1. Path
1.1. Mark 4:4 (NLT) 4 As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it.
1.2. It is on the path (same word as in the greek) that the disciples take part in the most satan like of behavior
1.2.1. Pride
2. Rock Places
2.1. Mark 4:5 (NLT) 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.
2.2. Mark 4:6 (NLT) 6 But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died.
2.3. Starts out good but does not last
2.3.1. Hosea 6:4 (NLT) 4 “O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?” asks the LORD. “For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight.
2.3.2. Crowds are excited about Jesus during the triumphal entry
2.3.2.1. But call for his death week later
2.3.3. Even the disciples who are quick to respond Ran away in trouble came
2.4. Rocky soil serves as a warning that our faith has to run deep if it helps to endure trials and tribulations
2.4.1. This is why the prosperity gospel is so dangerous because preachers are making claims that are not in the Bible.
2.4.1.1. We are promised trouble not constant comfort
3. Thorns/weeds
3.1. Mark 4:7 (NLT) 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain.
3.2. This ground is rich in nutrients but contains lots of weeds
3.3. Delighting in riches
3.4. Desiring the things of this world
3.5. Like the rich young ruler
3.5.1. Mark 10:21 (NLT) 21 Looking at the man, Jesus felt genuine love for him. “There is still one thing you haven’t done,” he told him. “Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”
3.5.2. Mark 10:22 (NLT) 22 At this the man’s face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions.
4. The Farmer, who is he?
4.1. It is Jesus
4.2. It is us
4.2.1. 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NLT) 20 So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”
4.3. Sowing is a metaphor for God's work
4.3.1. Jeremiah 31:28 (NLT) 28 In the past I deliberately uprooted and tore down this nation. I overthrew it, destroyed it, and brought disaster upon it. But in the future I will just as deliberately plant it and build it up. I, the LORD, have spoken!
4.3.2. Ezekiel 36:9 (NLT) 9 See, I care about you, and I will pay attention to you. Your ground will be plowed and your crops planted.
4.4. The sower sows liberally even on unfruitful ground
4.4.1. If the pharisees were sowing they would have excluded
4.4.1.1. Lepers
4.4.1.2. Sinners
4.4.1.3. Tax collectors
4.4.1.4. They saw those people as a waste of time
4.5. Even with 75% of the soil being bad, the farmer will still reap a harvest
4.5.1. Isaiah 55:10 (NLT) 10 “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the farmer and bread for the hungry.
4.5.2. Isaiah 55:11 (NLT) 11 It is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.
4.5.3. Don't despair over failures
4.5.4. A harvest will come
4.5.4.1. Keep Sowing
4.5.4.2. We are called to produce good fruit
4.5.4.2.1. Matthew 7:16 (NLT) 16 You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?
4.5.4.2.2. Matthew 7:17 (NLT) 17 A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit.
4.5.4.3. Genesis 26:12 (NLT) 12 When Isaac planted his crops that year, he harvested a hundred times more grain than he planted, for the LORD blessed him.
4.5.4.3.1. Same as in Jesus' Parable
4.5.4.3.2. Normal blessing/expectation
4.6. He seems like he is wasting seed
4.6.1. Jesus’ parable gives remarkable attention to describing the failure of the seed and the reasons for it (68 out of 97 words in the Greek).
5. Good soil
5.1. Mark 4:8 (NLT) 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
6. So Deep
6.1. Frames Christ's ministry
6.2. How to cultivate good soil in our own lives
6.3. To not be surprised or disappointed by a lack of response
6.3.1. We are called to so generously even when it does not yield a harvest
6.4. Even if we can't see it God's word will reap
6.4.1. But not in every life
7. My funny first reading
7.1. Trying to Interpret it and then seeing that Jesus explained it.
8. Good Soil
8.1. For the good soil, the participle “hearing” is in the present tense (v. 20), suggesting that it needs to continue.
9. Mk 4:1-8
9.1. Mark 4:1 (NLT) 1 Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore.
9.1.1. (4:1). The word translated “shore” (ge) literally means “soil” (or “earth”) and is the same word used for the soil that did not have much depth of earth (4:5) and for the “good soil” where the seed is sown.
9.1.2. The crowds on “the soil” may thus be understood as the recipients of Jesus’ sowing of the word.
9.2. Mark 4:2 (NLT) 2 He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:
9.3. Mark 4:3 (NLT) 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed.
9.3.1. Shows Importance
9.3.2. Listen 13 times
9.3.2.1. vv. 3, 9 [2x], 12 [2x], 15, 16, 18, 20, 23 [2x], 24, 33.
9.3.3. Brackets the Parable
9.3.3.1. “Listen!” (v. 3); “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (v. 9)
9.3.4. First word in the Shema Deut 6:4
9.3.4.1. Deuteronomy 6:4 (NLT) 4 “Listen, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone.
9.4. Mark 4:4 (NLT) 4 As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it.
9.4.1. God spends some entire lives on hard ground
9.5. Mark 4:5 (NLT) 5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow.
9.6. Mark 4:6 (NLT) 6 But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died.
9.7. Mark 4:7 (NLT) 7 Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain.
9.8. Mark 4:8 (NLT) 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
9.9. Mark 4:9 (NLT) 9 Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
9.10. He does not explain it
9.10.1. He throws it out and sees who is leaning in/seeking him/ searching/ open
9.11. Mark 4:11 (NLT) 11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders,
9.11.1. We focused on this last week
9.11.2. 4 Kinds of soil