered  into a house, upon their return from the mountain where He chose the Twelve.  Then the multitude came together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.  But when His own people heard about this, they went out to lay hold of Him, for they said, "He is out of His mind."  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He has Beelzebub," and, "By the ruler of the demons He casts out demons."  So He called them to Himself and said to them in parables:  "How can Satan cast out Satan?  If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand.  And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.  And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but has an end.  No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man.  And then he will plunder his house.  Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" -- because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."  Then His brothers and His mother came, and standing outside they sent to Him, calling Him.  And a multitude was sitting around Him; and they said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are outside seeking You."  But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"  And he looked around in a circle at those who sat about Him, and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!  For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother."

  And again He began to teach by the sea.  And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.  Again, Mark's Gospel gives us the details that emphasize the great and growing popularity of Jesus' ministry.  It's like a kind of innovation that He has to speak inside of a boat, so that His audience can stand at the shore and hear Him speak.  We remember from Friday's reading that so many wanted to touch Him as He preached near the sea that they were afraid He'd be crushed.

  Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:  "Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"  It's not an accident nor coincidence that as the crowds grow, Jesus begins to teach in parables.  My study bible calls parables "stories in word-pictures, revealing spiritual truth."   The Aramaic and Hebrew words for parable also mean "allegory," "riddle," or "proverb."  Jesus' parables are teachings done by stories drawn from the daily lives of His audience.   In Greek, the word for parable means "close by" and also "cast" (as in the action of casting a net) -- it's an illustration of a truth via allegory or story.  In that sense, the simple parable reveals a deep mystery of the Kingdom.  Jesus sets out stories to draw people in; but in the multitudes of the great population, the parable draws those with "ears to hear."  Here we are given the great parable of the Sower, a sort of "landmark" in the Gospels, the one that introduces the work of the Sower.

But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.  And He said to them, "To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that  'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.'"   My study bible says that Jesus' statement that" to those who are outside, all things come in parables" could also be translated as saying, ". . . all things come in riddles."  He draws in listeners depending upon their own internal spiritual response to the parables, the stories He teaches.  Here, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10, demonstrating the essential quality of people's own receptivity for this message.  My study bible says that Isaiah's message in the Old Testament was to open the eyes of Israel to the acts of God, and in a similar sense Jesus' mission is intended to do the same:  to open the eyes and ears to truth and lead them to produce fruits of righteousness.

And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?  How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown.  When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.  These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time.  Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake, immediately they stumble.  Now these are the ones sown among the thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit:  some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."  Jesus reveals the truth of the parable to those with a true interest in the Kingdom, His disciples.  He is the Sower, He's revealed as the promised Messiah foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13, in which God's word is spoken of in parable or allegory as "seed to the sower."

Parables are important to consider in terms of what they tell us about spiritual understanding.  We're expected to have something within us that constitutes a response to the parable.  That is, a parable isn't like a teaching in school, where we're expected to simply learn certain subjects.  My study bible tells us that "the truth communicated by Jesus' parables . . . is not evident to all who hear them.  The listener must have spiritual ears to hear, and even then not all have the same degree of understanding."  It adds, "People are responsible for their own lack of receptivity:  having grown dull and insensitive they are unwilling to accept the message of the parables."  Jesus draws on something that is already deep within us.  It's a kind of longing and loyalty for our Creator, a response to love -- the love of God and God's grace and mercy that is already there.  It's as if there's an open door, one that leads to greater and deeper mysteries, but somehow we have to respond from something within ourselves, something that wants what's on offer and can accept where it leads.  Parables open us up to deeper truths.  They reveal mysteries of the Kingdom, even the identity of the Christ here who's not yet openly revealed (except perhaps by the demons).  Jesus is preparing the crowds, seasoning out those who will follow and those who will not, those who are capable of grasping His word and message of the Kingdom, the good news.  The Sower sows the word, and really each of us at any time may be those on any kind of ground.  But the really important, essential message here is about fertility and persistence:  the acceptance of this word comes in those who are loyal through all things, who don't give up, who endure, and produce spiritual fruit.  He wants those to come to Him through response of love, and not by dragging or pulling.  My study bible says, "Insight into God's Kingdom does not come simply through an intellectual understanding of the parables.  Spiritual enlightenment is essentially a communication of faith in the Person, words, and deeds of the Lord Jesus Christ."  He who has ears to hear, let him hear!