Parables of the Kingdom
Up to this point, Mark has strongly emphasized the centrality of teaching in Jesus’ ministry but has said very little about what he actually taught.[1] Now he gives us an extended discourse in which Jesus begins to unfold the meaning of the kingdom of God whose arrival he has proclaimed (1:15). By analogy with Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5–7) and Luke’s Sermon on the Plain (Luke 6:17–49), this lengthy teaching could be called Mark’s “Sermon on the Sea.”[2] As will become evident, the key word in this discourse is “to hear,” and the underlying theme is the human response to Jesus’ proclamation of the kingdom.
The Parable of the Sower (4:1–9)
1On another occasion he began to teach by the sea. A very large crowd gathered around him so that he got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the whole crowd was beside the sea on land. 2And he taught them at length in parables, and in the course of his instruction he said to them, 3“Hear this! A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep. 6And when the sun rose, it was scorched and it withered for lack of roots. 7Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it and it produced no grain. 8And some seed fell on rich soil and produced fruit. It came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” 9He added, “Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear.”
OT: Gen 26:12; Deut 6:4
NT: 1 Pet 1:23. // Matt 13:1–9; Luke 8:4–8
Catechism: parables, 546
Lectionary: Mass for the Laity; 4:1–10, 13–20: Common of Doctors of the Church
4:1–2 Once again Jesus begins to teach in his favorite auditorium—the open air by the sea of Galilee—as the ever-increasing crowd continues to flock around him. This time he does not just instruct his disciples to have a boat ready (3:9), he actually gets into the boat and sits down, using it as an outdoor pulpit. Since sound carries well over water, Jesus’ unaided voice could have reached thousands of people seated on the shore sloping down to the sea. He taught them at length according to his preferred method, as recorded in the †Synoptics: through the use of parables.
What Is a Parable?
Perhaps the most distinctive and well-known characteristic of Jesus’ teaching is his use of parables. A parable is a short, memorable story or image, usually drawn from nature or daily life, that conveys profound spiritual truths. Through his parables, Jesus “shows how the divine light shines through in the things of this world and in the realities of our everyday life.”[a] Jesus’ parables have three significant traits:
1. On the surface they are simple enough for a child to understand. They make spiritual realities accessible by conveying them in concrete images instead of theoretical abstractions.
2. Paradoxically parables also have a mysterious dimension, a hidden depth of meaning that is not always easy to grasp, and that comes to light only upon thoughtful, open-minded reflection.
3. Thus the parables both conceal and reveal the mystery of the kingdom, depending on the disposition of the hearer (see Mark 4:10–13). One cannot remain neutral in the face of a parable; it provokes thought and challenges the listener to a decisive response to Jesus and his message.
In a broad sense, the Greek word parabolē means a “placing side by side” or comparison. It can include almost any kind of figurative speech: a metaphorical saying (Mark 3:23–27), allegory (4:13–20; 13:34–37), maxim (2:21–22), lesson or illustration (13:28), or enigmatic saying or riddle (7:15–17). Parables were sometimes used in the Old Testament (see Judg 9:7–15; 2 Sam 12:1–6).
4:3–8 Jesus begins his instruction with an exhortation to pay close attention to what he is saying. The beginning of verse 3 reads literally, “Listen! Look!” He is asking his listeners to both hear his words and use their imaginations to picture the scene he is describing. The setting would be thoroughly familiar to his audience, many of whom made their living by farming. In Galilean agriculture, plots usually consisted of a thin layer of topsoil over a shelf of limestone. The seeds were sown by hand, using every available space, then plowed into the ground afterward. Thus this sower who lets seed fall on the path, on rocky ground, and among thorns is not as careless as he may seem. The seeds scattered on the rough path that villagers have trod through the fields will be plowed back in. Likewise the seed scattered among last year’s withered thorns. The sower cannot tell by sight where the underlying rock lies close to the surface; he scatters liberally, knowing that some seeds will miss the mark.
But the results of this farmer’s sowing labor are initially disappointing. Many of the seeds fare badly. Those sown on the path are quickly pecked away by birds before he has had a chance to plow them in. Those sown on rocky ground get a little further. Since they remained near the surface even after plowing, the little sprouts quickly appear but are scorched by the sun and wither for lack of roots. Those sown among thorns get further still: they grow into mature plants but then are choked by the fast-growing thornbushes around them before they are able to produce any grain. But the surprising conclusion is that, despite these failures, the sowing ends up producing a spectacular result. For a farmer working the fields of ancient Galilee, a thirtyfold yield is a plentiful harvest. Sixtyfold is a bumper crop, and a hundredfold is nearly miraculous (see Gen 26:12).
4:9 Jesus concludes the parable with another solemn call to attention, forming a frame with verse 3: Whoever has ears to hear ought to hear. This summons echoes the famous command of Deut 6:4, known to Jews as the Great Shema (from the Hebrew word for hear, shema): “Hear, O Israel!” To hear means far more than to take in with the ears: it means to absorb, to appropriate deeply into one’s heart, to allow the message to sink in and change one’s whole life. In fact, with this parable Jesus is illustrating what he himself is doing in proclaiming the kingdom of God. Jesus, seated in the boat and speaking to the crowds on the hillsides, is the sower scattering his seed. Some of the seed has fallen on deaf ears; some has met with stony resistance (see Mark 2:7; 3:1–6). Yet all the while it is producing a stupendous yield among those who listen with open ears, a yield that may not be evident now but will come to light at the future time of the harvest. That is why the parable of the sower provides the key to the others that follow (see 4:13).
The Mystery of the Kingdom (4:10–12)
10And when he was alone, those present along with the Twelve questioned him about the parables. 11He answered them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those outside everything comes in parables, 12so that
‘they may look and see but not perceive,
and hear and listen but not understand,
in order that they may not be converted and be forgiven.’ ”
OT: Deut 30:10; Isa 6:9–10; Amos 3:7
NT: Matt 11:25–26; John 12:37–40. // Matt 13:10–15; Luke 8:9–10
Catechism: parables, 546
4:10–11 Mark now provides an interlude in the series of parables, with a private conversation that takes place at another time, when he was alone with his disciples. It seems paradoxical that Jesus was “alone” with more than twelve other people present! Those present (literally, “around him”), as in 3:34, are those individuals who have left the crowd to stay close to Jesus and continually learn from him—that is, those who have become his disciples. Unsure of the meaning of the parable, they ask Jesus to explain. In reply, he draws a contrast between his disciples, to whom the mystery of the kingdom has been granted, and those outside, to whom everything comes in parables. This pronouncement is one of the most difficult in the Gospel. Taken at face value it sounds as if Jesus has deliberately excluded some people from the kingdom by cloaking his words in mystery to avoid being understood. How are we to interpret this cryptic statement?
The key lies in understanding “mystery,” a word that is used only here in the Gospels (see Matt 13:11; Luke 8:10), but often in the teaching of St. Paul. In the Old Testament, mystery refers to God’s plans that are secret, yet revealed to the prophets for the sake of God’s people (Dan 2:19, 28; Amos 3:7). They are a mystery not because God wants them unknown, but because they become known only by revelation. Similarly, in the New Testament the mystery is the whole plan of salvation that was eternally hidden in the heart of God, but has now been revealed in Christ (Rom 16:25–26; 1 Cor 2:7; Eph 3:3–9). God’s hidden purposes are not a puzzle to be figured out, nor can they be grasped by any human intellectual methods. Like the secrets of any person’s heart, they can be known only if one freely chooses to disclose them. That is why Jesus says elsewhere that his gospel is “hidden from the wise and the learned” but “revealed to little children” (Matt 11:25; Luke 10:21). Jesus is calling his disciples to recognize that they have been granted an immense privilege (see Matt 13:17): to them the mystery of the kingdom, present in the person and teaching of Jesus, has been unveiled. The parable of the sower has prepared them to understand the mystery that he will later teach explicitly: his kingdom will be established in a hidden and unexpected way—not through a triumphant conquest, but by way of suffering, setbacks, and seeming failure. It is a mystery that will culminate in the cross.
4:12 But what about those outside? Jesus describes their predicament with a quotation from Isaiah (Isa 6:9–10).[3] In the context of the passage, God forewarns Isaiah that he would be called to preach judgment to Israel at a time when the people were mired in sin and injustice, and so his message would meet with stubborn resistance. The forceful language does not mean that God himself will block the people’s ears and eyes. Rather, the prophet’s message will cause the people to blind and deafen themselves to avoid hearing it, in order to persist in their rebellion. Jesus, likewise, is addressing a wayward generation, many of whom will harden themselves to avoid grasping the implications of his words. His parables, by their hidden depths veiled in simplicity, will cause a separation by the response they evoke in listeners’ hearts. For those who ponder the parables with sincere openness, the mystery of the kingdom will be gradually unveiled. But for those who prefer to persist in their own rebellious ways, the parables will remain opaque: so that they may look and see but not perceive, and hear and listen but not understand. Their obstinacy hinders them from attaining the goal of all Jesus’ teaching: that they be converted and be forgiven. The tone of Jesus’ words expresses a longing in the heart of God, as if God were saying: “If only you would listen, my people!” (see Deut 30:10; Ps 81:13–14; Luke 19:42). Yet his pronouncement hints at a theme that Paul will later develop in great detail (Rom 9–11): even the hardening of part of Israel—the refusal of many Jews to accept the gospel—is within God’s plan and will in the end contribute to the full and glorious accomplishment of his mysterious purposes.
Interpretation of the Parable of the Sower (4:13–20)
13Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables? 14The sower sows the word. 15These are the ones on the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear, Satan comes at once and takes away the word sown in them. 16And these are the ones sown on rocky ground who, when they hear the word, receive it at once with joy. 17But they have no root; they last only for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Those sown among thorns are another sort. They are the people who hear the word, 19but worldly anxiety, the lure of riches, and the craving for other things intrude and choke the word, and it bears no fruit. 20But those sown on rich soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”
NT: James 1:21; 1 Pet 1:23–25. // Matt 13:18–23; Luke 8:11–15
Catechism: attitudes to God, 29
4:13 Jesus proceeds to fulfill his disciples’ request (4:10) for a comprehensive explanation of the parable of the sower. This parable, he indicates, provides a clue for understanding all the parables; it is a parable about the parables. Yet here, as will often happen, the disciples are slow to grasp Jesus’ meaning (7:18; 8:17–21; 9:32). Readers of the Gospel might wonder: how can they be blamed for their lack of understanding when Jesus had declared above (4:11) that understanding comes only as a gift? But there is no contradiction. By themselves they cannot grasp the mystery of the kingdom; Jesus has to open their eyes to it. But they must allow themselves to be drawn into the dynamic of the parable and its radical implications for their lives. Their slowness to understand only highlights the greatness of the revelation that has been granted to them.
4:14–15 Jesus interprets the parable as an allegory, an extended metaphor in which each detail has a symbolic meaning. Mark has narrated this explanation such that it applies both to Jesus’ own ministry and to the Church’s ministry after his resurrection. The sower is not identified but clearly it is Jesus himself and, by extension, all preachers of the gospel. The word he sows is his proclamation of the kingdom (1:15), which will later become the Church’s message of salvation in Christ (Col 1:5; 1 Thess 1:6; James 1:21; 1 Pet 1:25). The parable then focuses on four types of human response. These do not necessarily represent completely distinct categories of people; they may describe the responses of the same individual at different times. The ones on the path are those in whom the word meets with no interest or receptivity. Like seed on a hard-trodden path, the gospel has no chance to sink in. †Satan swoops down like a greedy bird and snatches it away, perhaps through distractions, fears, or faulty human reasoning. Indeed, this is what will occur when Jesus sows “the word” about his coming passion (Mark 8:31–33): Peter vehemently rejects this word, and Jesus immediately refers to him as Satan.
4:16–17 The second category are those who enthusiastically receive the word for what it is: good news bringing salvation. But there remains an underlying hardness of heart that prevents the word from penetrating deeply. As a result, their allegiance to Christ is too shallow to sustain them in times of tribulation or religious persecution. Such trials are an inevitable part of the Christian life (Mark 10:30; 13:9), as the early Church knew well by experience (Acts 8:1; 2 Cor 12:10; 1 Pet 4:12–14). But instead of persevering, these people quickly fall away (skandalizomai), a word that means to stumble or be tripped up. This is precisely what will occur with the disciples when Jesus is arrested (Mark 14:27, 50).
4:18–19 Those sown among thorns are those who do let the word sink in, but also allow other preoccupations to begin to crowd in and compete for priority. Worldly anxiety is literally “the cares of this age.” Daily cares are an unavoidable part of life in this world, especially for those who are married and raising families (see 1 Cor 7:32–34). But the danger is to allow these legitimate concerns to take over and suffocate one’s devotion to Jesus and zeal for the age to come. The deceptive lure of riches and the craving for other things such as power, possessions, and prestige likewise prove fatal to discipleship (Mark 10:37; 12:38–40). Later in the Gospel a rich man will exemplify this pitfall (10:17–22). Tragically the good news that has germinated within such people bears no fruit. Their spiritual life is sterile.
4:20 After spelling out these negative responses to the gospel, Jesus describes in the briefest of terms those who allow the seed of the word to produce its marvelous effect. Like rich soil, they hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit. Although it is the seed itself that is actively at work (as Jesus will explain further in 4:26–29), each step requires an intensely personal cooperation. It is not enough to listen to Jesus’ words: one must ponder and understand them, take them into one’s heart, and allow them to transform one’s whole life.
The contrast between the soil that produces a rich yield and the soil that fails to bear fruit parallels the contrast between Jesus’ disciples and “those outside” (4:11)—although the disciples sometimes exhibit the characteristics of poor soil. The good and bad soil are in turn subdivided into three categories. The barren ground includes the hard pathway, the rocky soil, and the thorny soil. The fruitful ground includes those who bear thirty and sixty and a hundredfold. Jesus is exhorting his listeners to examine their response to his call, and honestly evaluate what interior obstacles may be hindering them from bearing the abundant harvest that God desires.
Reflection and Application (4:13–20)
The explanation of the parable of the sower would have resonated with Mark’s audience as a powerful word of encouragement. If even Jesus’ preaching seemed to meet with so much initial resistance and failure, how could it not be the same for his followers in the early Church, who were trying to spread the gospel of the kingdom in an indifferent and sometimes violently hostile society? Despite the many seeds apparently sown in vain, God is at work to produce what will finally be revealed as a stupendous harvest. The parable illustrates the “mystery of the kingdom” that Jesus mentioned in 4:11. The reign of God will not come about through unmitigated success and uninterrupted growth. An unexpected but necessary part of the plan is the setbacks and failures that give Jesus’ disciples a share in the mystery of his own suffering.
The parable of the sower is particularly illuminating for those who teach RCIA or are involved in other evangelistic or catechetical activities. It can lead the participants, and indeed all of us, to reflect on the dangers in our lives that threaten the fruitfulness of the word. What kind of soil am I? Has the word of God been fruitful in me? If not, what obstacles are there, and how will I overcome them?
The Light That Must Be Seen (4:21–25)
21He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be placed under a bushel basket or under a bed, and not to be placed on a lampstand? 22For there is nothing hidden except to be made visible; nothing is secret except to come to light. 23Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.” 24He also told them, “Take care what you hear. The measure with which you measure will be measured out to you, and still more will be given to you. 25To the one who has, more will be given; from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
NT: John 1:9; 8:12. // Matt 5:15; 10:26; Luke 8:16–17; 11:33; 12:2; 19:26
The parable of the sower and its explanation are followed by four cryptic sayings, which Matthew and Luke also record but in different contexts. Jesus probably spoke these sayings many times in various settings over the course of his public ministry. Mark has combined them here in two pairs (vv. 21–22 and 24–25), with the solemn admonition of verse 9 repeated in between: “Anyone who has ears to hear ought to hear.”
4:21 Jesus is continuing to instruct his disciples in private, although at an unspecified point the setting will shift back to the crowds by the sea (see 4:33). He asks a rhetorical question: Is a lamp brought in (literally, “Does the lamp come”) only to be hidden under a bushel basket or a bed? The obvious answer is: Of course not! The implication is that the lamp is Jesus, who has come into the world to bring humanity the light of revelation (see Luke 2:32; John 1:9; 8:12). Jesus wishes to prevent a mistaken interpretation of his earlier words about the mystery of the kingdom (Mark 4:11). Despite the obscurity of the parables and the difficulties people have in understanding his teaching, his purpose is not to hide the kingdom but to make it known.
Fig. 5. First-century Palestinian lamp.
4:22 Verse 22 clarifies the point. What is hidden and secret is the mystery of the kingdom that is present in Jesus. It is hidden in the ordinariness of his life (see 6:3), in the apparent simplicity of the parables (4:11), and in the disappointments and hindrances he has encountered (2:7; 3:6, 21–22). But it is hidden only for a time, for the sake of eventually being fully revealed. Just as Jesus’ identity cannot be prematurely publicized, because to do so would lead to a false understanding of his messiahship, so the mystery of the kingdom has to germinate and sprout deep within human hearts before its full splendor can come to light. On one level this saying alludes to the fact that the time of hiddenness has ended with Jesus’ resurrection. Now the mystery of his messianic identity and mission is fully revealed, and his followers are to take that light into the whole world (see 13:10). How senseless it would be to be given such a bright light only to conceal it under a bushel basket or a bed! On another level the kingdom is still hidden in the trials and setbacks that accompany the Church’s mission of evangelization. But in the end, all that God wishes to reveal is destined to come to light.
4:23 Jesus stresses the importance of taking time to consider and reflect on this mystery of hiddenness by twice reminding his audience to carefully heed his words.
4:24–25 The second pair of cryptic sayings expands on the consequences of hearing well or poorly. Jesus is telling his audience: You will profit from my teachings in the measure you pay attention to them—and if you do strive to understand, God will give you still more understanding than you could attain by your own efforts. The last saying, which occurs elsewhere in the context of the parable of the talents (Matt 25:29; Luke 19:26), seems to conflict with our idea of fairness, and even other biblical statements about the poor being made rich (Mark 9:35; Luke 1:53; 6:20, 24). What could it mean here? In this context it signifies that whoever responds to Jesus with openness and a desire to learn will be given even more insight; whoever does not will lose even the little understanding he has. God’s revelation is a gift, but it is a gift that must be freely accepted.
The Parable of the Growing Seed (4:26–29)
26He said, “This is how it is with the kingdom of God; it is as if a man were to scatter seed on the land 27and would sleep and rise night and day and the seed would sprout and grow, he knows not how. 28Of its own accord the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29And when the grain is ripe, he wields the sickle at once, for the harvest has come.”
OT: Joel 4:11–16
NT: 1 Cor 3:6–7; 1 Pet 1:23–25; Rev 14:14–15
Lectionary: Mass for Productive Land
4:26–29 These verses recount another seed parable, one that is found only in Mark. This time the focus is on the seed’s intrinsic power to grow of its own accord. The sower liberally scatters his seed, then goes on with the routine of his daily life. Slowly, imperceptibly, the seed begins to sprout. The farmer does not know how this happens; even today, with the tremendous advances in microbiology, life remains a mystery. Nor can the farmer control the process. According to its natural stages the land yields fruit, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain. The farmer can water, weed, and fertilize the ground as the months go on, but he cannot make the ripe grain appear a day before its appointed time. Farming requires an element of trust and patience. Yet the moment the harvest has arrived, the farmer is ready with his sickle to reap without delay. The harvest is a biblical image for the final judgment (Joel 4:13; Rev 14:14–15).
With this parable Jesus explains that the kingdom of God is a divine work, not a human achievement. God brings about its growth, which at times is imperceptible. We cooperate, but we cannot control or hasten the arrival of the kingdom by our efforts any more than the farmer can harvest his grain in January. St. Paul knew this principle well: “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth. Therefore, neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who causes the growth” (1 Cor 3:6–7). Every member of the kingdom is being made ready for the harvest by our inner growth in holiness and virtue, which God brings about through our cooperation with his grace. The parable serves as an encouragement for those who think their efforts for the kingdom are fruitless, and a warning for those who think they can bring about the kingdom by their own projects and programs.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed (4:30–32)
30He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use for it? 31It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. 32But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
OT: Ezek 17:23; 31:6; Dan 4:9
NT: // Matt 13:31–32; Luke 13:18–19
4:30–32 It is as if Jesus is thinking aloud, searching for ways to help his listeners to grasp the mystery of the kingdom (see 4:11). Because the kingdom is a divine reality, it cannot be defined or contained in human categories. It can be understood only by using analogies, word pictures that force the listener to think and ponder at a deeper level. Once again, the earthly reality most suitable as an analogy to the kingdom is, of all things, a tiny seed. In this third seed parable, the emphasis is on the seed’s smallness. For Jesus’ Jewish audience, the idea of the kingdom as a seed must have been quite a surprise. A more predictable comparison would be a mighty army (see Isa 13:4; Joel 2:11) or a cataclysmic earthquake (Isa 29:6). But no, the kingdom is like a mustard seed, which Jesus describes (using the device of hyperbole, or exaggeration, for effect) as the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants (another hyperbole).
In mentioning large branches that shelter many birds, Jesus is evoking the Old Testament image of a lofty, shady tree, symbolizing an empire that grants protection to peoples of different races and tongues (Ezek 17:23; 31:6; Dan 4:9). The parable of the mustard seed thus points to the future worldwide reach of the kingdom of God. From its humble, inauspicious beginnings in Jesus’ itinerant preaching in Galilee with a small band of followers, the kingdom will mature to an immense tree in whom the Gentiles will find a home. This growth will not be due to human methods but to God’s hidden power. Jesus speaks with utter assurance of the future success of the kingdom, urging his disciples to persevere with hope and patience.
The Purpose of the Parables (4:33–34)
33With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. 34Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.
OT: Deut 6:4
NT: // Matt 13:34–35
Catechism: parables, 546
4:33 Mark’s final word on the parable discourse is another affirmation that Jesus spoke in parables not to obfuscate (as vv. 11–12 might suggest), but to adapt the mystery of the kingdom to the capacity and openness of his listeners. The end of verse 33 reads literally, “as they were able to hear it,” repeating the key verb “hear” for the thirteenth time in this chapter. The disposition Jesus seeks from his followers is the same demanded by God of his chosen people: “Hear, O Israel!” (Deut 6:4). To hear means not only to listen or even to understand, but to accept with a willing heart—that is, to obey. A person’s understanding of the kingdom grows as one reflects on the parables and embraces their implications, enlarging one’s capacity to “hear.”
4:34 Although Jesus spoke to the crowds only in parables, to his own disciples he explained everything in private. Who are these privileged disciples? Mark 3:32–35; 4:10 make clear: not just the Twelve, called to a special mission, but all “those present along with the Twelve”—that is, all those who choose to be disciples by staying close to Jesus to listen to his teachings, and by doing the will of the Father.
Reflection and Application (4:33–34)
A distinctive characteristic of Jesus’ teachings is their inescapable demand for personal engagement. Jesus speaks in such a way that you cannot “get it” simply by hearing homilies, listening to recorded talks, studying works of theology, or even reading biblical commentaries. The only way to attain full understanding is by coming to Jesus personally and asking him to reveal the meaning. Even today, Jesus welcomes any disciple who comes to him in prayer and says, “Lord, explain the parable,” or, “Explain the meaning of this scripture passage that seems obscure to me.” As saints of every stripe, educated and uneducated, have attested over the ages, the Lord will reveal profound mysteries to hearts that approach him in humble faith.