Mark 4

Ah, the kingdom parables again...

Well, now that these have been percolating through my mind for a month or two,
I have a slightly different take on them the second time around.

Three parables this time.
(Mark doesn't record the one about leaven.)

(hmmm... that's interesting, now that I think about it.
Matthew's gospel had a lot of Jewish stuff in it,
presenting Jesus as the messiah
that had been promised in the Old Testament.
This one is to all people, presenting Jesus as a servant,
and here he only uses the sower, the laborer.)

1) The first parable is a sower sowing seeds,
and it describes what happens to the seeds
in different types of soil.

2) In the second parable the sower sows seed,
the seed does whatever it does "he knows not how",
and the sower comes back and reaps the harvest.

3) The sower sows a little mustard seed,
and it grows into a world changing thing.

Jesus interprets the first one for everyone:

Mar 4:14 The sower sows the Word.

And he explains what happens to the Word
as it falls into different types of hearts.
It will either be snatched away immediately,
or will grow at first but fade from lack of roots,
or be choked by other things,
or be fruitful.

So if you have been reading along,
You have heard the word, right?

Which one of those results happened to you?

It had to have been one of those four.

but wait a minute.....

maybe you didn't really hear the word!

Jesus adds some very intriguing comments
about this new style of teaching.

Mar 4:11 And He said to them,
To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God.
But to those outside, all these things are given in parables
Mar 4:12 so that seeing they may see, and not perceive;
and hearing they may hear, and not understand;
lest at any time they should be converted,
and their sins should be forgiven them.

and if I am reading it right,
this one is even more intriguing:

Mar 4:23
If any man has ears to hear,
let him hear.
Mar 4:24
And He said to them,
Take heed what you hear.
With that measure which you measure,
it shall be measured to you.
And to you who hear,
more shall be given.

It almost seems as if he is giving us a way out,
a way to not hear yet if we aren't ready.

In other words,
up until now Jesus has been extremely straightforward.
He commanded some to follow,
Instructed all to repent,
and has been sowing the word
to all the disciples who have been following him.

But now the mobs are coming from every corner of the land looking for healing.
Maybe in their single-minded desperation for healing,
they don't understand what is really going on.
they aren't seeing that what Jesus wants of us
is more than a healthy body.
They just want to be healed.

When my five-year-old son attends a parade,
he is more interested in the candy being thrown from the floats,
he doesn't give a thought to the purpose of the parade,
or what it commemorates.

In the same way,
maybe Jesus began speaking in parables
so they wouldn't be held accountable.

I am coming to believe that
once you hear the word and understand what it means,
you are held accountable for how you behave from then on!

Maybe it is set in stone that once you have ears to hear,
and you've heard,
You Are Trapped.
You have to make a decision one way or the other.
accept or reject.

And if it is a basic truth,
in my mind, it can't be a wishy-washy thing
that changes on a whim.
Maybe it is an unalterable locked-in concept
that once you hear the truth and understand the truth
and still turn away,
you have sinned. (did I already say that?)

Anyway,
that's what I'm wondering if this verse really means:

Mar 4:24 And He said to them,
Take heed what you hear.
With that measure which you measure,
it shall be measured to you...

Maybe speaking in parables was a way to get the message out
to people who were ready and hungry for it,
and had ears to hear,

but was also at the same time a cosmic safety valve
for those who didn't realize what they were getting into,
for those who didn't have ears to hear,
and weren't prepared for the real Jesus.