For the next Online Bible Study lesson, I suggest reading
Chapter 4 of the Gospel According to Mark. At the beginning of Chapter 4, Mark indicates
that Jesus has moved his teaching from the synagogue to the seaside, where he
is followed by large crowds that press upon him so much that he boards a boat
and teaches from out in the water. The
rest of Chapter 4 contains a sampling of Jesus' practice of teaching in
parables. The first of the parables in
Mark is the extended allegory about a sower scattering seeds on all sorts of
ground. The other parables in Chapter 4
are brief similes or comparisons (a lamp under a bushel in verses 21-25; a
growing seed in verses 26-29; and a mustard seed in verses 30-32). At the end of the chapter (verses 35-41), Mark
indicates that "at the end of the day" Jesus said to
"them," (presumably his closest twelve disciples), "let us go
across to the other side." During
the trip, while Jesus is asleep in the back of the boat, a large storm arises,
threatening to swamp the boat. When the
disciples awaken Jesus, asking "Teacher, do you not care that we are
perishing?" Jesus commands the sea
to be still. "Why are you
afraid" he asks the amazed disciples.
Why do you think Jesus chooses to teach in parables? Doesn't it seem
puzzling that he explains the parables to his disciples, but he does not
explain them to the crowd? Why does he
use parables about seeds while teaching at the seaside? Which of these parables seems the most
relevant to your own circumstances? Do you have a favorite? Why does Jesus describe the sower as
scattering seed in all sorts of terrible locations? What are the implications for us? Why are the disciples so amazed when Jesus
calms the sea, after they have witnessed several of Jesus' healings? Do you ever find yourself asking God,
"Do you not care that we are perishing?"
I believe that Jesus uses parables to make people think about what he's saying. Really think, not just listen. I read somewhere that Jesus stands at the door and knocks, he doesn't say "Ready or not here I come!" Parables make a person reflect and ponder until it makes sense. They nudge you into understanding and then it becomes kind of personal. The disciples (in hindsight) were being prepared for the time they were to take over for Jesus and be leaders. Stories of farming at seaside locations also makes sense in that they are not familiar and so more likely to be remembered and talked about.
ReplyDeleteThe parable of the soils is most relevant to me now because I'm teaching Sunday School. I pray that I am properly cultivating young hearts and sowing seeds that will take root and grow into mature, faithful and fruitful christians. But I can't beat myself up about the unreceptive or unready"soil". I just keep working at it and pray that eventually all the ground is ready.