As we turn this week to Mark 4, we come to what is probably the most famous parable of the Gospels. The Parable of the Sower is found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke—each Gospel writer tells essentially the same story. Each also reiterates what Mark says in 4:13, that in order to understand any of Jesus’ parables we must understand this parable. Because the parable is so well known, you may already assume that you know it and you may already assume it is about the “soils,” which represent the kinds of people who respond to the gospel message. But what if it’s about more than that? What if instead of focusing on the soil, Jesus actually wants us to focus on the promise of the spectacular harvest? Join us this week as we take a new look at an old parable so we can understand the mystery of the Kingdom of God.
The Gospel of Mark is known for its quick pace. Jesus, as Mark tells it, does everything “immediately.” The picture of Jesus we get from Mark isn’t of a languid guru, but of a man on a mission. As we return to our spring sermon series in the Gospel of Mark, we’ll give special attention to the picture of Jesus Mark is conveying to his readers. For in Jesus, God’s king and God’s kingdom has come…and nothing can ever be the same again.
