A Fruitful Life: Part 1
As we continue our study of Mark’s Gospel, we come to the record of Jesus’ teaching that’s often called “The Parable of the Sower.” You’ll notice as we read Mark 8:1-20 that the sower is only mentioned twice, once in verse 3 and again in verse 14. The main thrust of the parable seems to be the types of soil on which the seed falls. We could more accurately call this “The Parable of the Soils.”
When we study parables in the Bible, we need to remember they usually contain one primary message. In this parable of the soils, Jesus concentrates on the types of soil and how each responds to the sowing of the Word of God. How those soils, which represent people, respond, determines whether or not they will understand the mysteries of the Kingdom and the resulting fruitful life.
Jesus’ teaching in this text speaks to us right where we are, in the daily decisions of living. Let’s read this text from Mark 4:1 to 20; and as we do, you will see that Jesus is teaching us how to have “A Fruitful Life.”
This text reveals several key INGREDIENTS necessary for producing “A Fruitful Life.”
The First INGREDIENT is,
The Skill of the Sower
As I mentioned earlier, this parable is often called “The Parable of the Sower.” But of all the ingredients necessary for producing a fruitful life, the sower is given the shortest space in the text. It’s not that He’s unimportant. In fact, without Him, there is no possibility of fruit being produced. He must do his job well for a crop to be produced. While the main focus of this parable is on the types of soil, we must look at the character of the sower.
I find it interesting that Jesus begins by saying, “Listen, behold…” I remember years ago an evangelist who would periodically ask during his preaching, “Are you listening?” Jesus said to His listeners, hear! And He followed that up with “behold.” These are both words that command attention. They cut through the distractions we’re so often surrounded by. You and I should cultivate the discipline of becoming good listeners.
We see quickly from the context that the sower is Jesus. And He is not just ‘a’ sower. Some Bible versions neglect the Greek use of the definite article, but the New American Standard has it correctly translated as “The Sower went out to sow His seed…” Everything we see in Jesus’ life and ministry, from His introduction by John the Baptist to this section of teaching, is a picture of Him sowing the seeds of truth about the Kingdom of God. And, if ever there was a person who was skillful in sowing, it was Jesus.
When the Divine Sower walked the earth, sowing was done by hand. A quantity of seed was carried in a sack or a fold of cloth over the left shoulder. The cupped, right hand was thrust into the loose grain and then swung in a smooth arc to distribute the grains evenly across the ground. I have done this myself in my home garden, sowing a cover crop. It’s not as easy as it sounds or looks. It takes practice to get an even distribution of the seed.
As we observe Jesus’ life and ministry, He didn’t always scatter the seed the same way in every setting. But He always knew how to sow the seed for the greatest potential harvest!
Before our text, Jesus spoke plain...
