There is an art to communication. It is not always easy to present information in a way that others can readily grasp and understand it. The best speakers and teachers use illustrations and tell stories to make the concepts they present both memorable and easy to understand. In addition to being a prophet and a miracle worker, Jesus was a master communicator. He had a way of presenting spiritual truths in an unforgettable way.
In the fourth chapter of the Gospel which bears his name, Mark records one of parables Jesus used. Verses 1 through 12 read, “Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea, and sat down. All the multitude were on the land by the sea. He taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching, “Listen! Behold, the farmer went out to sow, and as he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and devoured it. Others fell on the rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil. When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. Others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing. Some produced thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times as much.” He said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.” When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. He said to them, “To you is given the mystery of God’s Kingdom, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables, that ‘seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest perhaps they should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them.’””
One of the things which made Jesus’ speaking effective is that He used ordinary things – things with which people were already familiar – to illustrate the spiritual points He made. His audience came from a mostly rural society. They were very familiar with sowing seed and the problems farmers faced in growing crops. Even 2,000 years later people who come from a different culture and live in large cities can still readily picture the scene. After hearing this parable, who could possibly look at farming or sowing seed in the same way again? Even those who are unfamiliar with farming can easily grasp the point.
Though in one respect the story Jesus told is easy to visualize and understand, on another level it is not so easy to comprehend. On the surface, the parable seems artless. Jesus said things which are so self-evident and obvious that there seems no need to state them. Why then did He use this illustration? What was His purpose? His disciples were confused about His method of teaching and asked Him about it.
Jesus’ reply discloses a two-fold reason for His use of parables in teaching. On the one hand, Jesus used parables to disclose the secrets of the kingdom of God to His disciples. Though the parables seem simple and artless, they actually contain profound truths. By meditating on them we can understand what God is doing.
On the other hand, Jesus used parables in His teaching to hide the truth from His enemies. In Chapter 3, verse 6, Mark writes that the religious authorities were plotting to kill Jesus. They were looking for a way to trap Jesus with what He said. But how could they accuse Him of blasphemy or speaking against the government for telling a simple story about a man planting his field? In many cases Jesus’ enemies did not even understand what the parables meant. The Apostle Paul writes, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14 NIV)
Jesus explained His policy of using parables by quoting words which God spoke through the prophet Isaiah. In light of this it might seem that Jesus deliberately used parables to make it impossible for people to repent and become reconciled to God. But this is not so. In Isaiah’s day people heard the truth but would not accept it. As a result their hearts became hard – that is even less capable of recognizing and accepting the truth. Their rejection of truth prevented their spiritual healing. In the same way, the religious leaders had already rejected Jesus. It was their hardness of heart resulting from their rejection which prevented them from understanding the parables. And, their lack of understanding kept them from repentance. It was not the parables, but their rejection and hardness of heart which prevented them from obtaining forgiveness.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t only the religious leaders who sometimes had trouble understanding Jesus. His own disciples needed an explanation. In verses 13 through 20 Mark writes, “He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables? The farmer sows the word. The ones by the road are the ones where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes, and takes away the word which has been sown in them. These in the same way are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy. They have no root in themselves, but are short-lived. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they stumble. Others are those who are sown among the thorns. These are those who have heard the word, and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. Those which were sown on the good ground are those who hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times.””
The point of Jesus’ story is that He provides the word of God equally to all. Everyone has the opportunity to hear. However, the result of hearing God’s word is not the same. It depends on the kind of person who hears it. It is the hearer’s responsibility to put God’s word into practice. Some, like the religious leaders of Jesus’ day, have hard hearts which do not allow God’s word to penetrate and take effect. Others gladly accept the word, but they have no depth. They do not allow the word to produce spiritual growth in them. Still others give other things a higher priority so the word of God gets crowded out. However, there are others who allow the word to grow in them and produce change. At the time Jesus lived, farmers could only expect seeds to provide about a 5 fold increase. What is impossible with man, however, is normal with God. If we allow His word to work in us, we will experience a return far greater than we can imagine. The question is: What kind of soil are we? Do we allow God’s word take root and grow in us?