THE CHRISTIAN’S NEVER-ENDING ADVENTURE
Jesus Teaches Us – Mark 4:1-9
Heard about a fella who thought his wife had a hearing problem, so he asked his doctor how to convince her of it. The doctor suggested a simple test: “When you get home, open the front door and ask real loud, ‘Honey, what’s for dinner?’; if she doesn’t answer, go to the kitchen door and ask again, ‘Honey, what’s for dinner?’ but not quite as loud; if she still doesn’t answer, go whisper in her ear, ‘Honey, what’s for dinner?’ In this way she will have to admit she has a problem.”
When the guy gets home, he follows the plan to a tee: Opens front door, asks loudly, ‘Honey, what’s for dinner?’ but no response; goes to kitchen door, asks, “Honey, what’s for dinner?’, still no response; goes over to the kitchen counter where she’s busy finishing dinner, whispers in her ear, ‘Honey, what’s for dinner?’ whereupon she turns to him and yells at him in an aggravated tone of voice, “For the third time, I said, we’re having roast beef!”
The key to becoming the disciple our Lord wants His followers to become is a listening ear! The Awesome Power of the Listening Ear! We must hear with our inner ear what our Lord says if we would do what He wills.
Hearing is not just about audible sounds but of understanding what is being said. In His teaching of His disciples, Jesus recognized their need for hearing His words as He spoke them, but also understanding what He meant by what He said.
Thus, Jesus got into a boat by the shore so the folks gathered in that nature-made Amphitheatre could both see Him and hear Him . . . He employed the method of telling stories to help them understand. When He finished teaching a specific lesson, Jesus asked them if they had really and truly heard what He taught them. – Mark 4:1-9 . . .
Aren’t we glad that Bible teaching can occur any time any place people get together - in a synagogue or out by the sea . . . in a cathedral or stadium . . . in a stained-glass sanctuary or in a strip mall concrete block enclosure . . . in a living room or a brush arbor . . . you name a place, there the Word can be taught.
Wherever the Word is taught, small groups are best, as it was with our Lord’s inner circle of learners who stayed close to Jesus to make sure they heard every word He spoke.
However, crowds can be expected to assemble anytime a famous preacher of the Gospel is in town. It had not taken long for our Lord’s fame to spread . . . so it’s not surprising that, on this particular occasion, the crowd is described as a “multitude”.
Aren’t we glad that Jesus has a word for multitudes of people! Children as well as grownups . . . city slickers as well as country bumpkins . . . female as well as male . . . Gentile as well as Jew . . . Indian, African, and Asian as well as Caucasian . . . rich and famous as well as the poor and unrecognized . . . the educated as well as uneducated . . . You name a category of people . . . All need to be introduced to Jesus and taught His Word!
Aren’t we glad someone introduced us to Jesus . . . and aren’t we glad that a dedicated teacher taught us the great doctrines taught by Jesus, as recorded in God’s Word by divinely inspired servants of God! Great Doctrines:
The Holy Bible, the LORD God revealed in the Bible, Creation, Satan, Sin, God’s Unconditional Love, God’s Son Jesus Christ, Redemption through the blood of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Church of Jesus Christ, Resurrection, Hell, Heaven!
Considering all the doctrines in the Bible, to which would you assign top priority - which one, or two, or maybe three would you say all people must hear with their inner ear . . . really pay attention to? Pertinent question:
Which doctrine did God the Father, at the baptism of Jesus, tell people to listen to? God said: “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”
God’s designation of that to which highest priority must be given? His Son, Jesus Christ: what the Bible teaches about Jesus as the Christ . . . redemption by His blood . . . who Jesus is, why He came, how to be saved, how to be one of His.
After all, as Luke put it, “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
At Christmas, we celebrate His birth and the glory surrounding that special event . . . Yet, there was (is) an ugliness overshadowing the beauty of it all, for you see, not all folks were (are) happy about His coming, nor did (do) people care about, let alone appreciate, the changes Jesus wrought (has brought about) in the lives of we who profess faith in Him and seek to live for Him.
Jesus was well aware of the skepticism, agnosticism and atheism existing at the time of His birth . . . all of that gained momentum once He set out to carry out God’s Will against the will of the “powers that be”.
Moreover, Jesus was keenly aware of the limitations of folks He would be counting on to carry on after He was gone. So,
To make sure His listeners understood fully the task of spreading the Word once they became His disciples, Jesus told an earthly story about something with which they were familiar to get their attention and to get across to them the multi-faceted implications of what He had called them to be and do. THE PARABLE OF THE SOWERS, THE SEEDS, THE SOILS.
Who are the sowers?
God the Father . . . Christ the Son . . . Disciples of Christ – parents, teachers, preachers, ordinary followers of Jesus going about their lives doing ordinary things.
What do seeds represent?
The Word of God . . . Words and Deeds of Jesus . . . Words and Deeds of Christ’s followers – words of wisdom, testimony, edification, encouragement . . . actions that speak louder than words.
What (who) do soils represent?
Generally speaking there will be mixed reception to the spreading of the seeds of God’s Word . . . varied responses . . . various types of responders that fit into one of two broad categories: productive and unproductive.
So . . . Disciples of Christ must understand that the task of spreading the Word is not easy - takes plenty of time, lots of energy, and ceaseless effort.
Thus, an underlying theme to all of this is: Patience! A farmer can spend from sun up to sun down sowing seed . . . expend every ounce of energy he can muster . . . tirelessly plough the soil until every square inch is cultivated, but he must still do what? Wait!
Without patience the farmer could consider himself a failure. With patience, a bountiful harvest will be the farmer’s reward! Which is not to say that everything will be perfect for the sower of the seed! Remember: There are four types of responders – three unproductive, only one productive! The unproductive outnumber the productive!
There are hard-headed hearers - like wayside soil, indifferent and unreceptive . . . hard-hearted hearers whose receptivity to the Word has become like stony soil due to the pride of life . . . mentally and emotionally distracted hearers whose lives, like thorny soil, have been taken over by weeds – the cares of this world – but, be patient!
There are receptive hearers; each one has a mind like fertile soil that listens attentively, discerns truth, prayerfully accepts it, seriously cultivates it, obediently responds to it by repenting of sin, receiving Christ as Lord and Savior, resolving to live a Christ-centered life in a self-centered world. There you are . . . !
“As you go, make disciples.” That’s our commission – and Jesus taught His disciples to make disciples by constantly, deliberately, and patiently spreading the Word. Our Lord said, “If you continue in my Word, then you are my disciples”.
Our Lord’s charge to us is this: Continue in His Word. Continue studying His Word . . . spreading His Word . . . teaching His Word . . . obeying His Word.
In the words of Charles Wesley: “A charge to keep have I, a God to glorify”! Amen.
