Parables - 240304

SPEAKER A Hello. Welcome to let God speak. I am your host, Uriah St Juste. When Jesus was here on earth, he did many things, including preaching, teaching and healing. But did you know that Jesus was an excellent storyteller? Jesus told a specific type of story called a parable. Today we will examine the five stories that Jesus told a in Mark, chapter four, as we study parables on let God speak. Our panel today is Pearl Frahm and Alan Fisher. Welcome, Pearl and Alan. Please join us as we pray. Kind Father in heaven, we thank you for this opportunity to share your word with those who are listening and viewing. Father, I pray that your Holy Spirit will be with us as we share and that your same Holy Spirit will be on every person who is listening and viewing this programme today. May Jesus come alive through scripture, Father, and may we be drawn to him, to love him, to know him, and to accept him as our saviour and our lord is our humble prayer. In Jesus name. Amen. SPEAKER B Amen. SPEAKER A In Mark's gospel, Jesus often tells people to not disclose who he is or what miracles he has done. Bible scholars describe this as the messianic secret. This seems inconsistent with Jesus mission of revealing the good news of salvation. In the Gospel of Mark, there is a motif or a theme of secrecy and revelation that runs throughout the book. This particularly comes to life in the parables of Jesus. Our first question today goes out to Pearl. So, Pearl, tell us, what exactly is a parable? What does this word mean? SPEAKER B Well, the word parable can actually trace its origins from the greek word parabello, and that literally means to cast alongside. So, in other words, it's two things contrasted against each other. So, you know, Jesus uses. Sometimes he uses nature or everyday things to contrast and draw a lesson from them and teach a spiritual lesson. So let's read mark four, verse 30 and 31. And that says. And he said, whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth. But when it is sown, it groweth up and becometh greater than all the herbs and shooteth out great branches so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. So here we see a contrast between the process of cultivation and God's kingdom. SPEAKER A Wonderful. Now, I must confess that Mark is my favourite gospel of the synoptic gospels. And it is because of the way Jesus is portrayed and the things that the literary devices that he uses today we are in Mark, chapter four. This will be our study for today. And I always want to read the opening verses of Mark, chapter four, verse one and two, it says. 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 in 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. And the verses, go on, Alan. We see jesus here is teaching, and what he's teaching is something very important. He's teaching doctrines. He's teaching biblical truths. So why then did jesus choose to teach doctrines using parables? SPEAKER C Well, a story is always a good way of illustrating a point. And it's been described as like a window that allows people to look into the point you're trying to make into what you're saying and get a better view of it. And so in chapter four here, the parable of the sower, it's an excellent case study in parables, because jesus not only tells the parable, but he explains what all the symbols in it meant. And also he does something else. In verses ten and 1210 to twelve, he explains why he taught in parables. We read. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked him of the parable, 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, 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. So that was the reason why he used parables. SPEAKER A Now it seems that we are seeing the messianic secret operating here in verses ten to twelve that Alan just read. Pearl, why would Jesus want to mystify his teachings in this way? Shouldn't he want to open up what he's teaching so that everyone can hear and understand? SPEAKER B Well, in the crowds that were following him, he didn't only have friends, he also had enemies. And I'd like to read Mark three, two, and it says, and they watched him, whether he would heal him on the Sabbath, that they might accuse him. So here we see that they were watching him. They were trying to accuse him, trying to catch him out. And so therefore, he would teach in parables to try and try and not enable them to catch him out because he was working on God's time. Let's go over to John, chapter eleven. And verse 53. And there it says, then from that day forth, they took counsel together for to put him to death. So here we see that eventually they. They took counsel to put him to death as a result of his teachings. And so, therefore, to delay that process, he taught in parables. SPEAKER A Very good. So let's dig into the parable of the sower. Alan, what are the symbols Jesus uses in this parable, and what do they tell us about another reason Jesus taught in parables? SPEAKER C Well, we'll read the parable in verses four to eight, he says. And it came to pass as he sowed. Some fell by the wayside, some. And the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground where it had not 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 fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased and brought forth some 30, some 60, and some 100. So he uses the symbols here, the seed, the germination, the different types of soil, the sun, and the thorns that sprang up and the fruit that had brought forth on the good ground. And so jesus used the simple things of nature to teach the people the things about God's kingdom. And he drew the people's attention to the created world so he could draw their attention, lead them to God, who created it. Now, in Israel, the things of God have long since been replaced with man's teachings. And so Jesus drew them back to the true teachings of God by drawing their attention to the things of nature and the lessons they could learn there. SPEAKER A That almost sounds like the world we live in today. Pearl, what did Jesus explain each of these symbols to mean? I. SPEAKER B Now let's have a look. In Mark 413 20, it says, and he said unto them, know ye not this parable? And how then will you know all parables? The sower, soweth the word. And these are they by the wayside where the word is sown. But when they had heard Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts, and these are they likewise, which are sown on stony ground, who, when they had heard the word, immediately received it with gladness and have no root in themselves, and so endure for a time afterward when affliction or persecution ariseth, for for the world's sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns, such as hear the word 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. 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 60 fold, and some 100. So here we see Jesus explains it himself. SPEAKER A Very good. Yes, he gives us exactly what each symbol means. But let's go a little bit further. What do you think Jesus was trying to teach the crowd through this parable? SPEAKER B I think, you know, there's a lot of lessons that we can learn from this parable. And one of them, you know, that I personally take from this is that my heart is the soil. So I can choose which of these will be me. I can choose whether I'm going to take the word and make it part of my life or just cast it aside. SPEAKER A Very good. Now, Alan, Jesus is using these parables to teach about his kingdom. Let's look at today how God's kingdom is advanced. What are the lessons for the church today in terms of applying this parable to how we advance God's kingdom? SPEAKER C Well, there's lots of lessons we can learn from this. One is that even though the word is the same and the sower is the same, in each case we get different results. And so the problem is not the sower or the seed. It's the type of soil that the seed falls on. And from this, we can learn that different people in different circumstances respond to God's word I differently. And we also see that not all the seed grew successfully to a harvest. Like we'd like to think with our witnessing that we'd get 100% results. But Jesus tells us in this that not everybody's going to respond. This won't always be the case, but our efforts won't be totally fruitless, because there will always be some seed that takes root and that that grows. God's word won't return to him void. So there'll always be those who'll respond positively to the word, and that should be our motivation in witnessing to others. SPEAKER A Very good. And we mentioned that the parable is just like a story. And the greek philosopher Aristotle describes a story as a whole having a beginning, a middle, and an end. And these are linked by a sequence. We go now to a very short, short parable that comes immediately after the parable of the soil. Pearl does this parable, the parable of the lamp fit into the typical story. SPEAKER B Well, we see here in Mark 21 23, it says, and he said unto them, is a candle brought to be put under a bushel or under a bed, and not to be set on a candlestick, for there is nothing hid which shall not be manifested. Neither was anything kept secret, but that it should not come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. So here we see. No, this is not a typical story, but Jesus sometimes uses these simple things that happen in everyday life, simple household occurrences, to teach a lesson. And he's teaching a lesson about the placement of a candle and how that relates to his kingdom in terms of. SPEAKER A What we do with the light that we've received. Now, Alan, we talked about the messianic secret before, which is the idea that often in Mark, Jesus wants to remain hidden. How does this parable, the parable of the lamp, assist us in resolving the problem of the messianic secret? SPEAKER C Well, Jesus starts to give us the answer by asking two rhetorical questions. In verse 21, he says, is a candle brought to be put under a bushel? A bushel was a basket or some container they had that measured out, a bushel of grain. I mean, we used to talk about it in our country, didn't we? Grain was measured in bushels. Well, the obvious answer to that is no, it's not meant to be put under that. And the second question, also in verse 21, is a candle brought to be put on a candlestick? And of course, the answer is yes. God wants his light to shine, not to be hidden. His kingdom and his message is not to be hidden away, but it's to be revealed. SPEAKER A So Jesus here, for this parable, is stating that his light, his message, the gospel, is supposed to be revealed, not hidden. So that helps us understand how the messianic secret works. Now let's stay with the messianic problem or the hidden Jesus. I'm going to read from Mark, chapter eight, verse 27 to 30. All right, and let's see what we have here. Mark 827 to 30. Now, Jesus and his disciples went out to the town of Caesarea Philippi. And on the road he asked the disciples, saying to them, who do men say that I am? So they answered, John the Baptist. But some say Elijah, and others, one of the prophets, he said to them, but who do you say that I am? Peter answered and said to him, you are the Christ. Then he strictly warned them that they should tell no one about him. Alan, why does Jesus seem to want to remain hidden here? SPEAKER C Well, as Pearl was saying before, not everybody who followed Jesus accepted his teaching. Some of them were only looking for something to find fault and they wanted to put him to death. But we've also read in our last passage there how Jesus didn't want his message to remain hidden, but to be revealed to the world. We go over to chapter 14, and this is when Jesus was brought to trial before the high priest. Verse 60. And the high priest stood up in the midst and asked jesus, saying, answerest thou nothing? What is it that these witness against thee? But he held his peace and answered nothing. Again, the high priest asked him and said unto him, art thou the Christ, the son of the blessed? And jesus said, I am, and ye shall see the son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes and said, what need we? Any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy. What think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. And so the point is that when Jesus did ultimately reveal himself, that the result was that they put him to death. And so it was only when he had completed his mission and his time had come, then he revealed himself plainly. So this resolves this question of the messianic secret. Christ was hidden, but eventually revealed. SPEAKER A Amen. He reveals himself, and even he says that his message is to be like a light to the world. Now, if this week's study teaches us one thing, it is that parables come in different shapes and sizes. Here we move to a short, unconventional parable, the parable of the measure found in mark 424 25. Only two verses, it says. 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. For whoever has to him, more will be given. But whoever does not have even what he has will be taken away from him. Pearl, what is the message here in this seemingly unconventional parable of Jesus? SPEAKER B Well, there was a common practise of using unjust weights, even though it was condemned and prohibited in Leviticus. So Jesus is using this parable to warn them that, you know, those who come with honest intention to God's word, those who want to, you know, actually gain what Jesus is trying to teach them. They'll be given more. Yes, but if they don't, what they have will be taken away. SPEAKER A Very good. So we must be honest and sincere in searching the scriptures not to destroy them. But we want to discover Jesus. Now we come to a more traditional parable, but still one involving nature and seed sowing, a bit different from the parable of the sow. And it's found in verses 26 29 of mark, chapter four. And I will read these verses. And he said, the kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow. He himself does not know how, for the earth yields crop by itself. First the blade and then the head. After that, the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle because the harvest has come. Pearl, I have a question for you that might tickle you a bit. Was the sower here being lazy? He plants and then he goes to sleep, and he expects everything to just happen automatically. Is that what's happening here? SPEAKER B No, we see it. You know, the sower is a very busy person. You know, when you look at a farmer, they've always got something to do, the tilling of the soil, the planting, the ploughing, and everything that's involved in, you know, growing the seed and then the harvesting and all of that. So, no, we see here that the sower is a very busy person. Those who are sowing the word are busy. SPEAKER A Yes, there's a lot of work that goes into preparing the soil and even putting the seed, because the seeds won't just grow by themselves. If you leave them in the barn, you have to put them in the soil. Now, Alan, Jesus is teaching us something in this parable. What is his message for us here? SPEAKER C Well, this process of sowing and so forth was something that they were all familiar with in that society. But I think what he's teaching is that there's only so much that the farmer can do in preparing his soil and planting the seed. And beyond that point, there's nothing that he's capable of doing anymore. He has to wait for the seed to germinate. He has to rely on nature, and after he's done his part, has to wait for nature to do its part. SPEAKER A Very good. So speak to us, Alan, about again, about today, the church today, in terms of advancing the gospel, because Jesus was not only speaking to his audience, but he's speaking to us down the corridor of time. What is the parallel lesson for hearers today? SPEAKER C Well, just as the seed wouldn't grow unless the farmer planted it, we have our part to play in spreading the gospel by loving others and caring for their needs and preaching and teaching and so forth. But like the sower, after he's planted the seed. There's nothing we can do to make it germinate. We have to rely on God to do his part. Once we've done ours, it's all a work of cooperation. We have to cooperate with God and he does his part. SPEAKER A It's the Holy Spirit that's responsible for changing men's heart. Pearl. Jesus gives us a detail in this parable. He says, first the blade, then the air. Why did jesus include this detail? What do you think he's trying to say to us? SPEAKER B Well, I know, I don't know. Personal experience. Sometimes it can be very frustrating when you don't change overnight and you read, ah, I meant to be like this, so why can't I be like that right now? But spiritual growth is something that takes time. It's a process. And I think, you know, the same goes for others as well. You know, sometimes we'd like, well, other people, they should know it also. They should be, you know, whatever, whatever. But spiritual growth takes time. It takes time for people to mature from the seed to the blade, then the ear. SPEAKER A And it comes in a sequence. You can't have the ear before the blade comes. Now we move to our final parable for today's study, the parable of the mustard seed. And I'm going to read it from verse 30 to 32. And it says. Then he said to what shall we liken the kingdom of God? What parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the ground, is smaller than all of the seeds on the earth. But when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs and shoots out branches so that the birds of the air may nest under the shade. Alan? Jesus gives us the interpretation. He gives us the interpretation. What is the message for our viewers today? SPEAKER C Well, in God's kingdom, things usually start small. Just like the mustard seed was very small, I understand, 700 seeds in a gramme. It's very small, but it can grow into a big bush that was three metres or 10ft high. And it's the same with the christian life. Like Jesus started out with twelve disciples grew into a worldwide movement. And it may be the same with us. You know, we may start with just two or three people studying the word together, but it can grow into a great thing. A bit like John Wesley was converted in that little church on Aldersgate street, and from that it changed the whole nation. SPEAKER A Amen. And Jesus only started with twelve disciples. And today there are millions of christians worldwide. That's all the time we have today. Thank you very much for being with us. Stories are a great way to teach. They can make a lesson more interesting by appealing to our senses or even our emotions. They present situations that the audience can relate to and identify with. No wonder Jesus taught using stories or parables as we have come to know them. Your life is a story that has a beginning and you are now in the middle of, but you can determine how it ends by the decisions you make today. If you have chosen Jesus and he has made a powerful impact on your life, why not share your story with someone? We certainly would like to hear from you the story of how Jesus has changed your life. We are glad you joined us on let God speak today. Remember, all past programmes plus teacher's notes are available on our website 3abnaustralia.org.au. That's the number and the letters. 3abnaustralia.org.au or you can email us if you wish at [email protected]. God bless. Join us next time. SPEAKER B You have been listening to let God speak, a production of 3ABN Australia television. To catch up on past programmes, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au. Call us in Australia on 02 4973 3456. Or email [email protected]. we'd love to hear from you.