As I process the fact that the
Christian life is not one of “sudden enlightenment” and “supernatural
bestowment of understanding”, I begin to find joy in what seems to be a
toilsome journey that is reading and comprehending the Bible. The Word of God
is designed to bring us fulfillment, wisdom, guidance and assurance as we make
our way through life. This year, I will read it. Next year, I will read it
again and it will carry different weight than before. Our goal is not to win
the legalistic race of checking the “I read my Bible, did you?” box. That denies
its purpose. Rather, our goal should be to the let the Holy Spirit enrich our
lives with the everlasting truth within the pages of Genesis through Revelation.
As I read, I will begin attempting to peel back the layers of the text – simply
to understand it for myself, so I can help others seek the same understanding.
At the church I attend, our pastor
referenced a path he suggests for those looking to go through the Bible in a
different manner then reading from cover to cover. His suggestion is this
order:
Mark (suffering and labor of Chris),
Philippians (Apostle Paul in Prison, working out the
Gospel and its meaning),
Matthew (the biggest compilation of the teachings of
Jesus),
Ephesians (Understanding Salvation),
John (Understanding the deity of Christ),
Colossians (Discovering the identity of Christ),
Luke (the most detailed of the gospels),
Romans (Understanding the gospel from the Christian
perspective),
Genesis
& Exodus (Understanding
the origin of God’s creation),
Galations
& Hebrews (Understanding
what it means to have faith and the importance) and finally,
Psalms &
Proverbs (wisdom and encouragement) throughout.
This blog series will be about the sections of
each book that I feel I need to flesh out in greater detail. I will use other
references and then record my own conclusion. I pray that the Holy Spirit will
guide me in this journey.
The Parable of the Sower: Unpacked.
Many challenges with understanding the
Bible is that you have be able to differentiate when something is meant to read
for face value or if it has a deeper meaning beyond what it seems to be on the
surface. This parable (referenced below) taught by Jesus is one of those that
can catch you off guard if you don’t pay special attention. As you read
through, the basic story makes sense. Jesus teaches the people about spreading
seeds. He teaches that some seeds, depending on the soil they’re on, either
don’t grow at all, grow quickly but don’t last or get smothered to death –
while others will grow and flourish. He then says, “Whoever has ears to hear,
let them hear” and is finished with his lesson.
His disciples are somewhat perplexed
as to why he teaches in parables. Jesus explains that most people won’t embrace
the Word of God right away or they’re too simple-minded to process the gravity
of His lessons. He goes on to explain that by teaching people simple wisdom, He
is prepping their minds to receive the good news – in a way they can process.
Parables were used quite often in Jewish circles to teach lessons.
He then goes on to explain the seed
analogy to His disciples in further detail. At this point, everything seems
easy enough to process.
The interest bit that throws a wrench
into the mix, is the section where Jesus says:
“[11]
He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to
those on the outside everything is said in parables [12] so that,
“‘they
may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never
understanding;
otherwise
they might turn and be forgiven!’”
At first glance, this passage seems to come
off like Jesus taught in parables for the purpose of preventing people from
understanding what he was talking about. And it seems like the secrets of the
Kingdom of Heaven were only given to a select few men. This isn’t the Jesus we
know. Why would He do such a thing?
(As I mentioned in the first paragraph, a
deeper look is required to understand the actual meaning. [Tip: Read those little footnotes.]).
Jesus wasn’t trying to keep anyone in
the dark. In fact, He was doing quite the contrary. The way to comprehend this
passage is found in the piece of scripture Jesus quotes to make his point. He
was quoting Isaiah 6:9-10, a passage
that prophecies Israel’s hardened hearts for God. Basically, it’s saying that
no matter what is done, those who have ears to hear the truth – will either
embrace it or deny it. There’s no need to “beat a dead horse”. Understanding
this piece peels back a layer.
When we read the words “so that” it creates that level of
confusion. “So that” what? Long story
short – if you reference other translations (i.e. NLT, ESV, etc.) you’ll find
that Jesus is saying He teaches this way, “so
that” the prophecy in Isaiah can be fulfilled. Which is, after all, the
reason Jesus came – to fulfill prophecies of the old testament and to bring us
salvation.
(NLT) Mark 4: 10-12
10 He replied, “You are permitted to
understand the secret a of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for
everything I say to outsiders,
[12] so
that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:
‘When they see what I do, they will learn
nothing.
When they hear what I say, they will not
understand.
Otherwise, they will turn to me and be
forgiven.’”
My last comment on the Bible and its
intricacies is that different passages may seem to contradict themselves. This
will remain a consistent point of strife for believer’s and non-believers
alike. Remember that context is important, and the Bible as a whole will never
contradict its main message – which is the story of our salvation.
The Parable of the Sower
4 Again Jesus began to teach
by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got
into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the
shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many
things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen!
A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was
scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it
up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not
have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But
when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they
had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which
grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still
other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some
multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
9 Then Jesus
said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”
13 Then Jesus said to
them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any
parable? 14 The farmer sows the word.15 Some
people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they
hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others,
like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with
joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only
a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they
quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown
among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of
this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things
come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others,
like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some
thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
