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

 

 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 on 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 great 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 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 

 

Yesterday we read that, after calling and appointing the Twelve, Jesus and the disciples went into a house.  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 on 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 great 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!"  As Jesus' ministry has evolved to such proportions that now a great multitude was gathered to Him, He begins to teach in parables.  As in Matthew's Gospel, the parable of the Sower could be considered a "seminal" parable, a central means by which Jesus speaks about Himself and His ministry, a image of Himself.  My study Bible describes parables as stories in word-pictures, which reveal spiritual truth.  The word for parable in both Hebrew and Aramaic can also mean "allegory," "riddle," or "proverb."  Parables are widely used in the Gospels; they are images which are drawn from daily life in the world so as to represent and communicate the deep things of God.  As my study Bible puts it, parables give us glimpses of Him whose thoughts are not our thoughts and whose ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9).  

 

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.'"   Jesus references Isaiah 6:9-10.  My study Bible cites St. John Chrysostom as teaching that Isaiah's prophecy does not mean God causes spiritual blindness in people who would otherwise have been faithful.  This is a figure of speech which is common to Scripture that reveals God as giving people up to their own devices (as in Romans 1:24, 26).  God has permitted their self-chosen lack of perception or understanding.

 

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 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 Himself through this parable as the promised Messiah, the sower foretold in Isaiah 55:10-13.   My study Bible also notes that this parable indicates that while some might teach a person is permanently saved at the moment faith is professed (a view which was never held by the historic Church), the teaching of Jesus is clear that it is possible to receive the word with gladness, but endure only for a time.

 

What is faith?  What is rootedness?  One thing we can observe through Jesus' use and explanation of this parable is that, above all else, what He prizes as described in the parable is endurance.  That is, that we endure in our faith, we persist through all things in the practice of and in clinging to our faith.  This is a powerful truth, and one that we have to come to recognize as essential to the Gospels and to the ministry of Jesus.  In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus teaches that His followers "will be hated by all for My name's sake" but "he who endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10:22).   Mark 13:13 teaches precisely the same thing.  In Matthew's chapter 24, when He speaks of the end times, He repeats this phrase, "But he who endures to the end shall be saved" (verse 13).  In Luke's Gospel, Jesus explains the metaphor of the seed that falls on stony ground by saying that these "believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away" (Luke 8:13).   In the Epistle of James, James uses Luke's language of temptation and endurance:  "Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (James 1:12).  So, we are repeatedly given admonitions about endurance in our faith, and this parable above all teaches us about endurance and the kinds of things we might be called upon to endure in faithfulness.  In today's reading from Mark, Jesus describes various reasons why our endurance in faith might falter:  when Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts; or when tribulation or persecution arises for the word's sake; or when  the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word.   We're struck by this language that reminds us of the struggles of endurance in marriage, through difficulties, illness, setbacks or changes in financial matters, family struggles, and so on.  It's no accident that Christ calls Himself the Bridegroom, for endurance in our faith is similar to the things one must endure in a lasting marriage:  tribulation (even persecution), temptations, worldly care, the deceitfulness of wealth, desires for other things, and the influence of evil which seeks to destroy loving relations.  But this Bridegroom endures forever, and so we may be rooted in Him through everything else that comes to us in the course of our lives.  Through Him, as in a good marriage, we may draw strength, and faithfulness when we falter, and love that is always there -- for He is worthy of our faith and of our efforts, even tribulation and difficulties, and what He asks of us is our endurance with Him.   For even if all else falls away, His word remains, and He remains with us.