Words'nTone

This is the concluding post to The parable of the Sower who sows.

He began to teach again by the sea and such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land.  And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, “Listen to this!  Behold, the sower went out to sow…

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The reality painted in the parable
In the story thus far (chps 1-3), Mark has made it plain that his narrative revolves around three interrelated themes:

1. Jesus Christ, the Son of God (1:1, 3:11; cf. 4:41);



2. His Gospel (i.e., the Word about the Gospel of the Kingdom of God; 1:1, 14-15; cf. 4:11);



3. His activity (i.e., His sowing the Word of the arrival of the Kingdom of God; 1:16-3:12).

This is clear from the bookend references to Jesus as the Son of God in 1:1 and 3:11.  The summary of Jesus’ mission in 1:14-15 affirms this theme and, at the same time calls the reader to further understand our discipleship relationship to Jesus and our commitment to His mission:

Now after John [the Baptist] had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

Mark clearly sets out his narrative of Jesus’ activity, moving from popularity to potential arrest, and even His own family thinking He had “lost His senses” (3:21).  In the end, we are left with the supposed “insiders” of the Jewish world declaring Jesus to be possessed of Satan.  The reality of Jesus and His mission being painted for us is, to say the least, not productive and at the worse, failing.  Then we move into a series of strikingly similar parables of failure and mysterious growth (chp 4).  We are disposed not to see the similarities because we isolate the parables from their place in the narrative and treat them as independent, containing their own word.  But once returned to the context, these parables amplify Mark’s theme.

Furthermore, rather than concentrating on the soils as ends in themselves, they are simply the places where the Sower sows his seed—where Jesus proclaims His Word of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.  One would think that the Master-Sower would be wise and know something about farming, about sowing seed.  But that is not the picture painted by Jesus and recorded by Mark.  No.  The Sower is seen as lavishly spreading His seed, almost carelessly, in places that appear to be unproductive and produce poor results.  Why is He not more careful with His seed?  Why is some wasted on the beaten-down paths?  Why is He spreading seed on rocky and thorny ground?  He looks unwise, unskilled.  He should know better than to waste His seed.  Three-fourths of the places where the Sower sows His seed offer only a failed crop.  But what looks like an unpromising beginning is vindicated by the three-fold, bumper crop of fruit producing “thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold” (vv 8, 20).

This parable paints the reality of discipleship and the disciple-sower’s shared mission in the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and of Jesus Christ, the Son of God: obstacles will arise, God will seem unwise in how He works, the mission will appear a failure, yet there is the promise that vindication will come, a plentiful harvest will eventually emerge.

But there is more to “hear”
The parable is not only about trusting in the Master-Sower and the promise of a plentiful harvest, it is also indicative of the nature of Jesus’ mission and the nature of discipleship.  The disciples—those with “ears to hear”—are expected to carry on the same mission in the same way: disciples are to sow the Word of the Gospel indiscriminately, lavishly, even on ground that is shallow, rocky and thorny.  Disciples are to follow the Master-Sower into places where, by all appearances seem improper and unripe for a plentiful harvest.  The lamp of the light of the Gospel is not to be put under a basket (4:21).  We are to hear that nothing is hidden (i.e., the mystery of the Gospel), but that it will eventually be revealed (i.e., the promise of the plentiful harvest, the victorious Kingdom of God).

Careful what you “listen to”
Following Mark’s rhetorical and narrative clues, hearing the parable of the Sower who sows and heeding the warnings should cause our ears to perk up at the restatement of “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear” in 4:23.  Jesus is repeating his caveat, His warning.  In light of our interpretation of the parable of the Sower who sowed, we should hear the warning in 4:24-25 with a new, profound respect:

And He was saying to them, “Take care what you listen to.  By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.  For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him” (24-25).

The command to “listen” (to “hear”) is repeated (v 24).  The reference to “measure” links us back to the farming and sowing metaphors.  He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly.  In other words, the one who hears this parable will sow lavishly; the disciple-sower will measure out more seed to spread, carelessly, abundantly, without regard to where He is sowing.  The more the disciple-sower measures out his seed, the more will be given (harvest?; reward?); and the one who does not spread seed lavishly will come up deficient, lacking (“outside?”).  Perhaps, even unforgiven (see warning in v 12), for the warning is not for the “soils,” but for those who are to “hear” the parable and following the Master-Sower.

The remaining two parables
The remaining two parables in chapter 4 support this interpretation and understanding of the parable of the Sower who sows.  The first follow-up parable describes the Kingdom of God like a man who casts seed (his responsibility), but yet discovers that seed sprouting and growing and producing a crop outside of his control.  Mark records Jesus’ words:

And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; and he goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows--how, he himself does not know.  The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come” (vv 26-29).

The nature of the Kingdom of God is further portrayed and its significance to discipleship is enhanced in the last parable in chapter 4:

And He said, “How shall we picture the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it?  It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smaller than all the seeds that are upon the soil, yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and forms large branches; SO THAT THE BIRDS OF THE AIR can NEST UNDER ITS SHADE” (vv 30-32).

This parable enlarges how we are to understand the Kingdom of God and the mission of sowing.  Jesus draws upon an Old Testament text from Daniel that described the protective nature of God’s rule and how the king of Babylon’s kingdom was to parallel that same protectiveness for its citizenry.  This parable of the seeming small, modest appearance of the work of the Kingdom of God parallels and is similar to the wasteful, seeming careless spread of the seed (spread of the Word).  Then, like the plentiful three-fold harvest, the portrait of the Kingdom here is one of expansiveness, far-reaching.  The spread of the Kingdom, although small in appearance, will eventually encompass many who will find protection, safety, and nurture within its domain.

Wasteful sowing, bad soil, and surprising harvests (Mark 5)
Keep reading.  Listen to what comes next after the sowing parables.  Chapter 5 offers a continuation of the “sowing” theme, that is, the spreading of the Gospel of the Kingdom through Jesus’ own activities.  We leave the sowing parables with the disciples asking, “Who is this that commands the winds and the waves?” Mark leaves the question unanswered, but readers know the answer:

The One who “hushes” the elements is the Son of God, the miracle-working Teacher, the Master-Sower.

Knowing this, we are moved to the other side of the “sea” (5:1ff).  This chapter contains three vignettes, highlighting Jesus’ ministry: the preaching of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God (as summarized in 1:14-15).  The chapter 5 stories portray the Master-Sower sowing the Gospel, and doing so in what appears to be bad, unpromising soil.

Immediately after the parables and the unanswered question of the disciples (v 41), Jesus and His disciples are confronted by a man with an unclean spirit.  This man and the place where he comes from represents, no doubt, very bad soil: Gentile territory, pig farming (which is anathema to the Jews), dwelling among the dead (i.e., “among the tombs,” v 3), and demon-possessed.  Nothing geographically, culturally, or demographically indicates good soil.  Yet, the seed through Jesus’ presence and authority is made known and, to our surprise, there is a harvest.  The man is healed, and publicly seen as “clothed in his right mind.” (Could this be a rhetorical slight to those who think Jesus both possessed and out of His mind as portrayed in 3:20-27?).  The once demon-possessed man is now called to be an “insider” to “report the great things the Lord has done” (v 19); the former man of the tombs is now a sower of seed.  Yet, there are “outsiders” who present obstacles to further sowing, demanding that Jesus “to leave their region” (v 17).  Nonetheless, sowing continues through the new “insider” (v 20).

The remaining two stories (seed, planting, soil, and growth) are concerned with a dead child whom Jesus raises and a woman with a hemorrhage who touches Jesus in order to be healed.  Both stories are encounters with things unkosher, bad soil—death and disease.  Jesus, the Master-Sower, who continues His sowing activities, touches the unclean and the unclean touch Him.

Placed in the flow of Mark’s narrative flow, these accounts of Jesus’ ministry become more clear as to their purpose.  They show the nature of Jesus’ mission and the activities of His sowing—that which the disciple-sowers are now called to understand and imitate.

What is its to “hear” the parable of the Sower who sows
Simply put: the one who “hears” the parable of the Sower who sows becomes a disciple-sower.  We are called to waste a little seed, no, a large measure of seed on all types of ground.  The “soils” are not for us to determine.  We will be surprised that good soil will be found in places where seed is wasted on ground that appears bad, potentially unproductive.  “Outsiders” who have harden hearts will not join in the sowing, especially any sowing on ground that looks to be infertile.  “Insiders” sow in places where “outsiders” live, encountering untouchables, death, and disease, in places that are culturally and demographically challenged.  “Insiders,” those who “hear” the Master-Sower’s call, will intentionally consider sowing on what appears to be bad soil as Jesus did (Mark 5).  “Outsiders” will seek to protect their territories and protect their established religious and political systems that ensure their appearance as “insiders,” but, in reality, they are not.  “Those who have ears to hear” respond to Jesus’ call of discipleship, namely a commitment to the Master-Sower and to imitate His sowing activities as disciple-sowers.

© Chip M. Anderson, March 2005, Words’nTone Rough Cuts
    Bible quotes are from the NASB, unless otherwise noted

    full Mark 4 Rough Cut...

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