PARABLE OF THE SOWER: REVELATION AND RECEPTIVITY*

The so-call “Parable of the Sower” (Mark 4:3-8) is not an easy parable.  The disciples did not understand it (v 13); Jesus had to explain it to them (14-20).

Brief Explanation
The parable is about how people receive the Word/Presence of God in one’s life.  It calls for self-assessment.  For some (the path), God’s Word makes no impression; they are too hardened.  Some (rocky soil) receive the Word joyfully, but superficially.  When confronted by opposition to the will of God, they fall away from trusting God.  Some (thorny soil) others give some allegiance to God, but their worldly concerns and desires take precedent over God.  None of these soils/people bear God’s fruit.  Finally, others (good soil) openly receive God’s Word and Presence and entrust themselves deeply and fully to Jesus.  God causes their lives to bear fruit of righteousness for God’s Kingdom.

First Application: Regular Self-Assessment
Jesus challenged his hearers at that moment to stop all the whirl of life around them, to identify which type fit them, and to decide what they would do in response; that is to totally “hear.”  Would they fully commit to God?  I suppose these types of “soil-receptivity” to God may well express a general and rather static state of people.  I find, though, that I need this introspection daily.  I move through these soil caricatures day to day.  I want God’s Word/Presence to be so deeply rooted in my life that I am not shaken by the coercive power of unrighteousness nor lured and choked by desires of wanting something more/other than Jesus.  But, I still fail in these respects.  I need to apply this parable to myself every day.  (BTW: I would rename the popularly-called “Parable of the Sower,” the “Parable of Soil-Receptivity.”)

Explanatory Notes
A. The framing and linking of this parable indicate that it is a crucial one to understand:

1.     After the Gospel writer states that Jesus taught in many parables, this one is chosen for presentation (1-2).

2.     Jesus opens and closes it with the command, “Listen!” (3) and “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear" (9).  (“Hearing” in this cultural-linguistic context means that one takes in, engages with, and responds appropriately to the given words.)

3.     Between the presentation (3-9) and explanation (14-20) of the parable are what are often called “hard sayings” of Jesus (10-12) about “the secret of the kingdom of God” and “never perceiving.”

4.     Jesus says to his disciples, “Don't you understand this parable? Then how will you understand any parable?” (13)

5.     Following the “hard words” and the explanation of parable and are a group of sayings about revelation (21-25) which link together and back to the parable by the motif of hearing and the repetition of verse 9 at verse 23.

The framing and context of Jesus’ explanation shows the parable teaches something crucial about revelation:

1.     The “hard sayings” (10-12) and the sayings about revelation (21-25) bracket Jesus’ explanation of the parable (14-20) and re-enforce the message. 

2.     Jesus’ reference to “secret/mystery” of the kingdom of God, does not have a good English equivalent.  In the context of revelation, it refers to the way/will of God that is not yet known but will be made know in God’s timing. 

3.     In verse 12, Jesus is quoting Isaiah 6:9-10.  In that context, Isaiah is told that he will take God’s message to his people, but since they will reject it, their hearts (sensitivity to God) will be hardened.  By citing this text, Jesus implies that he is facing the same obstacle and results of Isaiah. 

4.     The point of verse 21-23 is that a lamp (think “candle”) obviously is not meant to be covered up, but placed where it can share its light.  So are the ways/will of God.  Still, person must have ears that hear. 

5.     Verse 24, which is confusing by itself, now makes sense in light of the parable: those who are receptive to God, receive even more; those who are not, become shut out in regard to God.  The saying captures an aspect of biblical theology about God’s self-revelation: those who receive the word of God, become increasingly sensitive to God; and those who refuse to hear, “harden” their hearts to the Presence of God.

Second Application: There Is No Neutral Response to God’s Self-Revelation
We always respond to God’s self-revelation, and our responses shape our “hearts.”  God’s revelation is relational.  Our response is relational.  In my assessment about what kind of soil I am (Am I being receptive?), I am assessing the state of my “heart's” relational receptivity.  If I am receiving God’s Word, then I am opening myself up to more of a relationship with Jesus.  If I am not actively hearing and receiving God’s Word, then I am creating a callousness that makes me less and less sensitive to Jesus' offer of relationship.  Each day I need to ask, “How am I responding?”

Lord, thank you that you offer Yourself in relationship with me.  Help me to always “hear” Your word fully every day.  I do not want to miss knowing You more and more.  Amen.
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*I have found in my teaching experience that students who were previously exposed to Jesus’ parables have the harder time understanding them.  In childhood Sunday School, the parables were reduced to platitudes.  As a result, those students struggled to go deeper.

CONFESSION IS IMPERATIVE: WHY?

 I read the following statement in a devotion today, “Nothing new happens without apology and forgiveness.”#  The subject was confession.  (“Confession” both in the OT and NT has the basic sense of acknowledging something.)  I suppose most Christians are familiar with, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1John 1:9).  Why is confession imperative?  It is necessary for cleansing/forgiveness.

I was reminded of a mystery of the OT atonement system, about which I wrote earlier.*  In that system, the symbolic pollution of non-high-handed” (inadvertent) sins that impedes relationship with God may be purified and the relationship restored through God’s forgiveness.  “High-handed” (deliberate) sins cannot be addressed.  Technically, a purification offering cannot be made for them, so there is no forgiveness.  However, once the people confess their sins, then a purification offering becomes acceptable!  (See Lev 5:5-6a).  The mechanism of confession is not discussed.  (Numbers and Leviticus often relate what is done in a ritual but not why, probably because the actions were grounded in a cultural symbolism system that was apparent to the Israelites.)  The amazing implication, though, is that confession “reduces” the level of sin so that it can be addressed through the atonement system.  The above observation lends itself to speculate on the theology of confession. 

From my experience, the psychological aspect of confession sheds light on the theological.  I recall an experience as a young Christian.  I was a passenger in a car trip with a friend whom I knew I had offended.  I knew I needed to apologize and ask for forgiveness, but I just could not get the words out.  The drive went on and on in silence.  Each time I was determined to speak, it was too hard.  It felt almost self-destructive.  Finally, when I did speak up, there was an immense sense of relief, and a healing of our relationship.  That effort actually was self-destructive – in a good sense.  I would propose this analogy.  My “heart” (the OT sense includes self-awareness, conscience, reflection, and volition) was “hardened” by layers of accreted callouses.  My act of confession, in which I acknowledge my sin and asked for forgiveness, was an act of tearing away a layer of the callouses of a hardened heart.  It hurt; but, this act opened my heart a little more to the Presence of God.

The theological implication to me is that the unrepentant heart of the person who commits deliberate sins is not in a state that allows for relationship with God.  God is full of grace and mercy and willing to restore relationship, but it takes two people in accord for a healthy relationship to take place.  The person who is truly repentant, a state present when confession is sincere, has the kind of heart that is necessary, one that submits itself in entrustment to God.  God always honors that "soft" heart and responds with forgiveness and restoration.  So, the statement that caught my attention today is correct, “Nothing new happens without apology and forgiveness.”  Confession results in something new, a new state of one’s heart and a new openness to restored relationships.

Lord, Jesus, I recognize that confession is imperative in my life to continue to walk with you.  It is hard for me to do.  I confess that I am daily prone to wander from you and at times deliberately do what is contrary to your will.  Expose all of those times by the light of the Holy Spirit.  Make me as uneasy as the time I spent in the car with my friend.  I want to see and acknowledge all of those transgressions before you.  I want to stay close to you. Amen.