MARK LESSON 8

     We will begin this lesson in Mark 4:1.

     Mark 4:1 "And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there
was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a
ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on
the land."

     Once before, Jesus had called for a ship to come so that He could
get away from the multitude of people on shore. This multitude was so
great that He was to get into a ship and cast out just a little way to
minister. There are a number of reasons why this is good. One reason
is that the voice carries better across water, and Jesus' voice would
be magnified with the water, so this huge group could hear.

     Mark 4:2 "And he taught them many things by parables, and said
unto them in his doctrine,"

     We see, here, that this doctrine was of Jesus. Jesus was teaching in
parables so that people could not receive His message in their minds but
through their spirits. The Holy Spirit teaches the Christians all
truths.

     Mark 4:3 "Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:"

     "Hearken" means give me your full attention. "Behold", here, was
telling those in attendance (and us, as well) to see with our inner
man. He in essence was saying, "You must look beyond what I am saying
literally and look into the spiritual to understand what I am about to
tell you". Notice, also, the simplicity of this message. These people
were all familiar with growing things and could easily relate to
someone sowing seed.

     Mark 4:4 "And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way
side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up."

     Jesus is the great sower of the seed (Word of God). Not all who
hear this Word will receive it. This is an explanation by Jesus about
the different way the world and its people receive the Word of God.
The sower is the same in all cases (Jesus). The seed (the Word of God)
is the same in all cases. It is in the way it is received that is
different. Jesus, Himself, would come back and explain in detail what
this parable meant, and it will help us in other parables to look for
the hidden meaning. Not all who hear the gospel receive it. Satan is
depicted as the fowl of the air. Satan has come to steal and destroy
the Word.

     Mark 4:5 "And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much
earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of
earth:"  Mark 4:6 "But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and
because it had no root, it withered away."

     All of us who have been in church for any length of time have
seen the type of person who is indicated above. An evangelist comes
through town, and he is so thrilled with the message he goes down
front and makes big commitments to God. In a few days when his
friends have laughed at him and he runs into hardships, he falls by
the wayside. On fire for God for a few days, but his fire went out.

     Mark 4:7 "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and
choked it, and it yielded no fruit."

     These are people who are trying to keep one foot in the world and
one in church. They still lust for the things of the world while
claiming to be  Christians.

     Mark 4:8 "And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that
sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some
sixty, and some an hundred."

     We see, here, Christians who receive the truth and live daily
upright lives. These Christians are in for all of eternity. Troubles
and lust of worldly goods will not turn their heads. They will follow
Jesus, whatever the cost. These are fruit bearers, messengers who tell
others of Jesus and add to God's kingdom to the best of their ability.
Some of them just get a few saved, but some of them get hundreds
saved. Perhaps, the different amounts have to do with where they are
located and how many they have opportunity to witness to.

     Mark 4:9 "And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear."

     Jesus was telling them, here, to open the ears of their
understanding; the inner ears. He was saying, receive these words inside
of you and think about it until you understand. These messages in
parables are not for the world to understand, but are to be understood
within us from the teachings of the Holy Spirit.

     Mark 4:10 "And when he was alone, they that were about him with
the twelve asked of him the parable."

     One thing we need to realize, here, is that the disciples, at this
time, had not been filled with the Holy Spirit. You remember what
happened to them on the day of Pentecost. Some of them had not been
with Jesus very long, and perhaps, were not even really familiar with
the books of the law. We know that there were more than just 12
disciples. There were 70, and by the time of Pentecost, there were 120.
These 12 were the closest to Jesus and were actually the foundation of 
Jesus' outreach ministry.

     Mark 4:11 "And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know
the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all
[these] things are done in parables:"

     The secrets of God are just revealed to the believers. Those that
seek, find. The Bible is written in such a manner that just casual
reading does not reveal the great mysteries of God. You can read the
same Scripture 20 times, and each time God will reveal just a little
bit more to you. I have spent about 45 years studying the Bible and
even in doing these lessons, I have seen things that I never saw
before. I believe the Lord reveals as much as you can handle at the
time. I have said this before, but it bears repeating. God does not
want us to accept Him with our minds. He wants our hearts. He wants us
to have faith in things we cannot see with the physical eye.

     Mark 4:12 "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."

     You see, if everyone could fully understand the Scriptures, many
would repent and come to God because it is the practical thing to do,
and not because they love God. This is not what the Lord wants. He
wants to be our Saviour, but He also wants to be Lord of our lives. He
must be the center of everything, or He will not be anything.
Religion of the mind is lukewarm religion. Jesus said He will spew us
out of His mouth if we are lukewarm. We must be on fire for God to
please Him.

     Mark 4:13 "And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and
how then will ye know all parables?"

     This is a very good question. The Bible, itself, has hidden
meanings throughout. It is the diligent student who does not mind
digging who finds the treasures in the Word.

     Mark 4:14  "The sower soweth the word."  Mark 4:15 "And these are
they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have
heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was
sown in their hearts." Mark 4:16 "And these are they likewise which
are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word,
immediately receive it with gladness;"  Mark 4:17 "And have no root in
themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction
or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are
offended." Mark 4:18 "And these are they which are sown among thorns;
such as hear the word,"  Mark 4:19 "And the cares of this world, and
the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering
in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful."

     We see above, again, that the Word of God never varies. It goes
out for all to hear. The difference in the results comes about by
those who hear the Word. We see, here, in the first instance where the
fowls eat it up. This message is never received. The message goes out,
but the person is too calloused by things of the world to even receive
it. In the second instance above, the stony ground indicated a shallow
person. He received the Word and may even come forward for salvation,
but the very first sign of any problems, he drops out. In the
third instance, the thorns indicate, to me, that this Word sown goes
into an area where there are many worldly people. In fact, many of our
churches fall into that category today. This person, instead of coming
out of all this worldliness, gets caught up in it and importance in
the community. These things become more important than studying the
Word. This person is finally overcome with lust for these worldly
things. None of these people above produce any extra members for God's
kingdom. They bear no fruit at all.

     Mark 4:20 "And these are they which are sown on good ground; such
as hear the word, and receive [it], and bring forth fruit, some
thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred."

     We can easily see that this fourth person is what we all need to
be. We not only receive the Word for ourselves, but go out and share
it with others and lead them into full knowledge of God and His
salvation. Some of us may not come in contact with many people, and we
may not produce but 30. Others who have an opportunity to witness to
large groups may get a hundred saved. The important thing is to bring
as many into the kingdom as you possibly can. Be a fruit bearer for
God.

                                Notes.





































                           Mark 8 Questions

1.  Why did Jesus enter into a ship to speak to the people?
2.  What help is the water to the voice?
3.  How did Jesus teach them?
4.  Why did Jesus use this manner of teaching?
5.  Who teaches the Christian all truth?
6.  What does hearken mean?
7.  What was Jesus saying with the word, "Behold", here?
8.  Why did Jesus speak to them about sowing seed?
9.  What happened to the seed in the first parable?
10. Who do the fowls symbolize?
11. What does the seed symbolize?
12. Who is the sower?
13. In the second example, where did the seed fall?
14. Why did it spring up immediately?
15. Why did it wither away?
16. Where did the third seed fall?
17. What happened to this seed?
18. In verse 8, the seed fell where?
19. What was the difference in the results?
20. What type of person does this represent?
21. What did Jesus tell them to do in verse 9?
22. Messages in parables are for who to understand?
23. When did the disciples ask Jesus what the parables meant?
24. Who is it given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God?
25. What has the author discovered about reading the Bible?
26. If God does not want our minds, what does He want?
27. Is it a different message that brings different results?
28. Which one of these four are you?

                                Notes.