LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for December 27: Is God still working in the world?

LifeWay Explore the Bible Series for December 27: Is God still working in the world? focuses on Mark 4:14-32.

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For millennia, people have asked if God still works in our universe. Many things seem so inconsistent with a just and powerful God who also is very present in our world. But the age-old question is also another way of asking, “Does God know about me?” or “Is God aware of what I face in my life?” or even more importantly, “Is God willing to make a difference in my life?”

Many times we ask yes/no questions and yet desire more lengthy explanations. Jesus sensed this when some disciples of John came to him and inquired if he was indeed “the One who was to come.” Instead of answering “yes,” Jesus stated: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me” (Luke 7:22-23). Or in other words, God, through Jesus, was busy at work in the world, touching lives, and communicating the good news of his interest in reconciling with every person who will turn to him.

Is God still working in the world? Yes, and he is working in each life, laboring to draw people to him. Mark’s way of showing God’s work in this world is found in an extended background passage to the present lesson, Mark 3:7-6:6. In this expansive passage, Jesus healed many people of various maladies, faced opposition, calmed a storm, named the 12 apostles, cast out demons, restored a dead girl to life and endured rejection while trying to minister in his home town. The large passage presents many activities that show Jesus busy trying to impact people’s lives and make them better in a way only his presence can do.

Amid Jesus’ activities in the extended background passage, several teachings of Jesus also are recorded. These teachings convey the message that God truly is busy in the world, changing lives through the influence of God’s personal presence. The book of Mark shows that Jesus’ activities illustrate the meaning of his teachings and his teachings explain the purpose of his activities.

The present lesson examines the teachings of Jesus about God’s kingdom. Jesus set out to describe how God’s kingdom, which is the subject of the overall message of his ministry (Mark 1:15: “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”), is busy in our world and in our lives. Mark 4 contains the largest collection (short as it is) of Jesus’ specific teachings or lessons in the Gospel of Mark, in this case, delivered in the form of parables.

God’s word is sown (Mark 4:14-20)

Mark 4 opens with the delivery of Jesus’ showcase parable. Mark recorded a handful of parables. Many more are found in Matthew and Luke. Jesus’ parables explained aspects of God’s kingdom. Jesus drew from common life to explain things about God’s kingdom not readily apparent to the naked eye. An important feature of Jesus’ parables is that each one carries a challenge, sometimes explicitly stated, other times implied. Jesus’ parables in effect say, “Here is a truth about life in God’s kingdom. How will you respond?”

Several of Jesus’ parables are simple in form and convey one truth through a true-to-life example. Three simple parables are found in Mark 4. However the first parable in the chapter, while being called a parable in verse 2, actually is known in English literary style as an allegory. An allegory is a story in which certain details have heightened meaning. Jesus took the story of verses 3-8 from farm life. This story was readily understood in its natural meaning. But Jesus’ listeners did not understand the spiritual truth connected to it. Jesus then pointed out that several details have meaning. His explanation has become the material for the first subpoint of the lesson.

The parable itself is not in the focal material of the lesson, nor is Jesus’ explanation of why he frequently used parables. Jesus’ rationale for using parables draws on Isaiah 6, which does not explain the use of parables, but the reason Isaiah was to continually preach to his people. Isaiah was commanded to keep God’s message ever before his people so they would be pressed to respond repeatedly until a pattern of response became evident in their lives.


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The Isaiah passage sees that the response of many would be a hardening characterized by ever seeing or hearing but never perceiving or understanding. God apparently looks for a consistent pattern of response to the challenge borne by his message. Jesus saw his parables working in the same way: challenging people repeatedly so that they develop a consistent pattern of response. In fact, this is good way to view the explanation of Jesus’ showcase parable.

The parable in verses 3-8 is commonly known as the Parable of the Sower, or the Parable of the Soils. Jesus explained that the seed and the four types of soil have specific meaning. After explaining the significance of each type of soil, the unstated challenge was for each listener (and, by extension, reader) to determine which kind of soil he or she really is. What is the truth of the listener’s (or reader’s) receptivity, or resistance, to God’s word? Is the listener (or reader) presenting fertile soil where God’s word can grow and be productive?

It is important that this parable stand in the first place among all parables. This parable begins by challenging readers to inspect their receptivity to God’s word. How can a listener or reader receive further truth from God if they do not present fertile soil for God’s word to grow?

God’s word Is heeded (Mark 4:21-25)

Jesus’ second parable used the well-known, at the time, figure of a lamp on stand. Modern readers will do well to consider that modern nights rarely are without some light due the multiplicity of light sources throughout cities and within homes. But in the ancient world, nighttime must have seemed much darker when light sources were not available. Thus Jesus’ parable sets up the ridiculous image of lighting a lamp that is consequently hidden. This defeats the purpose of the lamp.

The challenge for the reader is to deal rightly with the hidden areas of his or her life. What is not stated, but implied by association with the previous parable, is the illuminating effect of God’s word. In the previous parable, God’s word is sown to have growth effects in one’s life. In this parable, we learn that one aspect of personal growth under the direction of God’s word, is to respond to what it reveals about our lives and lifestyles. How will the individual respond to the challenge when God’s word reveals the truth of one’s life? A true follower of Jesus will rise to the challenge to take positive steps to deal with any problem areas in their life.

A warning regarding the application of this parable is given in verses 24-25. Discernment about one’s own life must be appropriate for the amount of truth an individual has received. Those who apply God’s truth accurately to their lives will receive more of God’s truth, and by implication, a greater personal encounter with God. Those who misapply God’s truth, will receive less of God’s truth. Thus the challenge of the parable of the lamp stand is to answer how well God’s word is heeded in one’s life.

God’s kingdom grows (Mark 4:26-32)

The two remaining parables in Mark 4 have similar or complementary messages. The first of these is the Parable of the Growing Seed. The story describes the growth cycle of a seed, from its sowing to its eventual maturity as a fruit producing plant. The point of the parable is simple: God’s kingdom constantly is growing and eventually will produce a harvest. The challenge of the parable is to choose to be a part of the kingdom’s harvest. Therefore, will one choose to be a part of God’s kingdom?

The remaining parable is the Parable of the Mustard Seed. This parable describes the growth of God’s kingdom in terms of contrast. The beginning of God’s kingdom is inauspicious, like the size of a mustard seed, one of the smallest seeds in agriculture. Yet the culmination of God’s kingdom will be like the mature mustard plant. The mustard plant is a shrub that can grow to be the size of a tree. The point of the parable is the matter of contrast: a small beginning in comparison to the prominence of its final size. The challenge to the listener and reader is similar to the challenge of the previous parable: will the one choose to be a part of God’s kingdom? But this parable adds the point that God’s kingdom is not simply growing but also growing in prominence. Will the listener or reader choose to be a part of something that will have a prominent and glorious culmination?

Taken together, these four parables answer resoundingly that God still is working in this world. But more importantly, these parables call on the reader to make some personal choices. How receptive to God’s work are they? How responsive to God’s word are they? Will they choose to participate in God’s kingdom?

So Jesus’ answer to the age old question is not merely “Yes, God still is working in this world.” His answer is not even, “Yes, God is at work in the world in these ways.” Jesus’ answer is, “Yes God is at work in this world, and his work impacts your life. Will you respond positively to God’s work by participating in his kingdom?”


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