Parables of Jesus: Teaching & Changing

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: "Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.  Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil.  And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.  Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.  And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."  And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."  And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,  so that  "'they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.'" And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?  The sower sows the word.  And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.  And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.  And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.  And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,  but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.  But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." - Mark 4:1‭-‬20 ESV

Rev. Travis Drake

What is a parable? Speech whose meaning does not lie on the surface, but requires investigation. It will not just enlighten, but challenge and even change us.

Understanding the parable

Jesus speaks about a person who goes out to sow seeds to produce a crop. And this person keeps trying and failing. He sows seeds and birds eat it. He sows again and it doesn't take root. Nothing. So we might feel something for this sower. We've taken loses in our stocks, retirement accounts. We've lost our community, replaced by conference calls. Finally, some seeds take root in good soul and produce a wonderful crop. The sower is sowing the word of God. 

The soil does not change. The rocky soil isn't suddenly deep. The parable clearly makes us desire to be the good soil. But we are not good soil. None of us desire the word of God. We are not to simply just accept our current state. We are to consider that God is changing us. He is tilling, removing rocks, and fertilizing. The soil does not fix itself. The soil needs someone to come change us. The parable is not here to beat us up as bad soil. 

The stony pride has been removed. The soil has been made deep. It has been weeded of thorns, distractions from God. 

Being changed by the parable

Wake up to the state of your heart. Pray and confess the stones of pride in our lives. Ask God to remove thorny things that crowd out God, his presence, and his calling for us. If you see sin, then thank God. It is an opportunity to remove that thorn.

God's Family

Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, "He is out of his mind." And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you." And he answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"  And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers!  For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother."

Mark 3:20‭-‬21‭, ‬31‭-‬35 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

The value of God's family

Jesus was born into a family. He had his mother, brothers, and sisters. At this point of time, his family thought he was out of his mind. They didn't get what Jesus was doing. They did not see him as the Savior & Messiah. 

In these times, family meant everything. You didn't pick your job or where you lived. Your job was tied to your family. You lived and died where you family was. Jesus wasn't lowering the worth of our earthly family, but it is not the end all, be all.

Consider our family in the eyes of God. For some family is a leash. They hold us back and tie us down. We need to center our families on Jesus. For others, family is everything. Families are good, but we idolize and overvalue them. We are anxious and controlling during this chaotic time. So we need to bring this all under the Lordship of Jesus.

We, Renewal, are the family of God. There are members who are feeling more anxious than before. There are people who are hurting financially. We have family members working in healthcare; they are saving people and putting themselves in dangerous roles. We need to support them. 

The values of God's family

The family of God is diverse. So what binds us? We share traits. What are these? The peace of God. We should put on the peace of God. We should point out to others where true peace is found. During this time of isolation, we need to show how Jesus came alongside to us. He left the community of heaven to bring others, to being us into community with Him.

Feasting and Fasting

He went out again beside the sea, and all the crowd was coming to him, and he was teaching them. And as he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, "Follow me." And he rose and followed him. And as he reclined at table in his house, many tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples, for there were many who followed him. And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, "Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?" And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."  Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, "Why do John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" And Jesus said to them, "Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.  The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.  No one sews a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the patch tears away from it, the new from the old, and a worse tear is made.  And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins—and the wine is destroyed, and so are the skins. But new wine is for fresh wineskins." - Mark 2:13‭-‬22 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Jesus is teaching in the area around Galilee. He encountered Levi, a tax collector. He invites Levi to follow him. But this is absolutely scandalous to people of this time. Jesus was clearly a great teacher, but even more, He was going around doing miracles. This meant Jesus was likely a great prophet, maybe even the Messiah. Levi was not like an employee of the IRS. He was considered scum. He basically extorted money from the people. He was excommunicated from the synagogue and the shamefulness of this job extended even to his family. 

Jesus invited this man, who completely disregarded the law and guidelines of the Pharisees, to follow Jesus. Sinners, in this passage, are those who rejected the authority of the Pharisees. The Pharisees objected to Jesus hanging around these kinds of people. Jesus replied that sinners needed a doctor. The Pharisees knew this because this was a well known proverb. They agreed in principle, but they refused to associate with these sinners. They agreed in principle, but by their actions they enforced the status quo. 

Are we Christians so different? Do we hang out with people which would raise eyebrows? Or do we only hang out with other Christians and those who look and act like us? Jesus went out to those who were lost. Are we doing the same as Him?

The irony here is that the Pharisees are in need of the great physician. They were just as sick. They knew the law of God and they codified it into rules for living. They lived by these rules the best... and looked down on others who did not lived similarly. So it is for those in the church. We have respectable sins and scandalous ones. We ignore the sins like pride, discontent, irritability, and materialism. We make a fuss over sins like sexual immorality, the use of profanity... Are we living by this codified way of living to be saved? We also need the great physician once we've been saved. 

Jesus was the bridegroom of the church. So while he was with the disciples, it did not make sense to fast. Who would fast during a wedding? It would be inappropriate. Then Jesus speaks about patching an old wineskin with new leather or putting new wine into old wineskins. It is damaging to not examine our ways and habits in light of Jesus. Why we do things needs to be reevaluated in light of Jesus... We cannot slap Jesus on top of our lifestyles and motivations and not cause damage. Jesus should change our lifestyles and motivations. Jesus isn't about just making a refreshing of you. He is remaking us entirely. We want a remodel, but Jesus wants to make us humble cottages into divine palaces where He will dwell.