Friday: Summary

Mark 4:33–34

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

Mark here leaves the section of Jesus' teachings with a summary and application of the purpose for parables as seen in 4:10-12. He speaks in parables to the large crowd following him then privately with the disciples he teaches them the meaning of the parables.

Again, he spoke to them "as they were able to hear" recalling yet again the important theme of this section—hearing Jesus. Parables enlighten (for those on the inside) and obscure (for those on the outside) based on whether or not the hearer hears. Those who hear understand more of the kingdom and more is given to them. (v. 24-25). To those who don't hear, even what they understood is taken away.

To close out this section on the parables and teaching of Jesus take note again of the themes of hearing Jesus, insiders and outsiders, the kingdom growth and humble beginnings.

We are tempted to read these first from a "how does this apply to me lens." We must first step back and remember the context they were written in and the source of these parables. Parables, because they use visual illustrations, can be easily manipulated in interpretation. We have to be incredibly careful to not take them beyond what Jesus intended. Below I've listed a helpful sequence of questions to ask as you're interpreting any passage of Scripture. The final question, "What does this mean for me?" can only be applied within the framework of the preceding answers. So, in interpreting these we can't just jump to, "For me, a seed implies...". That's putting the cart before the horse and can lead to a lot of manipulation in the name of Jesus. I hate it when people take my words and twist them to make them say whatever they want (my daughter Ellie is very good at it already); don't do that to Jesus!

Many of these teachings have specific applications to Jesus disciples, giving more credibility to the claim that these are Peter's memoirs of Jesus' teachings. These would be the parables that gave him the most encouragement in the tough times of the early church's ministry.

These parables would've also been super encouraging to the early church in Rome, especially facing persecution from the Roman authorities. These would call them to look again to the fruit of their life to know they are insiders; to take heart if their message isn't readily received by the Romans; to know the kingdom secrets will one day be revealed; to find hope in Jesus' promise of God inspired growth even from humble beginnings. These ought to encourage us and teach us even today as they did the church in the first century.

Interpretation Questions:

1. What does this mean?
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Word studies, immediate context (paragraph, argument flow, location in the book, etc), larger context (type of literature, book, author, style, etc).
2. What does this mean in light of all Scripture?
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Where are we in salvation-redemption history? (Old Testament, New Testament, Patriarchal Era, Kingdom Era, Exile, Church Era, etc) (See 2nd image below)
3. What does this mean for us today?
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As and example, if you're reading Leviticus you must run your interpretation through the filter of the new covenant before you can apply the text to the church at large or our current era.
4. What does this mean for me?
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Within the framework of the answers to the previous questions, what needs to change about how I think or how I live for my life to be more in line with the teachings of Scripture? (See first picture below)