Mark 4:24-25
And he said to them, "Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you and still more will be added to you. For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away."
If he really is the Son of God, why does he not say so plainly? Why so much ambiguity?
A positive response to the things Jesus is teaching now, amidst all the confusion and controversy, brings even greater understanding. And likewise, a lack of attention to it and all its details and especially focusing on the controversies and opinions of Liberal educators will lead to a greater loss. Jesus is saying in another parable that the candlelight (which represents The Gospel Truth about Jesus Christ) must not be hidden, for though they seem like they are secrets of God, mysterious things...in truth there is nothing hid from us if we're true to his Spirit.
Mark 4:22
"For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was anything kept secret, but that it should come abroad."
Friends,
What Jesus is saying is not a mystery. He's saying as you come to faith in Him, as his Holy Spirit is upon you, a seed is being planted in you. A miraculous revelation is being grown in you. And so, he wants you to "pay attention to what you hear", give it your best effort. Because how much of you that you give to it will be the measure of what it gives and grows in you.
If you give your preconceived notions that are untrue and unworthy of it, you'll get condemnation, confusion, and possibly even anger and despair. You'll become its enemy, and work to make sure that it is not believable. This preconceived darkness in you will not be able to receive the light or reflect it to others in truth.
In terms of the parable seeds, you're planted too deep for the Word to germinate properly in you. It's too dark when it should have been light. So, no growth can occur. It's never going to germinate and reach the light of day. It'll stay there in the dark and wither.
Mark 4:26-29
And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."
How the kingdom grows in you from its first small beginnings to its glorious end is God’s secret. And if it doesn't grow, that's not going to be a secret. The sin of deception that clouded it in darkness will become known. It will manifest itself in time and in ways that will yield a different kind of harvest. A dead withered harvest. The light (the gospel of Jesus Christ) that should have caused the seed (the Word of God) to flourish was instead like a hot burning sun that withered it because it wasn't given the measure of necessary nutrients and nurturing water (faith) it needed to survive in those droughts and times of doubts.
Be careful what you hear and how you receive the word. Be careful what you believe. Be careful what you say and to what measure you say what you say. There is a beautiful unconscious growth that is being planted in you. And it needs to be nurtured by a conscious truth and faith. If you sow to The Spirit, then of the Spirit you're going to reap. First like a small sprout, a single blade of grass and eventually with the support of good soil (faith and nurturing) the Word of God has its intended effect.
(v. 27) "He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how."
Impatiently seeking answers to the questions of faith and life will lead to the shadowy half-truths of humanism, progressivism, and despair, because the birds of the air are among us.
Look what happens when we aren't careful with the seed and how it's sown and nursed in faith.
Mark 4:31-32
"It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."
What do we know about the "birds of the air"?
Do you recall?
That's right, they represent the schemes of Satan. They are paganism, idolatry, humanism and other false teachers.
So, this seed's progress has been perverted somehow. It's abnormal growth. A mustard seed which grows into a somewhat large herbaceous annual plant, has somehow become a large tree. It's larger than normal and houses all sorts of good and bad characters. Satan has sent his workers to be among them. And remember earlier what it was that they did...
"Some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it."
Christianity is a term that was first used in Antioch. They said of Jesus' people that they were Christ-like. The term literally means one who lives like Christ, professing belief in the teachings of Jesus Christ. Now it has much greater and broader meaning today. It's often not at all Christ-like. How do you think that happened?
Militant groups within the cultural Christian communities perverted the system of being Christ-like and made caricatures of Jesus' work. They have opened up ridicule of the faith by their wars and dogmas, by their heretical views and political ideologies. And these birds of the air have stolen the spotlight from Jesus and made his light something dark and idolatrous.
This has been going on now for 2025 years. Generations of people who have been scattered onto the path and the birds of the air have been snatching them up. And yet God's Word still remains somehow. These parables speak to us about the transformation that is possible in our relationship with God's Spirit which speaks to us when we respond to God’s voice. If we can understand it and follow that voice, we'll hear Him clearly over the caws and cackling of the birds of the air.
This is probably not going to be a favorable interpretation for many. The birds some believe are representative of the inclusion of the gentiles into God's kingdom, drawing upon Ezekiel 39:21-22. For others the focus is more about the shade God provides for the birds that nest there under this unnatural tree. And still others focus upon the small seed that becomes a great tree. And they'll draw a conclusion about Jesus coming in a very small and humble state and growing his church into a great kingdom where birds of many feathers are nesting together. And all these conclusions are worthy of the text, in one measure or another, but I can't miss the point that Jesus used the very same words in reference to the seeds and the birds.
And I immediately remember that Jesus said,
Matthew 13:25-26
"But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So, when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also."
And I recall that Jesus cautioned that we should not weed them out for in doing so we'll end up uprooting the wheat as well. So, God created a huge tree from the smallest and most humble beginnings. And it houses goodies and baddies. And in the end, he sorts them all out.
Matthew 13:30
"Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’"
My final thought:
These parables are ultimately about the church and how it receives The Word of God. It's apparent that false teaching must happen. Jesus said it will and that it's not going to end until he ends it in the last day. So, he wants us to be conscious about what's happening and be careful in how we treat the situation. Guard our hearts. Keep faith with the truth. And don't hide that truth.