Mark 4:21-34

I. Seeing the light, hearing the truth (4:21-25)

A. The lamp is the Word of Truth! (Mark 4:21-22; Ps. 119:105; John 1:4-5, 9)
B. What you get out of Jesus is directly proportionate to what you put into His cause (Mark 4:23-25; 2 Corinthians 9:6; Galatians 6:6-10)

II. The growing seed (4:26-29)

A. Once the seed (the Word) is sown, it goes to work on the hearer despite our ignorance of “how” (Mark 4:26-27; John 3:9; Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 3:6-7)
B. There is a personal responsibility of the hearer to grow in faith (Mark 4:28)
C. The harvest is baptism (Mark 4:29; Galatians 3:27; Romans 6:3-4)

III. The mustard seed (4:30-34)

A. The kingdom of God started small and seemingly insignificant (Mark 4:30-31)
B. The growth—against all odds—extraordinary (Mark 4:32)
1. Growth recorded in Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14; 6:7; 8:12; etc.
2. The birds—evil workers (Mark 4:15; John 6:70; Acts 5:1-11; 1 Timothy 1:19-20; 3 John 9-10)

C. The use of parables (Mark 4:33-34)

Mark 4:1-20

I. Jesus “taught them many things by parables”

A. The parable of the sower (Mark 4:1-9)
B. The purpose of parables (Mark 4:10-13; cf. Isaiah 6:9-10)
C. The seed is the Word (Mark 4:14)

II. The wayside (Mark 4:15)

A. The hardened heart; opposes truth before it is even spoken
B. No heart penetration; no change in character (Acts 2:37; 7:54)

III. Stony ground (Mark 4:16-17)

A. The unstable hearer; superficial and shallow joy
B. Fall away in the face of persecution (2 Timothy 3:12)

IV. The thorns (Mark 4:18-19)

A. The distracted hearer
B. Even innocent pleasures can become sinful (2 Timothy 4:10; Col. 3:1-2)

V. Good ground (Mark 4:20)

A. The faithful hearer who bears fruit
B. Bearing fruit (John 15:5; Matthew 7:17-19; Galatians 5:22-23)