THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER
Mark 4:1-34:
Parables by the Seaside:
Here a different method of teaching comes to the fore. While Christ had made use of parabolic teaching to a limited extent previously, it was not until this point in his ministry that he began to employ it as a major vehicle of expression. As crowds grew, as opposition intensified, and as superficial followers multiplied, Jesus adopted the parable as a means of instructing his own disciples, on the one hand, and of concealing the substance of his teaching from superficial and antagonistic hearers on the other. On this occasion he used the parables to illustrate certain characteristics of the Kingdom.
1. The setting for the presentation of the first of these parables was by the seaside, which presumably refers to the Sea of Galilee. Again the pressure of the crowd forced the Lord to address the people from a boat standing off the shore a short distance.
4. The soil by the way side had been compacted by the passage of many feet, so that the seed lay on the surface in plain view, and the birds came and devoured it. 5,6. The second area where seed fell was stony ground, which is not to be understood as soil containing stones but as rock with a thin covering of soil. The heat from the sun made this ground first a hotbed producing rapid germination and then a furnace that scorched and withered the tender plant.
8. And the remainder of the seed was sown on good ground. It is only reasonable to assume that the great bulk of the seed was sown on this kind of soil, and not a mere 25 per cent, as is sometimes asserted. That sprang up and increased. It was not the fruit that sprang up. These two participles refer to the word other, and hence it was the seed that was growing.
11. The mystery. In the pagan mystery religions, the initiate was instructed in the esoteric teaching of the cult, which was not revealed to outsiders. The mystery of the kingdom in its ultimate development is the full-orbed message of the Gospel (cf. Rom 16:25,26). The purpose of parables was to instruct the initiates without revealing the items of instruction to the ones who were without. This is in keeping with the Biblical principle that spiritual understanding is restricted to those who have become spiritual by properly relating themselves to Christ and his message (1Co 2:6ff.).
12. That such was the purpose of Christ's use of parables is further confirmed by a quotation from the OT. The citation is introduced with the Greek conjunction "hina" (that), which in this instance cannot have a resultant meaning but must indicate purpose. This verse is a free rendering of Isa 6:9, 10, giving the gist, but not reproducing the exact wording, of the prophetic passage.
14. The sower (v. 3) is not identified, but he obviously represents Christ himself and all others who proclaim the Gospel. The seed stands for the word, which is, as Luke explains, the word of God, or the message which comes from God.
15. The birds of 4:4 are representative of Satan, who comes to those who hear the message and prevents any germination of the seed. These folk merely hear the word, and that is all.
16. Cf. verses 5,6. Some hearers of the word receive it with alacrity. The appearance of sincerity and genuine joy is present.
17. The statement that they have no root indicates the superficiality of their reception of the word. They endure but for a time, or are temporary, which is a better translation of "proskairoi". The heat of the sun (v. 6) illustrates the coming of affliction or persecution, which soon becomes a stumbling block or a snare to them, and they fall away because their experience of the word was not genuine.
19. Cf. 4:7. The cares are anxieties and worries concerning the interests of this present evil age (world is an inaccurate translation of "aion", which refers to a period of time). The deceitfulness of riches has reference to the deceptive nature of wealth, always promising to satisfy and yet never able to fulfill the promise. The third hindrance is the longing or craving for other things, a general category including anything else which would choke the word and cause it to become unfruitful.
20. Cf. 4:8. The good soil signifies the persons who hear the word and receive it. A commentary on the meaning of receive is supplied by Matthew 13:23 and Luke 8:15. These are people who hear, who understand, who are sincere, and who appropriate the message of the Gospel permanently.
