Stephen
Terry, Director
Parables
Commentary
for the July 27, 2024, Sabbath School Lesson
"People were bringing little
children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked
them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, 'Let the little
children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to
such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God
like a little child will never enter it. And he took the children in his arms,
placed his hands on them and blessed them.'"
Mark 10:13-16
The parables of Jesus have
always intrigued me. As a child they seemed clear in their meaning, and that
has not changed over time. Yet, the parables in Mark, chapter 4, are presented
in a context that indicates that they are difficult to understand. I think if
we look more deeply at them, we can find the reasons that they are hidden from
some. In Jesus' "Parable of the Sower," the sower has control over where the seed
is sown, and his choice to sow carelessly so that the seed falls in unsuitable
places is contrasted with sowing the seed in fertile ground. If the seed is the
gospel, it is saying that the one who sows in unfertile ground is wasting their
time. Modern examples of that may be large scale mailings of "The Great
Controversy" by Ellen White. Most, if not all, of those mailed are tossed and
never read. But some think that even if only one person converts, it is worth
the expense and effort. Jesus seemed to disagree. When addressing the
Pharisees, he said "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you
hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you
have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are." (Matthew
23:15) When he sent out his disciples, he instructed them, "And if any
place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the
dust off your feet as a testimony against them." (Mark
6:11)
There is no command in scripture
for us to sow on stone instead of fertile soil. But we bypass many who would
love to hear the word of the Lord to minister to those who have little
interest. Only God can soften hearts. (Ezekiel
36:26) Let him prepare the ground. Those who are ready will come to us just
as they did to Jesus. Does this mean that a lot of people will come? Jesus said
that before his coming it will be like it was in Noah's time. (Matthew
24:37-39) Back then people were absorbed in the daily round of needs and
activities with little thought of God or those who represented him. Only eight
people cared about God enough to find salvation. It is not much different now.
We have mega churches presenting the Prosperity Gospel which turns the Bible
into a get-rich-quick swindle. Others teach that austere obedience is God's
path for us. In a world where too many Christians no longer believe in the power
of prayer, God seems irrelevant. When we need saving, money is depended upon to
do the trick. Although we do not bow before a carved golden idol, gold is still
the object of worship in a world that believes God does not exist. Those who
earnestly seek him discover otherwise. Jeremiah, the Prophet, speaking for God said,
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah
29:13) That leaves little room for other things like gold.
History teaches us of the
voracious human appetite for gold. The gold rush spawned by the discovery of
gold at Sutter's Mill had people crossing continents and oceans to claim some
for themselves. They paid a high price with one in twelve finding death instead
of gold. The Alaska-Klondike gold rush was even worse with seven out of ten
either dead or unaccounted for. What a different world this would be if we
chose to put forth that much effort to know God. We do not have to cross continents
or brave harsh weather. He is nearby. We are admonished by the prophet Isaiah, "Seek
the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near." (Isaiah
55:6) The same prophet tells us that if we seek God earnestly, "Whether you
turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you,
saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" (Isaiah
30:21)
There is a certain amount of
mystery in all of this just as there is in growing crops. We know that the
right combination of sun, soil, and water will cause seeds to germinate even if
we do not understand how something dead like a dry kernel of corn can suddenly
spring to life. The same things happen in a relationship with God. Some might
plant corn and go out the next day expecting fully-grown cornstalks with full
ears of corn on each one. But nature will soon set us straight, as Jesus
pointed out, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on
the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and
grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain--first
the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the
grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come." (Mark
4:26-29) But this mystery only happens when we sow in fertile soil. God and
the angels take care of the harvest. Jesus revealed this in his Parable of the
Weeds when he said, "The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are
angels." (Matthew
13:39) It is reasonable to believe that the same one who expects a harvest
would make sure to provide that fertile ground before sending sowers out into
his field.
Not one seed can be forced to
grow any larger than its genes allow. Walking in the field, one can see that no
two stalks are identical even though the seed may have all looked the same.
Diversity is God's intention. While we may stumble over those whom God is nurturing
in ways we do not understand, if we wait upon the Lord, his ways will become
clear over time. No matter how diverse the population, some whom we may never
have suspected and would have turned away from our church doors have been
nurtured by the Holy Spirit and are wholeheartedly seeking God. Despite not
understanding God's character fully, they feel a deep, heart yearning telling
them that something better than this world exists. Little children understand
this. Before they are harnessed as adults to a production process for decades
until they can no longer physically continue, they see the world with the
wonder that must have filled the hearts of Adam and Eve as they gazed upon
Eden. They are eager to walk with God, just like Enoch, until someone comes
along and tells them, "God is like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. He is not
real. If he were real, there would be no suffering." But C. S. Lewis pointed
out in his book "Out of the Silent Planet," that God is actively engaging evil.
Currently, he has over eight billion interventions he has sent. Unfortunately,
far too many have abandoned the task and have gone over to the other side,
killing one another for a stake on a sick planet. Instead of bringing healing,
they bring sickness and death. They would sooner kill someone who is different
than to embrace them as a part of God's diverse creation.
I remember as children, we would
scour the neighborhood for other children to get up a game of softball. It did
not matter if they were male or female, the color of their skin, if they talked
funny or any one of a thousand differences. We just knew unless we had enough people,
we could not have a game. But as adults, we act like the game no longer matters
more than the possibility that someone different may come to be on the team. In
Jesus time, that would be the tax collectors and sinners. He welcomed them,
though he was criticized by the religious leaders for it. Just like with our
ball games, a greater purpose overruled all of that. Charlie Brown, a cartoon
character created by Charles Schultz reminds me of how it is. Charlie Brown was
always trying to find people to play ball and then get them all going in the
same direction to win a game. Frequently frustrated, he never gave up and accepted
all who were willing onto the team. While Charlie Brown was building his team
there were star players playing in stadiums somewhere, but he knew that it was
not his mission to seek out the star athletes for his sandlot team. Jesus said,
"Let the little children come to me." The openness of those tiny hearts is what
the kingdom of God is made of.