Mark 4 - Parables

January 18th, 2026                          “Parables”                            Rev. Heather Jepsen

Mark 4:1-34

          This morning, we continue our deep dive into the gospel of Mark.  Last week we read about Jesus stirring up conflict.  He was dining with tax collectors and sinners and rejecting the religious practices of his time.  We are skipping chapter 3 but a quick look there will show more of the same.  Jesus heals on the Sabbath causing controversy, he names his 12 disciples, and he argues with the religious elite.  Even Jesus’ family doesn’t understand where he is coming from, as they begin to tell people that “he has gone out of his mind.” 

          In chapter 4, Mark has collected some parables for his readers, to help explain this kingdom of God that his crazy Messiah represents.  Parables are brief stories drawn from common experience that take a surprising turn.  The reversal or twist at the end are what make the parable work.  Here in chapter 4 Mark has collected both parables and proverbial sayings of Jesus and others, to help readers understand the kingdom Jesus is bringing.

          We begin with the parable of the Sower, which most of us are familiar with.  The Sower casts seed on the ground and depending on where the seed lands some sprouts up and yields a harvest and some simply dies.  The Gospel of Thomas has this parable without the explanation, so it is a known teaching of Jesus’.  In Mark’s gospel, Jesus explains the parable, and in doing that, Mark is addressing the issues that his readers would have been facing.

          The members of Mark’s fledgling Christian community would wonder why they don’t have more converts or why they are persecuted.  Mark uses this traditional parable of Jesus to explain.  The word (or the good news about Jesus) is preached and some folks ignore it because of persecution.  Satan takes away the seed that is sown.  Some hear the word with joy but then they fall away when things get hard, again persecution is part of the path of faith for Mark’s readers.  Some seeds are sown among the thorns.  The troubles of the world, the cares and distractions of everyday life, choke the budding seed of faith.  I think many of us can relate to that.  And finally, some seed lands in fertile soil and grows, these would be those faithful members of Mark’s community.

          The parable of the Sower is another great example of the layers of meaning in our Biblical texts.  Layer one is the actual words of Jesus himself who probably did teach this parable at some point during his ministry.  Layer two is Mark’s interpretation of the parable which he puts in Jesus’ mouth, addressing issues of persecution and mission that his community would be experiencing.  Mark quotes from Isaiah here, in the parable explanation, about how some folks will understand and others don’t.  This again is addressing Mark’s community of readers and their experience of life as early Christians. 

Finally, we can layer on our own interpretation of the parable, like so many sermons you have heard on this.  The word of God is spoken, the seed of faith is offered, and it is up to us to decide how we will accept it.  We all see people who come to church once or twice and then fall away, we all know how easy it is to be distracted by the “lure of wealth and the desire for other things”, and we all know people whose faith seems to have deep roots.  Three layers of meaning: Jesus, Mark, and us, and all layers are equally true and relevant.

          Continuing we find sayings that are more like proverbs, little bits of folk wisdom, than parables necessarily.  Lamp on the lampstand, measure you give is the measure you get, the seed grows in the ground and we know not how.  All this would be familiar to listeners of Jesus and readers of Mark.  Again, we don’t think Mark is recording a speech here, like Jesus said all this at once.  Remember Mark is crafting a story, so Mark is collecting things that Jesus said and putting them all together in this section of his book.  It’s like he is writing a chapter about faith and the kingdom of God.

          Our final parable for today is the mustard seed, and I want to dig a bit deeper into this one.  The mustard seed is really small, hopefully you get a chance to see the ones I passed around.  We love to imagine the seed becoming a big tree, because we know that when both Matthew and Luke copy this, they will say the mustard plant becomes a tree.  But the truth is, it doesn’t.  It’s not a tree, it’s a shrub, and it’s a weed.

          The Gospel of Thomas has the mustard seed story too, and there it is called a great plant.  Mark calls it the greatest of the shrubs.  But it’s small.  When we read that it’s a shelter for the birds we imagine like robins in a nest in a tree.  But that’s not it.  The mustard plant is a shelter for birds that nest on the ground.  It provides shade and cover for ground nesting birds.  So again, think small. 

          The kingdom of God is like a small seed that makes a small bush.  Why would Jesus say that?  If we look back to our Old Testament, we find that often God and the people refer to the kingdom of Israel as a large tree.  In Ezekiel, we read, “Thus says the Lord, I will take a sprig . . . and plant it . . .and it will become a noble cedar.”  The kingdom of David will be big and strong, like the cedars of Lebanon.  But the kingdom that Jesus teaches about in Mark is small and humble, not a tree but a bush.  That’s the twist to this parable and we lose it when we imagine a tree. 

The hope that Jesus is preaching is different than the hope that the Old Testament prophets offered the people.  God’s kingdom is here, but it is such a small bush that you might not even notice it.  It shelters the bird’s nest, but it is also a weed in your crop.  The kingdom of God is humble and small, found in the wilds and the weeds.

          The parables of Jesus reveal the kingdom of God, but they do it as a mystery.  The realization of the kingdom comes as a surprise and a miracle found in common place activities and events. 

          We don’t have a lot of experience with mustard seeds, and I was wondering what some equivalent parables might be for us today.  Here are a few I came up with.

·         The kingdom of God is like the dandelion.  We know not where it comes from but when it ruins our lawn it provides food for the bees.

·         The kingdom of God is like that first sip of coffee in the morning.  Such a small moment but such a deep impact on body and soul.

·         The kingdom of God is like reading a good book and crying at the end.  You don’t even know these people, they aren’t real, but you love them anyway.

·         The kingdom of God is like eating lunch with our homeless brothers and sisters.  It’s always the best part of your day.

·         The kingdom of God is like the Jade plant in my office.  It grows so slowly you don’t even notice but after 13 years of small quiet care, it is more than 100 times its original size.

This week I invite you to think up some kingdom of God parables.  We can all do this.  I’ll create a post on our Facebook page, and we can share our ideas together.  I’m curious how you see the humble growth of Jesus’ lowly kingdom in your own life. 

Next week we will continue to follow and learn from Mark’s Jesus.  In the meantime, keep your eyes open for the weeds and the seeds, they just might be clues to the kingdom.  Amen.