Mark: Living the Way of Jesus in the WorldSample

First Thought

Here, Mark pauses in the storyline to offer a block of Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom of God. The parable of the sower, really the parable of the seeds, is the longest in this section. Response to Jesus and His message was mixed. Why were people responding to Jesus and His good news announcement in such very different ways? Jesus teaches that the fruitfulness of the seed is determined by the condition of the soil. Indeed, seed sown on good soil produces fruit ‘all by itself’. In other words, the kingdom of God grows by God’s sovereign power. Yet the first seed never really got going, the second started but quickly died, and the third survived but without producing its intended grain. Human response matters, too.

What does the Bible Say?

Consider the parable of the mustard seed and the growth of a mustard tree from a tiny seed. So many people have put their trust in Jesus over the centuries from those first days. How does this encourage you?

Living it Out

What do these parables mean for you and your context?

Responding in Prayer

Sovereign God, help me not to ‘despise the day of small things’ (Zechariah 4:10). These things in my life look small and fragile right now (…). Help me to hear and respond to you in faith and bear good fruit for your kingdom. Amen.