Marcos 4
Ray Stedman · Citado em PreceptAustin
Marcos 4
Stedman - The third condition of heart is represented by the thorns. These are those who hear the Word, but thorns spring up and choke it. This is what we could call the over-involved heart. There are three things Jesus details here which are thorns that choke the life-giving Word: First, there are cares, i.e., worries concerns. These are people who are concerned all the time over what is going to happen next, worried about the situation they are facing -- fretful, anxious, troubled people who do not know how to rest, how to leave things in God's hands but are constantly trying to work it all out themselves. These people Jesus says, are losing truth. The seed has fallen upon their hearts, but it does not take root because it is choked by the thorns, and they soon lose it. Second, there are those who delight in riches, who are caught up in the pursuit of wealth, in the Playboy philosophy -- constantly planning for their own amusement and pleasure. That is all that their life consists of. The life-giving Word, which could make a real man or woman out of them, is hitting them, but it cannot find root and grow up. There is no place left in their hearts. Then there is what Jesus calls "desire for other things," or what we might call "restlessness." These are people who are always shifting from one thing to another. James Michener wrote a book, The Drifters, in which he describes this kind of people, especially young people, who cannot stay in one place long enough to put down roots, but drift from one experience to another. Jesus says they are losing the truth of the delivering Word. They are choked by life. But then there is the receptive heart, the one ready to receive -- open and responsive immediately. (Seed Thoughts) Mark 4:8 “Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
Marcos 4
Stedman says this person represents "the callous heart. The seed is sown upon the beaten, trodden-down pathway. This represents people whose hearts are busy, who are not open, who have been beaten down so many times they have grown cynical, hardhearted, callous to truth. When the seed hits them, the birds come and gather it up immediately. (Perhaps there are people like that here this morning. You are here not because you wanted to hear the Word but because coming to church is the "right" thing to do. Your hearts are callous and unresponsive, and the Word falls on them as on asphalt.) What does Jesus say about that kind of a life? He says it is strictly for the birds! The seed will be snatched away by Satan before you even have a chance to hear it. C S. Lewis, in his Screwtape Letters, describes a man who goes into a library to read and meditate. His mind is suddenly opened to deep thoughts of God. Confronted with his own standing before God, he starts thinking in terms of his eternal welfare. Then, Lewis says, the demons that are assigned to keep him from discovering truth call his attention to the sounds on the street, to the newsboy calling out the latest news, and to the fact that he is hungry, ready for lunch. And that is all it takes. All thoughts of God disappear, and he is involved in the mundane affairs of life. And, from the point of view of the satanic emissaries, he is delivered from this danger of thinking about God. That is what happens to the callous mind and heart. (Seed Thoughts) Satan's Strategies to take away the Word John Piper There are two other kinds of soil where the Word bears no fruit. There is the rocky ground in Mk 4:16 and the thorny ground in Mk 4:18. Jesus doesn't mention Satan in connection with these. But we know from other teachings in the New Testament that Satan is very much at work in these soils to nullify the Word of God and make the hearers fruitless. So there are really three strategies (at least!) by which Satan takes away the Word. Let's look at each briefly. 1. Immediately—with Inattention, Ill-Will, or Ignorance In Mk 4:15 it says that he does it immediately. He does it before there is any sympathetic response at all. "Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which is sown in them." I can think of at least three ways this happens. It happens through people's inattention, ill-will, or ignorance. Satan works overtime to keep people from giving serious attention to the Word of God. He may keep you up late Saturday night so that you can't stay awake during the sermon or Sunday School. He may put a dozen different distractions around you in the service to take your mind away from the message. He may send thoughts into your mind (ED: Eph 6:16b+ Note the antidote/defense is found in the first clause in this same verse!) about tomorrow's meeting with your supervisor. If he can only distract you so that the sounds coming out of the preacher's mouth go in one ear and out the other, he will have successfully taken away the Word of God and made it ineffectual for you (ED: cf James 1:25+ = contrast "forgetful hearer but an effectual doer"). Inattention is his game. (ED: disregard; heedlessness; neglect; ATTENTION is the cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things. Attention has also been referred to as the allocation of processing resources.). He also uses ill-will. (ED: a hostile, very unfriendly, disposition, enmity, dislike) He causes feelings of aversion to block the Word. These feelings might be against the preacher or against his language or simply against the truths of the gospel. People may hear and understand exactly what is being said, but despise it. Paul said the gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing (ED: 1 Cor 1:18). Satan works to maintain their worldly sense of values so that the value of the death of Christ is as nothing. Satan gives people such a high estimation of themselves that the evangelical message of brokenness before the cross for our sin is disgusting and threatening. So the Word of God gains no foothold. Satan takes it away. Satan also uses ignorance. The work of Satan can be so thorough that his servants can actually lose the capacity to grasp what is being said well enough even to get angry about it. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:3–4, "Even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the likeness of God." When the glory of God is described, Satan blinds the eyes of his people so that they wonder what in the world is going on when spiritual people are deeply affected by this glory. Thus Satan takes away the Word of God. 2. Eventually—with Shallow Soil and Persecution But Satan's battle against the Word is not just directed against that first hearing of the Word. Even after a person has heard the Word and received it with joy, Satan does his best to take it away and bring the person to fruitlessness and ruin. Mark 4:16–17 describe this attack. "And these in like manner are the ones sown upon rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away." The reason I feel confident in saying that this too is the work of Satan, even though Jesus doesn't mention him here, is that persecution is mentioned and this is a key strategy of Satan elsewhere in the New Testament. For example, when Paul heard that the Thessalonian Christians were being persecuted, he chalked it up to the devil and said, "For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent that I might know your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and that our labor would be in vain." (1 Th 3:5+) It's clear that Paul saw persecution as a work of Satan that could destroy the gospel labor he had expended. In other words, the Word could be taken away. Just because Satan is not able to keep everyone from responding joyfully to the Word of God, doesn't mean he gives up on those people. He brings many of them to ruin by keeping their soil shallow and battering them with hard times so that they fall for the lie that the Word of God is not worth the trouble it brings. And so Satan takes away the Word of God even after it has gained a little toehold. 3. Eventually—with Prosperity If persecution doesn't look like it will work, Satan will try prosperity. This is his third strategy for taking away the Word and making people fruitless. Verses 18–19 describe this strategy: "And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the deceit of riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful." Ephesians 2:2–3+ teaches that when people follow Satan they are not dragged along against their desires, but are giving in to their ungodly desires. Satan takes away the Word by making us feel that if we hold fast to the Word, we will have to give up something better. He is the great deceiver. And in America he majors not on soil 2 but on soil 3. He doesn't snatch the Word as much by the threat of persecution (ED: AS IN PLACES LIKE INDIA AND MUSLIM NATIONS WHERE A PERSON'S LIFE MAY BE AT STAKE IF THEY RECEIVE THE WORD OF THE GOSPEL!) as by the deceptive promise that things will go better if you don't get fanatical about the Word of God. And so thousands of people who had made a start with the Word of God give in to his lies and have the Word choked out of their lives. In summary, Satan has three strategies to take away the Word of God. First, he often acts immediately as soon as the Word is heard to make people inattentive, or cause them to feel ill-will, or to simply be so ignorant of spiritual reality they can't grasp what's being said. Second, he comes in after the Word has been received with joy and attacks it with hard times. He convinces some that holding fast to the Word is not worth the trouble. Third, he comes in where the Word has begun to take root and strangles it with the lie that too many good things are being sacrificed. (Read the rest of Dr Piper's message as he discusses 3 strategies to fight the enemy's 3 strategies). Mark 4:16 “In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; NET Mark 4:16 These are the ones sown on rocky ground: As soon as they hear the word, they receive it with joy. GNT Mark 4:16 καὶ οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη σπειρόμενοι, οἳ ὅταν ἀκούσωσιν τὸν λόγον εὐθὺς μετὰ χαρᾶς λαμβάνουσιν αὐτόν, NLT Mark 4:16 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. KJV Mark 4:16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; ESV Mark 4:16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. NIV Mark 4:16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. ASV Mark 4:16 And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy; CSB Mark 4:16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy. NKJ Mark 4:16 "These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; NRS Mark 4:16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. YLT Mark 4:16 'And these are they, in like manner, who on the rocky ground are sown: who, whenever they may hear the word, immediately with joy do receive it, NAB Mark 4:16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. NJB Mark 4:16 Similarly, those who are sown on patches of rock are people who, when first they hear the word, welcome it at once with joy. GWN Mark 4:16 Other people are like seeds that were planted on rocky ground. Whenever they hear the word, they accept it at once with joy. BBE Mark 4:16 And in the same way, these are they who are planted on the stones, who, when the word has come to their ears, straight away take it with joy; on whom - Mk 6:20 10:17-22 Eze 33:31,32 Mt 8:19,20 13:20,21 Lu 8:13 Joh 5:35 Ac 8:13,18-21 24:25,26 26:28 Mark 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Parallel Passages: Matthew 13:20+ “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. Luke 8:13+ “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. ROCKY SOIL SHALLOW HEART In a similar way - This means the comparison is made in a way that is similar to the first.
Marcos 4
Stedman says these "are the impulsive hearts. The seed falls upon them and they immediately respond with joy. The seed takes root and grows up quickly. The trouble is, they respond like this to everything -- food fads, new books, political leaders, whatever popular movement happens to be abroad at the time. As a result, their lives are so shallow that the seed of the life-giving Word cannot take deep root and change them. Consequently, the life which apparently is there withers away and dies. Jesus says that this kind of life is shallow; it cannot stand the heat. When persecution and tribulation come, immediately it is withered. They turn away and lose interest, and cannot abide." (Seed Thoughts) Steven Cole on the seed in rocky soil - This represents the person who impulsively welcomes the gospel without counting the cost. Perhaps he heard that following Jesus would magically solve all his problems and that Jesus offers an abundant life, so he emotionally responds. At first, he seems to be zealous for the Lord. He seems to make rapid progress in the faith. But then, trials hit. Because his Christian experience was based more on emotion than on truth, he has no deep roots into the Word. He falls away. It’s not that he lost his salvation; it’s that he never truly was saved in the first place. When we share the gospel, we need to be careful not to paint too rosy a picture. Yes, God freely forgives all a person’s sins the moment he trusts in Christ. Yes, God’s Word is sufficient for all the problems we face in this life. But, no, God usually does not solve our problems instantly or easily. The Christian life is a fight of faith, and while we are assured of final victory, the battle can get pretty tough in the meanwhile. We don’t do people a favor to gloss over the reality of what it means to follow Jesus. (Luke 8:4-15 Superficial and Genuine Believers) The discerning reader needs to be aware of a teaching among some evangelicals that says only the first soil represents lost souls and the other three represent saved souls, a teaching with which I strongly disagree, but present so that you are not caught off guard. I have been shocked at how many people have gotten upset when I taught that the first 3 soils are lost souls. Here is a short critique from Middletown Bible Church regarding the interpretation that only one soil is lost which is what is taught by Zane Hodges (former professor at Dallas Theological Seminary) and Joseph Dillow. They teach that... The carnal, barren believer is represented by the rocky ground and the thorny ground. The rocky ground represents a saved person who believes at first but then falls away from the faith. The thorny ground represents a saved but carnal person who is given over to the things of the world and thus is fruitless. According to this understanding of the parable the only ground which represents the heart of an unsaved person is the hard ground by the way side (Luke 8:12). The other three categories, according to Hodges and Dillow, all refer to saved people. Hodges explains his position on this parable in the book The Hungry Inherit and Dillow explains this parable in The Reign of the Servant Kings on pages 396-400. This interpretation contradicts our Lord’s clear teaching in Matthew 7:16-20 where we are told that "every good tree brings forth good fruit." Since there is no good fruit connected with the rocky soil and the thorny soil, how can there be a good tree? The root is corrupt! It is correct to understand all of the saved as represented by the "good ground." Matthew 13:23 teaches two important principles: 1) All those who are truly saved are fruitful at least to some extent (see Matt. 3:8-10; 7:16-20); 2) Some believers are much more fruitful than others. There is a big difference between 30 baskets of apples and 100 baskets of apples! (The Parable of the Sower) (In a separate note) The Hungry Inherit is the title of one of Zane Hodges’ earlier books. In this book Hodges sets forth the position that in Jesus’ parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:3-9), all of the soils except the first soil represent saved individuals. This view is quite consistent with Hodge’s teaching that a person can have eternal life but not evidence it in any way. (ED: READ THAT LAST SENTENCE AGAIN!) Hodges thus teaches that a saved person can be totally worldly (thorny ground) and a saved person may believe only for a time, have no root, and then fall away (stony ground). In either case, there is no fruit. It is interesting to contrast Hodges’ position with that of the Free Will Baptists. The Free Will Baptist position is that a true believer may depart from the faith and be lost forever. Hodges position is that a true believer may depart from the faith and be saved forever. The teaching of the Word of God is that a true believer’s faith will not fail because of the intercessory ministry of Christ (Luke 22:31-32+; John 17) and the keeping power of God (1 Pet. 1:5+). God’s Word teaches that a true believer may have a very serious lapse of faith (as Peter did) but not a total departure from the Lord, because "we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul" (Heb. 10:39+). (ED: ILLUSTRATION) Every believer is on the ship of faith, as it were. We may fall down on the deck and we may fall very hard, but we will never fall overboard. Our faith will never fail in a final way because we have the blessed intercessory ministry of our Saviour on our behalf, as did Peter (Luke 22:31-32+). The Lord prays for us, as He did for Peter, that our faith will not fail! (The Hungry Inherit) (Addendum - Hodges and Dillow teach that a "Spiritual Believer" will be the "Heir of the Kingdom" (this person's salvation is accompanied by works) and the "Carnal Believer" is a saved person who DOES NOT inherit the Kingdom (this person is said to be saved but his life is devoid of good works. In contrast James 2:17, 26+ says "This 'faith' is called a 'dead faith.'" see The Hungry Inherit) The upshot is Be a Berean (Acts 17:11+) and be very discerning when reading (any) commentary (including the one you are reading). Always check the comments of the commentary with the Scripture under prayerful tutelage by your Teacher, the Holy Spirit! Related Resources: What is a carnal Christian? EXCERPT - The key thing to understand is that while a Christian can be, for a time, carnal, a true Christian will not remain carnal for a lifetime. Some have abused the idea of a “carnal Christian” by saying that it is possible for people to come to faith in Christ and then proceed to live the rest of their lives in a completely carnal manner, with no evidence of being born again or a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17+). Such a concept is completely unbiblical. James 2+ makes it abundantly clear that genuine faith will always result in good works. Ephesians 2:8-10+ declares that while we are saved by grace alone through faith alone, that salvation will result in works. Can a Christian, in a time of failure and/or rebellion, appear to be carnal? Yes. Will a true Christian remain carnal? No. What is easy believism? What is free grace? What is Free Grace Theology? How ‘Free Grace’ Theology Diminishes the Gospel What is cheap grace? How can believers be in the world, but not of the world? Are Christians sinners, saints, or both? Do we sin daily? Is it possible to go an entire day without sinning? Can a Christian lose salvation? Does Hebrews 6:4-6 mean we can lose our salvation? Does Matthew 7:21-23 mean that believers can lose salvation? Does Hebrews 10:26 mean that a believer can lose salvation? Mark 4:18 “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, NET Mark 4:18 Others are the ones sown among thorns: They are those who hear the word, GNT Mark 4:18 καὶ ἄλλοι εἰσὶν οἱ εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας σπειρόμενοι· οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ τὸν λόγον ἀκούσαντες, NLT Mark 4:18 The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God's word, KJV Mark 4:18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, ESV Mark 4:18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, NIV Mark 4:18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; ASV Mark 4:18 And others are they that are sown among the thorns; these are they that have heard the word, CSB Mark 4:18 Others are sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word, NKJ Mark 4:18 "Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, NRS Mark 4:18 And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, YLT Mark 4:18 'And these are they who toward the thorns are sown: these are they who are hearing the word, NAB Mark 4:18 Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, NJB Mark 4:18 Then there are others who are sown in thorns. These have heard the word, GWN Mark 4:18 Other people are like seeds planted among thornbushes. They hear the word, BBE Mark 4:18 And others are those planted among the thorns; these are they who have given ear to the word, Mk 4:7 Jer 4:3 Mt 13:22 Lu 8:14 Mark 4 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Parallel Passages: Matthew 13:22+ “ yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. Luke 8:14+ “Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. THORNY SOIL CROWDED HEART The crowded heart might also be described as the divided heart or the distracted heart. In the first soil, the seed of the Word could not get in. In the second soil, the seed of the Word could not get down. Now we come to the third soil, not a hard heart, not a shallow heart, but a divided heart, where thorns were lurking and ready to pounce! So in this soil the seed of the Word gets in and gets down but there is no reception, no root and no room. There is a "rival crop." Related Resources: Give Me An Undivided Heart Integrity - A Whole Heart As Adrian Rogers says "this pictures the man who is trying to hold onto God with one hand and the world with the other hand. This is the person that is trying to grow the crop among the weeds. And there’s the deceitfulness of riches and all of these things. Now there is nothing wrong to have riches. There is nothing wrong to be concerned about the things of this world—in a right way. But anything that you love more, fear more, and serve more than God is an idol in your life. We’ve already talked about that. And you can’t hold onto God with one hand and this world with the other. You just can’t do it. You cannot do it. (ED: READ Mt 6:24+) You’ve got to repent. And if you try to grow that crop among weeds, then the weeds are going to win. Now that doesn’t mean that you have to live a perfect life in order to be saved, because none of us do. But it does mean: “Except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3+) There is a divided heart, and “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:8+) THOUGHT - How do you remove the weeds? Did you see Dr Rogers' call to obey Lk 13:3? That's tantamount to "pulling up the weeds," getting rid of the weeds in your heart! Many today say you don't need to "pull the weeds" in order to be saved. They are "dead" wrong! Jesus says otherwise "“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the Gospel.” (Mk 1:15+). And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns - And others refers to other souls and the particular type of soil that characterizes their hearts. The seed is the Word of God (Lk 8:11), the Gospel, which "is the power (dunamis) of God for salvation to everyone who believes." (Ro 1:16+). So even in this passage in Romans, the key variable is the response of the hearer (the soil). Daniel Akin - Theirs is a partial commitment which is no commitment because they are listening to too many voices and have their eyes on too many things. This life is more important to them than the life to come. Stuff is more important to them than the Savior. There is no real surrender to Christ as Lord. They find pleasure in wealth more than in Jesus. They find pleasure in desires more than in Jesus. John 8:31 judges them, “So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,” This soil is easily distracted. (Mark 4:1-20 Do You Have Ears That Hear?)
Marcos 4
Stedman - As Jesus draws the picture, this farmer goes out to sow. It is hard work as he sows the field, but this is what he can do. But then he goes home and goes to bed. He does not sit up all night biting his fingernails, wondering if the seed fell in the right places, or whether it will take root. Nor does he rise the next morning and go out and dig it up to see whether or not it has sprouted yet. He rests secure in the fact that God is at work, that he has a part in this process, and he must do it; no one can do it for him. But he will faithfully perform it. So the farmer rests secure, knowing that as the seed grows there are stages which are observable: "... first the blade, then the ear then the full grain in the ear." It is only as the grain is ripe that he is called into action again. When the harvest is ready, then he is to act once more. [1 Cor. 3:6 “we are laborers together with God.”] (Seed Thoughts) Grant Osborne - The account is deliberately unnatural; no farmer would fail to work the ground or weed the plot. The point here is that in the final analysis the farmer’s activity cannot cause the growth of the plant. It is nature/God that determines the final outcome. (Teach the Text Commentary Series – Mark) Warren