The Power of God’s Word, Pt. 4
Jesus, His words are Spirit, and they are life (John 6:63). He is the way to the Father (John 14:6), and His words comfort, challenge, and cause change in the hearer.
We must actively listen, embrace, and respond to what His Word and promises reveal. This applies to everyone, both those who do not know the Lord and those who do.
For those who don’t know the Lord, the truth that He is the Savior of the world, and the hope of humanity, is often veiled by spiritual blindness. Some have never heard the gospel, but God will provide a way for the lost to discover Christ if they have a hunger for truth.
Jesus is the truth, and His Word is the truth. Begin by reading and following God’s Word. Many are blinded because they overlook what is clear in His Word and are swayed by culture instead of the truth found in God’s Word.
He is the Savior of the world, but only for those who believe. Obedience to His Word shows our allegiance to Him. Jesus came to make disciples—followers of Him—not merely converts to principles.
The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1-9)
1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” 9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” NIV
Jesus proclaimed the arrival of the Kingdom of God in Mark 1:15. Now, He starts to explain its meaning through parables, beginning with the Parable of the Sower.
The religious leaders, his family, and much of the nation were oblivious to the truth that Jesus was sharing. He was delivering a message about the establishment of God’s kingdom, yet his message remained hidden from them because their expectations were different.
They anticipated a Messiah who would create a powerful kingdom and overthrow the Romans along with other Jewish foes. Instead, Jesus described God’s kingdom as coming more like a farmer sowing seeds, much of which seemingly went to waste because the soil wasn’t suitable and couldn’t support the truth that the seeds contained.
Additionally, they misinterpreted the prophetic scriptures about Him. They were confused by the prophecies regarding both His first and second Advents. It’s like viewing two mountains in the distance; we may see the first one and part of the second, but we cannot see the valley in between, which represents Jesus’s First and Second Advents.
Many people today overlook the truth of Jesus and ask: Why is His coming delayed? Why are there so many problems in the world? If God is all-powerful and all-loving, why is there so much suffering and evil? These and other issues can be stumbling blocks for many, leading them to doubt Jesus or ultimately fall away.
Ironically, the demons could recognize who He was, yet His family, many supposed followers, and religious leaders could not. Why were they so blind? The parable of the Sower addresses the varied responses to Jesus.
This parable is essential for understanding the Kingdom of God. Truth should be believed and acted upon. As we listen to and obey God’s Word, truth gradually grows in our hearts and lives.
What is a parable? A parable is a short, memorable story or image, usually drawn from nature or daily life, which conveys spiritual truths. The parable is a “similitude,” a story to tell, containing a spiritual truth to be discovered. A parable is also like a dream with symbols.
In this parable, Jesus describes different types of soil and how these soils determine the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the Word sown.
Vs. 3 & 9 are all about listening.
“He who has ears to hear let him hear.”
Vs. 3 literally means, “Listen, look!” Listen and use imagination.
In the Old Testament Shema, Deut. 6:4, it states, “Hear, O Israel!” To hear means to absorb, deeply internalize, and allow the message to sink in to transform one’s entire life.
Jesus is, in fact, doing this—He is teaching them about the Kingdom of God, but not all are hearing.
Humanity can “listen” but not truly “hear” or “understand” what is being conveyed. The Word is proclaimed (seed sown), yet it must be heard (received) and acted upon. Simply hearing a Word spoken to you is not enough; faith and obedience are necessary to witness fulfillment.
Every person is given a measure of faith (Rom. 12:3); it is your responsibility to nurture this faith so that God’s word and His promises can flourish in your life.
Parables did not cloud the truth, rather they revealed the state of human blindness. To understand the Kingdom Truths, one must “pursue” God—not “resist” God.
Consider the words of Jesus later in Mark 4,
24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. 25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Mark 4:24-25 NKJV)
“…With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you…”
In the ancient world, people would bring containers to the marketplace to buy specific amounts of food. Bring a pint, get a pint; bring a quart, get a quart. Forget your pint, and you won’t receive your measure! One’s capacity to receive positions them for even more!
It’s like arriving at your local grocery store with empty bags—the more bags you carry, the more groceries you can collect!
Jesus is telling them (my paraphrase):
“You will benefit from My teachings if you actively listen, to the measure, or extent, that you pay attention to them.” And “as you do, you will receive more understanding than you could gain on your own.”
You and I have a responsibility to steward God’s Word in our lives. Through Christ, we have been made kings and priests. Therefore, we must strive to comprehend God’s truths and strategies.
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter. (Prov. 25:2 NKJV)
Furthermore, God wishes to unveil His purposes and mysteries to His people. What we gain through revelation and understanding can be handed down to our children and their children.
The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law. (Deut. 29:29 NKJV)
For many, the pursuit of God, His Word, and listening is lacking. Furthermore, humanity can “listen” but may not truly “hear” or “understand” what is being said.
The Word is proclaimed (seed sown), but it must be heard (received) and responded to. It is not enough to hear a Word spoken to you; faith and obedience are required to see fulfillment.
Parables did not obscure the truth; rather, they illuminated the human condition of blindness. To grasp the Kingdom Truths, one must “pursue” God—not “resist” Him. Action is necessary on your part to truly “hear.”
God reveals His secrets to His friends, those who walk with Him in sincerity of heart. This week, God reminded me of Jeremiah 33:3:
‘Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty (inaccessible) things, which you do not know.’ (NKJV)
God’s people were lost and in exile, yet God promised them restoration, hope for the future, and understanding as they called upon Him and walked faithfully with Him.
How much more for us today in the New Covenant age of grace where the Holy Spirit has been given to each believer?!
The Mystery of the Kingdom (Mark 4:10-12)
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’” NIV
Later, Jesus is alone with his disciples, and they inquire about the meaning of the parable. He clarifies that the mystery of the Kingdom has been revealed to them. However, for those outside, everything is expressed in parables—stories that obscure the truth.
But what about those outside? In Mark 4:12, Jesus describes their predicament by quoting from Isaiah 6:9-10.
“Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand…” NKJV
God was neither cruel to ancient Israel nor to humanity today. Hardness of heart (Mk 6:51-52) prevents people from truly “seeing” and “hearing” what God reveals.
The Kingdom of God is concealed not by God’s divine choice but by human will.
For those who persist in their human reasoning or selfish ways toward God, the parables remain “opaque,” causing them to “see and not perceive… hear and not understand.” God desires for them to repent, turn to Him, be converted, and forgiven. This principle applies to all truths of the kingdom.
Understand this Parable (Mark 4:13)
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? NIV
If you can’t understand this parable, how will you grasp the more difficult concepts? This parable provides insight into the unfolding nature of God’s Word.
The progressive aspect of the parable illustrates that possessing the “mystery” does not guarantee proper alignment with truth, God’s promises, and expectations.
We can grasp the mystery of the kingdom (God was in Jesus reconciling the world to Himself), but understanding the foundational truth of the gospel isn’t enough for attaining salvation or progressing in deeper truths of the kingdom.
God’s Word is alive and thrives in hearts that are open to Him. Relationships are essential for kingdom growth, and cultivating one’s heart is a vital aspect.
I will continue this series next week by examining the meaning of the parable of the Sower in Mark 4:13-20 and the progressive nature of God’s Word.
