A 40-DAY JOURNEY WITH THE KING: Lenten reflections from Mark’s Gospel (23)

 


“[Jesus] also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground, and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth produces of itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4.26-29)

     Following Peter’s confession of him as Messiah, Jesus begins to explain to the disciples just what kind of a king he is – he is a Messiah who will suffer and die, rejected by the leaders of the people of God (8.31).  Understandably, the disciples are deeply disturbed by this – after all, how can a king rule if he is…dead?  (Jesus did also mention that he would rise again after three days, but by that point, the apostles seem to not have been listening).  The fact remains – Jesus has no intention of following the example of any of the royal/military heroes of Israel’s past, whether it be David, or any of the warrior-judges or even the Maccabees.  The kingdom that Jesus is proclaiming will not resemble any kingdom the world has yet seen.  Indeed, the kingdom of God has been Jesus’ main theme since the beginning of his public activity (cf. 1.14-15).  This makes sense.  From the very first verse of his Gospel, Mark introduces Jesus to us as the king of Israel.  Well, a king needs a kingdom.  So far, so good.

     Jesus’ kingdom-strategy involves calling people to follow him, and then choosing 12 from among his followers to share his authority to both proclaim the message and combat the kingdom of Satan, i.e., drive out demons (3.13-15; cf. 3.27).  By appointing twelve apostles, Jesus is symbolically reconstituting the people of God, as Jacob/Israel (Abraham’s grandson) had had twelve sons, who had become the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of ancient Israel.  Jesus surrounds himself with “sinners” and social outcasts, as well as people in need of healing.  In other words, instead of currying favour with the great and the good, Jesus deliberately “recruits” those who are without status or socio-religious currency.  The kingdom of Jesus is a bottom-up kingdom, as opposed to a top-down kingdom.  The kingdom of God turns human kingdoms and their values upside down (cf. Lk. 1.46-55).  The values of Jesus’ kingdom are mercy, compassion and unconditional welcome (cf. Mk. 2.13-17).  Those things that are striking by their absence are control, coercion, status, prestige, violence and power.  This is indeed the kingdom of a Messiah who will suffer.

     Jesus spends much time teaching both in the synagogues of Galilee (cf. 1.39; 6.6) and to large crowds by the Sea of Galilee (2.13; 3.7-12; 4.1).  Jesus “speaks the word” to the crowds, mainly in the form of parables (2.2; 4.33-34).  In chapter 4, we have the first significant block of Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom of God.  The first parable that Mark shares with us is that of The Sower (4.3-9, 13-20).  This parable is a story about seed that is sown onto four types of soil, which, explains Jesus to the disciples, represent four types of people who “hear” the “word” he is proclaiming.  Indeed, Jesus insists on the importance of “hearing” what he says (4.21-25).  Jesus is convinced that most who listen to his teaching will not “hear”, i.e., they will not understand the message of the kingdom of God (4.10-12).  In terms of the parable of The Sower, most people fall into the categories of the path beside the field, the rocky soil and the thorny soil – all types of soil that are not propitious to growth and fruitfulness.  Some people are “good soil” – they truly “hear” what Jesus is saying, understand it and act upon it (cf. Mt. 7.24-27).  Those who truly “hear” the message are those who follow Jesus; those who do not hear are those who oppose him, whether they be scribes, Pharisees, or even the members of Jesus’ own family (cf. 3.1-6, 20-35; 6.1-6).

     Once again, the kingdom that Jesus is proclaiming and embodying is not a kingdom of conquest, domination or subjugation – au contraire, it is a kingdom that grows subtly, like wheat (4.26-29).  The kingdom of God is a “grass-roots” movement, which grows at the rate of one person at a time, as people respond favourably to the message, the “good news” of the kingdom (cf. 1.15).  Jesus’ “weapons” are words (“seeds”), his “subjects” are those who freely choose to follow him (often in response to his call), his “army” are the twelve apostles, to whom he gives the power to preach and perform exorcisms.  This is a strange kingdom, yet it is indeed a kingdom on the march.  The denizens of the kingdom of Satan are all too aware that their time is up (cf. 1.23-24; 5.6-8, etc.).  The kingdom of God has come to Galilee (of all places).  Where will it go from here?

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