The Sower and the Candle

Mark 4:1-25

1 And he began again to teach by the ^asea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.

 2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his ^adoctrine,

 3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a ^asower to sow:

 4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.

 5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:

 6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

 8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

 9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

 10 And when he was ^aalone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the^amystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in ^bparables:

 12 That seeing they may see, and not ^aperceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be ^bforgiven them.

 13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?

 14 ¶The sower soweth the word.

 15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, ^aSatan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.

 16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately ^areceive it with gladness;

 17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when ^aaffliction or ^bpersecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.

 18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,

 19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of ^ariches, and the ^blusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.

 20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.

 21 ¶And he said unto them, Is a ^acandle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?

 22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.

 23 ^aIf any man have ears to hear, let him hear.

 24 And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: ^aand unto you that hear shall more be ^bgiven.

 25 ^aFor he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be ^btaken even that which he hath.

The Sower

Classification: The church of the future - its planting and growth

Narrative: Jesus was sitting by the sea (Galilee?) when a crowd started to gather around him. He went onto a boat and cast off a little ways so he could be heard better by the crowd. He told the crowd this parable and when the twelve asked why he spoke in parables he told them that the mysteries of God would only be given to those who earnestly sought for it.

Interpretation: The Sower - Anyone who spreads the Word of God

The seed is the Word of God.

The seed by the way side - One who heard the word of God but paid no attention to it. They carried on with their wicked ways.

The seed in the stony places - One who heard the word and liked what he heard but didn't put any roots into their new learnings. When things got hard and people started to make fun, this person quickly turned away.

The seed in the thorny place - One who heard the word but allowed the cares of this world (like money) to choke out any room for cares of a spiritual nature.

The seed in the good ground - One who heard the word, embraced it, committed to the work and shared the word with others who also committed and shared.

Application: I think we all have moments where our hearts are any one of these types of ground. We need to recognize what kind of soil we are currently allowing the word of God to live within our hearts. If we find that our hearts are a bit too stony then we need to do what we can to break up the rocks and make it good soil again. Nephi had a conversation with his brothers, Laman and Lemuel. The two older brothers were having a hard time understanding the doctrine Lehi was trying to teach them. Nephi asked them, "Have ye inquired of the Lord?" (1 Nephi 15:8) In anger they responded, "We have not; for the Lord maketh no such thing known unto us." Poor frustrated Nephi (they were travelling together, It's not like he could just drive away and leave them to their lives) said to them, "How is it that ye do not keep the commandments of the Lord? How is it that ye will perish, because of the hardness of your hearts? Do ye not remember the things which the Lord hath said?- If ye will not harden your hearts, and ask me in faith, believing that ye shall receive, with diligence in keeping my commandments, surely these things shall be made known unto you."    I know what Nephi told his brothers is true. I've seen it work in my own life and in the lives of others. Do all you can to keep your soil loamy (is that an actual gardening term? I don't know) and be willing to help anyone who asks for help in changing their soil.

"The parable clearly taught where the responsibility lay with regard to the kingdom of God and the reception of the gospel. It was not with the sower and it was not in the seed - it was in the soil, the heart of man." E. Keith Howick, The Parables of Jesus the Messiah

He Who Hath Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear: These parables were not intended for a select few. They are not for just members of a church or just Christians. Christ wanted His word to go to ANYONE who would take the time to listen and to ponder on what He had to say. As my friend, Wendy Ward, pointed out to me the other day, Satan sends fiery darts at us to blind our eyes. (1 Nephi 15:24 And I said unto them that it was the word of God; and whoso would hearken unto the word of God, and would hold fast unto it, they would never perish; neither could the temptations and the fiery darts of the adversary overpower them unto blindness, to lead them away to destruction.) How great that we can help each other to see and hear the word of God and not be led away!

The Candle - also known as the Lamp under a bushel

Jesus gave this little parable along with the parable of the sower. It means no one lights a candle and then sticks it under something in order to hide it. The light is the light of Christ and is meant to be shared. Share that light, spread that seed, allow Christ to make our hearts places of good soil and hope for the same in others.

Landscape with the Parable of the Sower, Pieter Brueghel the Elder, 1557

Here is my friend,Jennilyn's, blog. I love what she had to say about 1Nephi 15.

 "Press On" by Joseph B. Wirthlin