http://gospeltranslations.org/w/index.php?title=For_the_Love_of_God,_Volume_1/February_1&feed=atom&action=historyFor the Love of God, Volume 1/February 1 - Revision history2024-03-29T04:45:04ZRevision history for this page on the wikiMediaWiki 1.16alphahttp://gospeltranslations.org/w/index.php?title=For_the_Love_of_God,_Volume_1/February_1&diff=19700&oldid=prevJoyaTeemer: Protected "For the Love of God, Volume 1/February 1" ([edit=sysop] (indefinite) [move=sysop] (indefinite))2010-07-15T19:22:40Z<p>Protected "<a href="/wiki/For_the_Love_of_God,_Volume_1/February_1" title="For the Love of God, Volume 1/February 1">For the Love of God, Volume 1/February 1</a>" ([edit=sysop] (indefinite) [move=sysop] (indefinite))</p>
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</table>JoyaTeemerhttp://gospeltranslations.org/w/index.php?title=For_the_Love_of_God,_Volume_1/February_1&diff=19695&oldid=prevJoyaTeemer: Created page with '{{info}} ====FEBRUARY 1==== ''Genesis 33; Mark 4;'' Esther 9—10; Romans 4 THE SO-CALLED PARABLE OF THE SOWER ('''Mark 4:1-20''') might better be called the parable of the so...'2010-07-15T18:36:51Z<p>Created page with '{{info}} ====FEBRUARY 1==== ''Genesis 33; Mark 4;'' Esther 9—10; Romans 4 THE SO-CALLED PARABLE OF THE SOWER ('''Mark 4:1-20''') might better be called the parable of the so...'</p>
<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{info}}<br />
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====FEBRUARY 1====<br />
<br />
''Genesis 33; Mark 4;'' Esther 9—10; Romans 4<br />
<br />
THE SO-CALLED PARABLE OF THE SOWER ('''Mark 4:1-20''') might better be called the<br />
parable of the soils, for the variable that gives the parable life and depth is the<br />
variation in the land onto which the seed is thrown.<br />
<br />
Because Jesus provides the interpretation of his own story, its primary<br />
emphases should not be in doubt. The seed is the “word,” i.e., the word of God,<br />
which here is equivalent to the Gospel, the good news of the kingdom. Like a<br />
farmer scattering seed by hand in the ancient world, this word is scattered widely.<br />
Inevitably, some of the seed falls on ground that for one reason or another is<br />
inhospitable: perhaps it is the hard-packed dirt of the path, or perhaps birds<br />
come and eat the seed before it settles into the plowed ground and germinates,<br />
or perhaps it grows in the shadow of thornbushes that squeeze the life out of it,<br />
or perhaps it germinates in shallow soil with limestone bedrock just beneath the<br />
surface, such that the roots cannot go down very far to absorb the necessary<br />
moisture. The parallels with the way people hear the word are obvious. Some are<br />
hard and repel any entry of the word; others are soon distracted by the playthings<br />
Satan quickly casts up; others find that worries and wealth —the terrible Ws—<br />
squeeze out all concern for spiritual matters; still others hear the word with joy<br />
and seem to be the most promising of the crop, but never sink the deep roots<br />
necessary to sustain life. But thank God for the soil that produces fruit, sometimes<br />
even abundant fruit.<br />
<br />
So much is clear enough. But two other features of this parable deserve<br />
reflection.<br />
<br />
The ''first'' is that this parable, like many others, adjusts the commonly held perspective<br />
that when the Messiah came there would be a climactic and decisive<br />
break: the guilty and the dirty would all be condemned, and the righteous and<br />
the clean would enjoy a transforming rule. That is what the final kingdom would<br />
be like. But Jesus pictures the dawning of the kingdom a little differently. In the<br />
parable of the mustard seed (4:30-32), for example, the kingdom is like a tree that<br />
starts from small beginnings and grows into something substantial; here is<br />
growth, not apocalyptic climax. So also the parable of the sower: for the time<br />
being, the word is going to be scattered widely, and people will respond to it in<br />
different ways, with widely divergent yields.<br />
<br />
The ''second'' is that not all of those who show initial signs of kingdom life actually<br />
take root and bear fruit. That truth deserves meditation and calls for self-examination.</div>JoyaTeemer