The Meaning Of The Parables
THE MEANING OF THE PARABLES
MARK 4:10-20
The seed is good, but the ground may vary in quality.
At this point in the chapter there is an interlude which relates how on a later occasion Jesus gave his disciples a private explanation both of the parables in general and of the parable of the sower in particular. 4:10 shows that the disciples of Jesus were a wider group than the Twelve.
The words of Jesus in 4:11-12 are not easy. The word “secret” almost means the opposite of what it usually means in English! It refers to the plan of God, long kept secret, but now revealed to the men of his choice. God’s plan to act in kingly power for the salvation of men has now been made known to the disciples, and they should understand what is taking place in the ministry of Jesus. But to those outside this circle everything that takes place in the ministry of Jesus happens in “parables” or riddles; they cannot understand what is going on. The result is that the prophecy of Isaiah 6:9f. is fulfilled; they see and hear what is happening, but they do not perceive its inner significance, and consequently they do not repent and receive God’s forgiveness.
There are two difficult points here. First, it appears from this statement that the parables—and indeed the whole ministry of Jesus—are meant to conceal the “secret” rather than to reveal it. But it is a biblical principle that “from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away”; when men close their minds to the truth, God takes away from them the chance of responding to it. The parables were meant to provoke people to probe after their deeper meaning: but if they refused to make the effort, and thought that there was nothing in them, the form of the parables would effectively conceal the truth from them. Second, it looks as though Jesus is here dividing men into two rigid groups: there are those to whom God has revealed the truth and those from whom he has concealed it. This, however, is not so. Throughout the ministry of Jesus it was open to any man to pass from the group of “outsiders” and become a disciple. The revelation in the teaching of Jesus was for all, and it was only the people who persistently closed their minds to his teaching who found their opportunity of understanding it being taken from them.
The explanation of the parable of the sower shows that the parable is an appeal to men to be careful how they hear the teaching of Jesus. The seed is good, but the ground may vary in quality.