A 40-DAY JOURNEY WITH THE KING: Lenten reflections from Mark’s Gospel (11)

 


“Again [Jesus] began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.  He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! A sower went out to sow...” (Mk. 4.1-3)

     Though Mark has made it clear that Jesus is a teacher (1.21-22, 39; 2.1-2, 13; 3.20, 32ff), he has yet to give us a glimpse of the content of that teaching.  Finally, as chapter 4 opens, the wait is over.  Once again, Jesus is by the Sea of Galilee, teaching the crowds from the safety of a fishing boat (4.1; cf. 3.7-10).  As Jesus comes aboard the vessel, he adopts the typical posture of a teacher; i.e., he sits (4.1; cf. Mt. 5.1).  Hence the expression “to sit at the feet of a master” (cf. Lk. 10.39).  Jesus speaks “the word” to the crowds (2.2; 4.14ff, 33).  In Luke’s Gospel, this “word” is the very “word of God” (cf. Lk. 5.1; 8.11, 15, 21; 11.28).  Unlike most prophets, Jesus never says “Thus says the LORD” or “Listen to what God is saying” – he just speaks.

     The format of Jesus’ teaching is parables (4.2, 11-12, 33-34).  This is a poetic, prophetic form of discourse (cf. Is. 5.1-7; Ez. 17.1-10; 24.1-14).  Another way to translate the Greek word parabole is “riddle”.  Contrary to the popular misconception that parables are a simple, straightforward way of communicating to uneducated country folk, Jesus deliberately opts for this rhetorical vehicle for his teaching precisely because parables are opaque, multi-faceted and open to interpretation, and ultimately, will only disclose their meaning to those who have the right heart-disposition and attitude (cf. Mk. 4.10-12; cp. Is. 6.9-10).  This is the meaning of the Parable of the Sower (4.3-9, 13-20).  As C.S. Lewis said, “What you see depends on where you stand and also on what sort of person you are”.  Indeed, when the disciples question Jesus about why he teaches through parables, he contrasts “the secret of the kingdom of God” which is disclosed to his closest followers with “the parables” that are offered to those “outside” (4.11).  Jesus supplements these cryptic remarks with a quotation from the prophet Isaiah (4.12 = Is. 6.9-10; cf. Jer. 5.21; 6.10).  God had commissioned Isaiah to proclaim the word to Israel so that:

“they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven”.

At first blush, this strikes us as being quite unfair.  Surely, Jesus desired for his audience to understand what he was saying?  Well, yes and no.  Through his teaching, Jesus is not seeking primarily to transmit information, like a benevolent teacher who does her utmost to create the conditions required for her students to “pass the course”.  No, Jesus is not that kind of teacher.  Jesus is searching rather for transformation in the hearts and minds of his hearers.  Jesus is not concerned so much with what people know, but rather with who people are.  The king is seeking subjects for his kingdom.  Though Jesus’ “inner circle” is privileged to have the secret of the kingdom spelled out for them, in principle, the secret is an open one, accessible to all who are willing to share Jesus’ vision of a world where heaven comes to earth (cf. Mt. 6.9-10).

     The subject of Jesus’ teaching is, indeed, the kingdom of God (4.26, 30; cf. 1.15).  Jesus compares those who are fit for the kingdom as “fruitful fields” that yield abundant harvests (4.20).  In the Scriptures, “the righteous” are often described as fruitful plants (cf. Ps. 1.3; Jer. 17.7-8).  The prophets had described the exile as having been the “uprooting of Israel” from the Promised Land and the return from Babylon as being the (re)planting of Judah in her “native soil” (cf. Jer. 1.10; 31.28).  Jesus is re-establishing the people of God, he is planting Israel in the Land, he is sowing the word and looking for a harvest – the king is building his kingdom.  Far from the halls of power, the anonymous king is recruiting his subjects among the peasants of Galilee.  “Enthroned” on a fishing boat, the Son of God proclaims the word of God to the people of God, stationed on the shores of the sea…

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