The next mini-series of articles is scheduled to continue a series on the book of Mark. The text is mostly from the fourth chapter of Mark, but let’s take a quick review of chapter 3. I encourage you to read and study both chapters on your own, as a good way to fill in the details.
- The first six verses of chapter 3 recount another example of how Jesus received pushback for doing a good thing in a way that certain religious leaders had deemed unlawful. Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, and some considered that to be “work”. Of course, Jesus knew the principles of the Sabbath better than anybody else (after all, He was God, who created the Sabbath), and He was understandably angry and at the stubbornness of those whose legalistic attitude could hurt people.
- Verses 7-12 of chapter 3 mention lots of people crowding to Jesus (again!). In this case, a boat on the Sea of Galilee seems to have been a good “podium” from which He could speak to many people at once. Jesus was healing people, and when He would encounter evil spirits, He commanded them not to talk about Him.
- In verses 13-19 of chapter 3, Jesus called 12 of His disciples, who we call the twelve apostles.
- Then, in verses 20-35, Jesus’ biological family came to see Him. Apparently, they didn’t understand everything that was going on, and maybe thought that something was wrong with Him. Jesus used this as a teaching moment, though.
With that quick overview of chapter 3 (which I hope you read on your own), let’s move to a well-known parable of Jesus in the first half of chapter 4. Before we get into this parable specifically, though, let’s set the context. While the gospel of Mark isn’t necessarily in strict chronological order, the location here seems to be the Sea of Galilee, perhaps near Capernaum.
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:
Mark 4:1-2 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.4.1-2.NIV
Jesus is teaching through parables. We can learn more about why He was doing so in verses 11-12, but we can expect the form of teaching in the next few verses to be a parable. So, what is a parable? The classic answer in some church circles is that a parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning”. And, I think that’s a pretty good starting point. It’s a lesson that we can understand and associate with, but it has implications for more than just the material world around us.
So, the upcoming verses (Mark 4:3-8) are going to recount a parable that Jesus taught. Unlike situations where “reading ahead” is discouraged, I hope that you’ll read the whole chapter before the next article is published!
In the meantime, though, let me leave you with this question: Is a modern-day sermon illustration an example of a parable, or are they different things? I’m not sure, but they at least seem to overlap in some ways: both are teaching messages of truth about God and His Kingdom (at least, examples used in the church today should be achieving that), and both use everyday situations that the audience should be familiar with. Apparently [per Black], the gospel of Mark treats the definition of a parable more broadly than some of our modern definitions, and that’s fine. As long as we understand that these are Jesus’ teachings, I think that we should be OK!
From Sunday School lesson prepared for September 21, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Mark, by Allen Black. © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 