You
Asked for It 2006 - Part 3
Blinded to the Truth
by Greg Hanson
Sunrise Wesleyan Church
August 20, 2006
Main Passage: Mark
4:1-12 (NLT)
This is our third week
in our August message series. And as you may recall, when I first
started telling you about this series and asking for your requests, I
even invited you to try to stump me. And I’ve got to tell you, you did
a pretty good job for this week. Because today we’re going to be
talking about one of the most controversial and misunderstood passages
in all of Scripture. Sandra just read it for us. It was the last couple
of verses when Jesus told His disciples...
Mark 4:11-12 (NLT)
“You are permitted to understand the secret
about the Kingdom of God. But I am using these stories to conceal
everything about it from outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be
fulfilled:
‘They see what I do, but they don’t perceive its meaning.
They hear my words, but they don’t understand.
So they will not turn from their sins and be forgiven.’”
Well, that doesn’t sound right, does it? I mean, what is the message of
the Bible? It’s that every single person can find forgiveness, truth,
and life in Jesus Christ. And you find that message verified repeatedly
throughout the Bible. Here are a few examples:
John 3:16 (NLT)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his
only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have
eternal life.”
2 Peter 3:9 (NLT)
The Lord isn’t really being slow about his
promise to return, as some people think. No, he is being patient for
your sake. He does not want anyone to perish, so he is giving more time
for everyone to repent.
1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NLT)
This is good and pleases God our Savior, for
he wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.
All of those verses seem to be saying that salvation is available for
everyone. They even say that it’s God’s will for everyone to discover
the truth and come to Him. So how can you reconcile these verses with
the verses that Sandra read?
[Mark 4:11-12 (NLT)
“You are permitted to understand the secret
about the Kingdom of God. But I am using these stories to conceal
everything about it from outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be
fulfilled:
‘They see what I do, but they don’t perceive its meaning.
They hear my words, but they don’t understand.
So they will not turn from their sins and be forgiven.’”]
They seem contradictory, don’t they? On the one hand you’re reading
that everyone’s welcome to come to Jesus; on the other, you’re reading
that there are some who aren’t even permitted to understand the
message. That doesn’t sound much like an all-loving God, does it? In
fact, as one atheist put it…
“This is hardly a means for conveying anything like ‘universal love’ —
it is instead a message of exclusion.”
~ Austin Cline, Atheist
http://atheism.about.com/od/biblegospelofmark/a/mark04b.htm
So how can this apparent contradiction be resolved? Well, let me tell
you something about understanding the Bible. It can be dangerous for
you to take one or two verses and interpret them without paying
attention to the context. That’s certainly the case here. If you just
take these two verses by themselves, then it looks like Jesus is saying
that it is God’s will that some people are condemned, and so He blinds
them to the Truth so that they are lost to a godless eternity.
Just looking at those verses alone, that’s what they seem to say.
Problem is, that interpretation doesn’t work. It doesn’t fit with the
context. It doesn’t fit with the context of the rest of the chapter and
it doesn’t fit with the context of the Bible as a whole. And since
God’s Word will never contradict itself, there must be a better
interpretation.
So let’s put it in the context of the surrounding verses. In the first
part of the chapter, Jesus tells one of His stories... What we call His
parables. Jesus would often tell one of these stories to illustrate
some truth to the listeners. So who were His listeners on this occasion?
Well, He was speaking to a large crowd of people, which included His
disciples and some other followers as well as people from the area who
had heard about Jesus and had come out to hear Him teach and hopefully
perform some kind of miracle. Also in the crowd that day would be some
religious leaders... the Pharisees... who had it out for Jesus. They
felt threatened by Him, and they were sure that He was a liar out to
deceive the masses. In fact, just a chapter earlier, when Jesus freed a
man who had been demon-possessed, they accused Him of being a messenger
from the devil.
Mark 3:22 (NLT)
But the teachers of religious law who had
arrived from Jerusalem said, “He’s possessed by Satan, the prince of
demons. That’s where he gets the power to cast out demons.”
And so while Jesus was teaching the crowd and telling this parable,
these religious leaders were right there in the crowd to try to trap
Jesus and find something to accuse Him of and discredit Him with.
And so that’s the audience that Jesus was speaking to. Some were
already following Him, some checking Him out, and some were dead-set
against Him. So what did He say to this diverse crowd?
Well, He told them about a farmer planting seeds in his field. Now,
farming in His day was a little different than it is today. For one
thing, today we use equipment and vehicles that continually get in my
way on the highway. Also today, we plant everything in nice long rows
and the seeds are planted systematically at regular intervals in these
rows. But in Jesus’ day, when a farmer would plant seeds, he wouldn’t
be concerned about planting everything in neat little rows. In fact, he
would scatter the seeds everywhere. He would go out and throw the seeds
onto different sections of his field. He’d have kind of a footpath
going through the field where he would walk, and he’s throw the seeds
on both sides of him, trying to cover as much territory as possible.
Now, what would happen? Most of the seeds would land in the nicely
tilled soil. But there would be seeds that would also fall onto the
footpath itself, or onto shallow, rocky soil, or even into some thorns
and weeds.
So while Jesus was telling this story about a farmer planting his
seeds, He explained that the seeds that fell onto the footpath would be
either trampled under foot or eaten up by birds. The seeds that fell
onto the shallow, rocky soil, would begin to grow, but because their
roots couldn’t go very deep they would be exposed to the hot mid-day
sun, shrivel up, and die from lack of moisture. The seeds that fell
among the thorns would start to grow, too, but thorns and weeds grow
much faster than vegetable plants and before long the thorns and weeds
would choke the life out of the other plants. But of course the
majority of the seeds would fall onto good soil, and they’d be able to
take root and thrive, even multiplying more seeds and therefore more
plants.
That was it. That was the story that Jesus told. Then He said, “If
you’ve got ears, then listen up. Pay attention to what I’ve told you.”
And then the crowd dispersed.
A little later, Jesus was hanging out with His disciples and some of
the others who had chosen to follow Him, and they started to ask Him
about this story. I suspect these disciples were a lot like you and
me... They didn’t want to appear stupid in front of the crowd, and so
they waited until later to admit that they didn’t understand what Jesus
was talking about.
So it was then that Jesus told them...
Mark 4:11-12 (NLT)
“You are permitted to understand the secret
about the Kingdom of God. But I am using these stories to conceal
everything about it from outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be
fulfilled:
‘They see what I do, but they don’t perceive its meaning.
They hear my words, but they don’t understand.
So they will not turn from their sins and be forgiven.’”
Just hold on... We’ll come back to that. But we also need to look at
what happens after these verses. Because Jesus went on to explain to
them what the story meant. He explains that it’s basically a story
about four different kinds of soil and how each one responds to the
seed, which is the message of salvation.
The Four Types of Soil:
(Receptivity to the Message of Jesus)
A. The footpath
represents those with hardened hearts who never allow the message to
take root.
They’ve heard the
message about Jesus Christ, but they’re resistant and even hostile
toward it. They never even give it a chance.
But the problem is not with Jesus or with the message, the problem is
with the hardened heart… hardened by cynicism and skepticism and
egotism… hardened by disbelief and nagging doubts that they can’t or
won’t get past. And though they are not beyond God’s reach, it will be
difficult for them to move beyond their hardness to belief.
B. The rocky
soil represents those who accept the message wholeheartedly, but
abandon it when things get tough.
They like the idea of
faith, but not if it becomes inconvenient or uncomfortable. When the
going gets tough, they abandon it. When the heat is on, they shrivel up
and die. When their faith is tested, they fail the test. Why? Because
their roots do not go deep enough. They do not allow the message of
Jesus to saturate their lives. Instead of trusting Jesus to help them
through their trials, they rely on their own resources. Instead of
looking to Him as their ever-present source of help, they choose to
look within and away from Him. They’re not really rooted in Christ, or
they would know that they can look to Him and trust Him. Instead, they
abandon Him.
C. The thorny
soil represents those who accept the message, but become distracted by
the cares and concerns of life.
Jesus explained that
many people hear the message and respond to it, and they begin to grow
in their newfound faith… only to lose it when other things crowd God
out. Life’s busy, and it’s easy to see how that could happen.
D. The good
soil represents those who accept the message, thrive, and multiply.
These people are hungry
for more of God. They want to know Him above all. They want their faith
to become strong, and they allow Jesus to impact every aspect of their
lives. They choose to follow Him, come what may. They are devoted to
Him. Their roots go deep into the Word of God and to prayer. And they
produce seeds that result in others hearing the message and responding
to it, as well.
Okay, so that’s the
explanation of the story that Jesus told. And He seemed to be saying
that everyone who heard the message would fall into one of those four
categories. I think that’s still true today. I mean, I know people who
fit into all of those categories. Don’t you? But let’s stick to the
specific audience that Jesus was addressing that day.
Who in the crowd that day would have been the good soil?
Well, I suppose the disciples would have been. At least, most of them,
most of the time. I mean, when Jesus was arrested, they all kind of
scattered. John came back and was there at the foot of the cross when
Jesus was crucified, along with Jesus’ mother and Mary Magdalene and
some other women. So they would all be good soil. And then after the
resurrection, the rest of the disciples other than Judas were willing
to give up their lives for the message, and the Church literally
multiplied because of them. And so they all turned out to be pretty
good soil.
So who in the crowd would have been the rocky ground... where the
message would have taken root but wouldn’t go very deep, and so they’d
abandon their faith under pressure?
Well, again, the disciples fit this if you look specifically at how
they abandoned Jesus around the crucifixion. And I imagine there were a
lot of other followers besides the twelve who followed Jesus when
things were going smoothly, but who abandoned Him when things got
rocky. So they’d be the rocky soil.
Who would be the thorny soil… who would accept the message only to have
the spiritual life choked out of them by all the distractions of life?
I suspect many of the people from the surrounding area would fit this
category. They had heard about Jesus, there was a buzz about Him,
things were happening around Him, it was exciting to be around Him...
but to them He was just a fad. And before long, they’d get distracted
and move on to the next thing. They’d be the thorny soil.
And so that leaves us with the footpath... The hardened soil where the
seed could never take root. Who would that be?
I think that would describe the Pharisees... those religious leaders
who were never going to accept Jesus, no matter what He said or did.
And they probably weren’t alone. There were probably others who where
there that day who scoffed at Jesus. They had already made up their
minds about Him and nothing was going to convince them otherwise. Not
even a resurrection.
So considering those four types of people, who do you think Jesus was
talking about when He said...
Mark 4:11-12 (NLT)
“But I am using these stories to conceal
everything about it from outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be
fulfilled:
‘They see what I do, but they don’t perceive its meaning.
They hear my words, but they don’t understand.
So they will not turn from their sins and be forgiven.’”
Who was He talking about? Who were these “outsiders”? Who’s the “they”
that Jesus was referring to? I believe Jesus was talking about the
Pharisees and others who were hostile toward Him. He was talking about
footpath people. They would hear what He was saying, but they would
never understand. They would see what He was doing, but they would
never really see who He is.
But yet the question remains... Why would Jesus purposefully keep them
blinded and hide the truth from them? And the answer would be, He
doesn’t.
But don’t those verses say that He does? Well, they appear to. But that
would contradict what the rest of the Bible says. But we can’t just
throw those verses away, either, so let’s see if we can find a better
understanding.
And fortunately for us, it’s pretty easy in this case. Because all we
have to do is look at one of the other Gospels which records Jesus
saying the same thing and expanding on it a bit. Over in Matthew...
Matthew 13:11-15 (NLT)
“You have been permitted to understand the
secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others have not. To those who are
open to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will
have an abundance of knowledge. But to those who are not listening,
even what they have will be taken away from them. That is why I tell
these stories, because people see what I do, but they don’t really see.
They hear what I say, but they don’t really hear, and they don’t
understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah, which says:
‘You will hear my words, but you will not understand; you will see what
I do, but you will not perceive its meaning.
For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot
hear, and they have closed their eyes—so their eyes cannot see, and
their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they
cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’”
Okay, so looking at those verses, again we see that there are some
people who have hardened hearts and are blinded to the truth. But this
time, it also identifies who does the blinding. In the Gospel of Mark,
it looked like it was God. But here in Matthew it actually tells us...
Matthew 13:15 (NLT)
“For the hearts of these people are
hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes…’”
“They have closed their eyes.” Those Pharisees and others who reject
the message do so by their own choosing. They are given every
opportunity to receive the message, but they choose to reject it. They
harden their own hearts. They close their own eyes. They cover their
own ears. The choice is theirs.
“In the Bible, discovering truth always requires faith. The absence of
faith puts us outside the reach of God’s truth.”
~ Life Application NT Commentary
But still, those verses in Mark seem to say that Jesus purposefully
conceals His message from who He calls “outsiders.” What’s that all
about?
Well, He also makes it clear that the message is available to anyone
who will listen. And that’s the key: the message is available to anyone
who will listen. So how does He conceal it from those who won’t listen?
He conceals it by repeatedly giving people the opportunity to hear it
and receive it. And each time they reject it, they reinforce their
blindness to it. In this sense, Jesus does harden their hearts by
continually forcing them to decide. But it’s by their own decision, not
His. If they were willing to listen and give Him a fair hearing, then
they would hear and understand. But they continually choose to close
their eyes to the truth about Jesus.
Now, I know all of that’s a bit complicated, but I hope you were able
to follow it. Basically, I’m saying that the people who are blinded to
the truth are blinded by their own choosing.
I should also add, it can be a temporary blindness. Remember, there was
a time when Paul was on the side of the Pharisees. He was actively
persecuting the early Christians and trying to wipe out the Church. He
was blinded to the truth, and wasn’t about to accept the message of
Jesus. But then one day all that changed, and He became one of the
heroes of the early Church.
Or how about the brothers of Jesus? There was a time that they thought
Jesus was out of His mind. They called Him insane. There was no way
their brother could be God. But after the resurrection, they were
convinced. One of them, Jude, even wrote one of the letters that’s
included in our New Testament. Their blindness was temporary.
Perhaps you know people who seem far from God. They seem hardened and
blinded to His message. My advice to you is, don’t give up on them.
Keep praying for them. Their blindness may be temporary. So pray that
God will prepare them to receive His message, and do not lose heart.
Now, let me make an observation. This farmer that Jesus told about went
out to plant in his field, but he allowed some of his seeds to fall on
the footpath and on the rocky soil and among the thorns. Why? I mean,
if the farmer were any good, wouldn’t he be a bit more careful? Why
would he allow seed to be wasted like that?
I think that’s a picture of God’s grace. His grace is spread liberally,
so it’s inevitable that some would fall among the thorns and rocks and
footpaths. His blessings are given even to those who reject Him, and
His message is entrusted even to those least likely to respond. And the
truth is, sometimes seeds do take root and grow in the strangest of
places. So from God’s perspective, it’s worth it for His message to be
spread far and wide, even among those who are likely to reject it.
That’s not where the majority of His efforts are concentrated… He
concentrates on those who are likely to respond… but neither does He
neglect those who are unlikely to respond. Even though they are
suffering from a self-imposed blindness, He reveals His truth to them
just in case they decide to open their eyes.
So what’s the message in all of this for you and for me? Here are five
faith lessons…
Faith Lessons from the Story of the Farmer:
1. I must be
focused on Jesus regardless of distractions.
The thorny soil is where
distractions can choke the life out of you. But if you want to be “good
soil”, then you need to maintain your focus on Jesus in spite of the
distractions. In fact, you need to minimize and manage those
distractions, as much as possible.
Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and
perfecter of our faith…
2. I must be
devoted to Jesus regardless of the pressures.
Because the pressures
are going to come. They’re inevitable. Life will get rocky. And so you
have to decide now… will you be devoted to Jesus, come what may?
Hebrews 12:3 (NIV)
Consider him who endured such opposition
from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Don’t allow the storms of life to upend your faith.
3. I must be
open to the teachings of Jesus.
The problem with the
footpath was that it wasn’t even open to receiving the seeds. But for
you and me, we need to be open to receiving the seed of the Word of
God… and more than that, we need to put it into practice. Jesus said…
Matthew 7:24 (NLT)
“Anyone who listens to my teaching and obeys
me is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock.”
4. I must
produce good fruit that multiplies.
That was the good soil,
right? The seed took root and grew strong and healthy. And what’s more,
it spread and multiplied. Now normally, a farmer can expect good seed
to produce a crop 7 to 10 times what was planted. He’s pleased with
that kind of return. Can you imagine the thrill a farmer would
experience with a return of 30, 60, or even 100 times? But that’s what
Jesus said. That’s the power of the message. It’s a potent seed, which
produces incredible results.
Acts 1:8 (NLT)
“But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you,
you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere…”
5. I must
spread the message freely, regardless of the response.
Every person is given
the free will to make up their own mind if they will receive the
message or not. That’s their choice, and you can’t make it for them.
But what’s important is that you provide them with the choice, and then
they choose how they will respond. Their response is not my
responsibility. My responsibility is to spread the seed freely and
generously. As Paul said…
Romans 1:16 (NLT)
For I am not ashamed of this Good News about
Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes…
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