Jesus the Teacher

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Good morning Chapel family. We’re taking this winter to walk through the Gospel of Mark. And we’ve been saying every week at Mark presents Jesus as a “Servant King.” Which almost sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Like those two things don’t go together—like “jumbo shrimp” or “airline food” or “working vacation.” Right? How could he be a servant and a king? But that’s what makes Jesus so unique: he’s the king who gave up his rights to come and serve and suffer for his people, to the point of death. Jesus is amazing. And just like he called people to follow him back then, he’s calling you to follow him today. The world wants you to follow your heart, but Jesus says, “Follow me. It’ll be so much better.”

Today we’re going to be in Mark chapter four. Up to this point, Jesus has been baptized by John the Baptist, he has fought off the temptations of Satan in the wilderness, he’s chosen his twelve disciples, he’s healed a bunch of people, and he’s done a lot of teaching. His popularity is growing rapidly. And every time people gather to hear Jesus teach, he talks about this thing called the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is near. I’ve been using the illustration of a WiFi signal, which is all around us, in this room, right now. You can’t see it or grab it, but it’s there. And if you choose, you can connect with it and experience a whole new realm. The kingdom of the Internet is near. And it’s the same with the kingdom of God. When we follow King Jesus and walk in his kingdom, there’s a whole new realm and a whole new power that opens up to us.

One of the things that power enables us to do is to deeply change. Let me ask you something: have you stopped believing that change is possible? Maybe there’s something in your life, or in the life of someone you love, and you’ve just given up hope that it will ever change? I’m here to tell you today, don’t give up. One of the privileges of being a pastor is that I get invited into some of the struggles people are having. And I’m telling you: I’ve seen beautiful change happening. I have seen people who are paralyzed by anger and resentment change to forgiveness. I have seen people who are being destroyed by addiction change to freedom. I’ve seen people who are unfaithful in marriage change into really good husbands or wives. I’ve seen people who are timid and afraid change to having confidence and courage to confront hard things in life. I see it all the time! So if you’ve given up hope that change can happen, I want to restore your hope today. In the kingdom of God, there’s power to change.

And the question is, okay—but how does that happen? That’s what Jesus answers for us in this passage. If you want to change, you have to hear what Jesus says here. Mark chapter four, the first 20 verses. Let’s hear God’s Word…

1 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. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the

plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” This is the Word of the Lord.

This is the first time in Mark that Jesus tells a parable, which is basically a short, made-up story that makes a spiritual point. The Greek word parabole literally means “something thrown down next to something else.” So I’m going to throw down a story about something you’re familiar with—like fishermen and nets, or a woman finding a lost coin, or a farmer spreading seed—I’m going to throw that down, and then right alongside that, corresponding to that, is a spiritual reality. If I just told you the spiritual reality straight up, you might not grasp it, but if I start with the stuff you’re familiar with, you’ll be able to connect the dots and see the deeper point.

So if you’ve read the Gospels, you know that Jesus taught in parables all the time. This one is kind of unusual, because after Jesus tells this parable, he comes back and he interprets it—he tells us what each piece of the parable actually means.

In verse 3, Jesus says “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.” This is something everyone in that culture was familiar with—a farmer with a handful of seeds, scattering them on the ground. So what does that represent? Down in verse 14, he says The farmer sows the word. So the seed in this parable represents the Word of God.

The way that people change, deeply, has something to do with the Word of God.

Which makes sense! Because from the beginning of the Bible, the words that God speaks have power. Genesis 1: Now the earth was formless and empty; darkness was over the surface of the deep…And God said, “Let there be light…” You know what happened? There was light. When God’s word goes out, things change.

In Isaiah 55:11—God says so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

In the New Testament—look at Hebrews 4:12…For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

You get the idea, right? When God speaks, his words have power. This is what gives me confidence in my teaching…and my counseling…and the groups that I lead. It’s not my clever ideas—I don’t really have any! But if I can give someone the Word of God in a way that relates to their life and speaks to them…there’s power in that.

This afternoon, we’re wrapping up the first ever J-Term—so I’ve been leading a 3-week course on how to read the Bible for yourself and how to carry the message with you throughout the day. I have to tell you, I expected about 30 people to come out for this class, and I was shocked when 100 people signed up. And it’s been such a great class—high level of participation and interaction. It has been encouraging to see people’s hunger for the Word of God. But I’m doing that—you know, after preaching two services in the morning, I’m happy to go and extend my day, because I’ve seen how powerful God’s Word is in my life. I’ve seen how he’s changed me, and continues to change me. And I want to help as many other people as I can discover that for themselves.

So—the question we’re asking is, “How do people change?” And Jesus says, “One part of it is the Word of God going out like seed being spread by a farmer.”

But that’s not enough! Because when seed gets thrown out, it’s going to land on all kinds of different…what? Soils. Even if you have a perfectly good seed, filled with potential fruit, that fruit cannot be released unless it falls on the right kind of soil. So in the parable, Jesus talks about four different kinds of soil, which represent four different kinds of hearts of the people who hear God’s Word. Does that make sense? So I can stand up here and say, “This is what God says…” but if that doesn’t fall on the right kind of heart, it’s not going to make any change happen at all.

So the main focus of the parable is this: Change happens…growth happens…spiritual fruit happens… when you hear the Word of God with the right kind of heart.

So…four kinds of soil; four kinds of hearts. Ask yourself, “Which one describes me?”

Here’s the first one— a Hard Heart. Look at verse 4: As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. And then Jesus tells us what that means down in verse 15: Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

So the seed falls on top of the ground, but the ground is dry and hard, so the seed just sits there. It never penetrates beneath the surface. Have you ever tried to plant grass seed on hard soil? Oh man—you waste a lot of seed that way! And pretty soon it becomes bird food.

So in spiritual terms, the Word of God goes out, and people hear it…but for some reason they choose to not let it sink in. There’s a resistance. And Jesus isn’t shy about saying that there’s an unseen spiritual battle going on—so this very real being named Satan plays a role in this. We were studying this in my men’s group last week, and I said, “What keeps the seed from penetrating the ground?” And somebody said, “Satanic birds.” Good answer. So Satan is like a bird who snatches up the seed. But before that happens, the ground is hard. And always in Scripture, when there’s a hard heart, that involves our personal choice. So…what would make someone who hears God’s Word be resistant to it?

Maybe you have intellectual doubts. You’re just not convinced this is the Word of God. You question how this book that was written by humans could actually be God’s message. So you take this whole thing with a grain of salt.

Or maybe Christians have really disappointed you. You’ve seen one too many pastors who get caught living double lives, or other so-called Christians who are hypocrites.

Or—maybe—it’s just your pride. Because remember—this thing Jesus calls us to is a Kingdom. And the most basic fact about this kingdom is that you don’t get to be king. Jesus does. You can no longer say, “It’s my life and I’ll do what I want with it.” You hand that right over to God. And maybe you struggle with that. Just like Adam stood in the garden, and he thought, “Who is God to say I can’t have this?” Your pride rises up, and it keeps the Word of God from getting in.

And if your heart is hard, change will not happen. I’ve never seen it! I’ve never seen a deeply messed up marriage get better, or an addicted person become sober, or a fearful person become confident…if they have a hard heart. It literally blocks what God wants to do.

I wonder—if you haven’t seen much change, could it be that you have a hard heart?

The second kind is a Shallow Heart. Verses five and six: 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. And then Jesus interprets that down in 16 and 17: 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.”

What kind of person is this talking about? Highly emotional. They come to church, or they hear a podcast, and it says, they receive it with joy! So, no hard soil here! They get so pumped up, so excited—they are all in. They share it with all their friends on social media—“You have to hear this message! I’ve never heard anything so powerful! It changed my life! I’m getting a tattoo with this verse on it!” And everybody thinks, “Wow—this guy is transformed! She’s on fire for God! She should be the speaker at our next women’s event! What an amazing change!”

You know what the problem is? No root. No root. So after a couple of weeks or a couple of months, you look around, and you say, “Hey—what happened to John? I haven’t seen him in a few weeks.” And it turns out that John has flamed out. The plant scorched and withered, because it had no root. All emotion; all adrenaline. And emotion is great! It’s God-given! But when that’s all you’ve got, it never lasts.

Did you notice what it is that exposes the shallow roots? Verse 17: When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.” Why? Why would they fall away when trouble comes into their lives? Probably because they were taught a false gospel. They were taught, “Jesus came to make you happy and healthy and prosperous.” And when that doesn’t happen—they lose their job; they get cancer; their parents divorce; their kid rebels…or, like it says, they experience some persecution—maybe somebody laughs at them for their Christian beliefs…they quickly bail out. “Man, that is not what I signed up for!”

So we teachers have a huge responsibility. Yes, we need to teach you that Jesus came to give you abundant life—because that’s what he said. But he also said “In this world you will have trouble.” He said, “If people hated me, some are going to hate you also.” Philippians 1:29 says it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him. And if we don’t

preach that side of things, we’re giving you bad seed. We’re actually creating shallow roots and setting you up for failure.

But it’s not all the teacher’s fault! Because as hearers of the word, we need to make sure we’re not looking to Jesus as a provider of services. Right? To enhance our lives. I think sometimes we say we want to enter Christ’s kingdom, but actually we want Jesus to come and bless our Kingdom. And that’s not how it works.

So…sometimes people don’t change because their hearts are hard; sometimes they don’t change because they were just all emotion and adrenaline, and that never lasts.

Here’s the third type of heart: A Divided Heart. Jesus talks about this up in verse 7: Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. And here’s the interpretation—verse 18: 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

So this soil isn’t hard; it’s not rocky & shallow; it’s pretty good soil. So the seed sinks in and starts to grow. But before it can produce any fruit, it gets choked out by the thorns. And he says the thorns represent three things: worries of life, deceitfulness of wealth, and desires for other things.

This is a scary one! I think this one might be the most common for people in this room. I believe this is talking about real believers. The first two, I’m convinced are not real believers. The hard heart—definitely not. And the shallow heart—they didn’t really get it. But this one—there’s actually something growing, so I believe it’s talking about true believers. But there’s little or no fruit. Could this be you? You really do believe, but you don’t see things changing; you don’t see God’s power in your life.

And the reason is: your heart is divided. You want God, but you also want lots of other stuff!

I was reading an interview with Greg Schiano, the coach of the Rutgers football team, who happens to be a committed Christian. The interviewer was asking him some personal questions, and he said, “Tell me about your hobbies.” And Schiano said, “I don’t have any hobbies. My family is my hobby.” In other words, “My main calling is to coach football. And besides that, I spend time with my family. That’s it. If I want to do those things well, I can’t really do much else.”

And I so appreciated that. Because there are a bunch of things I would love to pursue in life! And this is not a joke: I would love to hike the entire Appalachian Trail; I would love to learn to fly fish really well; I’d love to play the drums AND the piano, and I’d love to truly master the art of Mexican cooking. That’s my short list. I could give you the longer one if you want! I would love to do all that stuff! Are any of those things bad? No! Those aren’t evil things!

But here’s what I’ve realized: the more distracted I am—the more different directions I’m pulled in—the less I see the power of Christ flowing through my life. Now: don’t hear me wrong; hobbies are great—in fact, they’re necessary. And I do much shorter hiking; and I do make pretty good fajitas. Hobbies are great. But when we get consumed with things like that, they can become like thorns that choke out our focus. And here’s the thing: when I fast forward to the day I’m lying on my death bed—which will happen—I will not care if I ever hiked from Maine to Georgia or perfected my chimichangas. You know what I’ll care about? Did I follow Christ? Was I a good father, and husband, and friend, and pastor? For me, there’s not much time for any serious pursuits outside of those.

So…why don’t people change in powerful ways? It’s all about the condition of our hearts. It could be a hard heart; could be a shallow heart; could be a divided heart. And finally we get to the last one…

A Receptive Heart. Verse 8—Jesus says Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times. And then he interprets it down in verse 20: Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.

Did you see the three things?

First, you have to hear the word of God. So you make time to put yourself in the path of God’s truth. You build Scripture reading into your schedule. You show up on Sundays anticipating what God will teach you. You come to your small group hungry for God to speak. So you truly hear it.

Then secondly, you accept it. So when you hear something from God, there’s this deep respect for what you’ve heard. Even if it deeply challenges you or offends you, you don’t dismiss it—because you know the One who spoke it. You hear it; you accept it.

And then, finally, you produce a crop. Which means things start to happen in your life. Spiritual fruit.

Now, here’s what I love about this: it doesn’t say everyone produces the same crop. Some people produce 30 times what was sown, some 60, some 100. You can’t look at the guy next to you, and say, “Why aren’t you growing like I am? I conquered that bad habit after two weeks. What’s taking you so long?” Because everyone is different; circumstances are different. Don’t play the comparison game.

And let me say this, too: It’s not necessarily dramatic. It’s usually not all at once. You know, when you plant seeds, it’s not like stuff bursts up overnight. It takes time.

But over time, if you listen to God’s Word and accept God’s Word, growth will happen. Real fruit will be produced. Things that could never happen otherwise.

There was a huge study conducted recently by the Center for Bible Engagement, where they polled 40,000 Americans, and they were measuring how frequently people engage with Scripture and how that affects their lives. I’m going to share this in more detail with the J-Term class today, but here’s the summary: when people engaged with Scripture one time per week—and that could include listening to a sermon; attending a small group; their own personal devotions—one time per week: negligible impact in their lives. No significant change. Two times a week: negligible impact. Three times a week, you saw a little change. Then all of a sudden, people who engage with the Word four times a week—it spikes off the chart. It’s not a gradual progression; it was like 1,2,3, 4 (upward spike).

And here are a few things that change for people who engage with the Word four times per week—you ready? Anger issues drop by 32%. Bitterness in relationships drops 40%. Alcoholism drops 57%. Viewing pornography drops 61%. On the positive side, sharing your faith with other people jumps by 200%. There is power in the Word.

You know, if people didn’t really change, I would have quit this job a long time ago. It would be too disappointing. But I get to see change all the time. So if you have lost hope that change is possible, you need to start believing again. Change happens. So choose to be the fertile soil: listen to God’s Word, accept it, and you will be amazed at what God will do.