The Great Divide

THE GREAT DIVIDE

An Exposition of Mark 4:10-12

By Pastor Brian Wilbur

Date:   February 23, 2020

Series: Mark: Knowing and Following God’s Son

Note:   Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard   Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

THE SCRIPTURAL TEXT

Holy Scripture says:

¹⁰ And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. ¹¹ And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, ¹² so that

“‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
    and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.’” (Mark 4:10-12)

A VARIETY OF RESPONSES TO JESUS’ MINISTRY IN MARK 1-4

As we have been journeying through The Gospel of Mark, we have encountered a variety of responses to Jesus’ ministry. Observing this landscape will help us understand what Jesus teaches us in verses 10-12 about how outsiders are blind to the glory of God’s kingdom.

The Opportunists

First, there are the opportunists. The opportunists saw in Jesus an opportunity to obtain relief for their troubles (Mark 1:32, 3:10). The problem with the opportunists isn’t that they sought healing from the Lord, but that healing is the only thing they sought. They failed to “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). They wanted deliverance from sickness and oppression, but not deliverance from sin (see Matthew 11:20-24). They desired health and wellness, but they didn’t hunger for the Word.  

The Harsh Critics

Second, there are the harsh critics. These were the scribes (the religious teachers) and the Pharisees (the religious elite). They were zealous for God’s law as they understood it, and yet their hearts were far from God. When Jesus forgave the sins of the paralyzed man, they thought that He was blaspheming (Mark 2:1-12). When Jesus ate with tax collectors and sinners, they thought He was being careless (Mark 2:13-17). When Jesus allowed His disciples to pick grain on the Sabbath and when Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, they thought that Jesus was a lawless Sabbath-breaker (Mark 2:23–3:6). When Jesus cast out demons, they thought that He was in league with the devil (Mark 3:22-30). These critics were blind to the truth of God’s kingdom of grace.[1] They didn’t see that Jesus is “the Son of Man [who] has authority on earth to forgive sins” (Mark 2:10). They didn’t see that Jesus is the great ‘physician of the soul’ who came to show grace to sinners (Mark 2:17). They didn’t see that Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28) who came to restore the weary. They didn’t see that Jesus is empowered by God’s Holy Spirit to defeat Satan’s kingdom (Mark 1:7-13; Mark 1:21-28; Mark 3:22-27). Since these critics were blind to reality, they opposed Jesus and began to develop a plan “to destroy him” (Mark 3:6). 

The Misguided Soft Critics

Third, there are the misguided who just don’t get it. I am referring to Jesus’ earthly family, specifically His physical brothers, who did not yet believe in Him (John 7:5). So, according to Mark 3:21, “they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”” They weren’t like the harsh critics, but we might call them soft critics. They don’t know what to do with Jesus, so they try do Him a favor and bring Him under their control.

The Traitors

Fourth, there are the traitors. Traitors, before their decisive act of betrayal, are not known to be traitors. But treachery brews on the inside. “[Jesus] appointed the twelve [apostles]” (Mark 3:16; see also Mark 3:14) and yet one of them was “Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him” (Mark 3:19). Traitors play a good game, keep up appearances, and wear the team jersey, but in their hearts they are energized by impure motives. When their time comes, and they’ve finally had enough, they turn against the team and try to bring the whole thing down. Paul said that traitors would arise out of the church leadership: “from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” (Acts 20:30)

Consider these four groups of people. Opportunists believe that Jesus is good, but for the wrong reasons. They treat Jesus like a genie who can deliver the goods. The harsh critics believe that Jesus is bad. They see Jesus as a dangerous teacher who is anti-law, anti-Sabbath, anti-tradition, anti-holiness. The misguided soft critics are somewhere in the middle: they don’t believe that Jesus is particularly good or particularly bad, they just think that He’s crazy and out-of-touch. As for traitors, they are part-opportunist and part-critic rolled up into one hypocritical mess. Their status as Satan’s double agent is hidden, quite possibly even from themselves, until everything blows up and their true colors show.  

As we follow Jesus on mission to our broken and sinful world, we need to realize that these four groups are still very much us. There are opportunists who want to use Christianity as a way of getting what they want. There are harsh critics who want to silence the church and her message. There are the misguided soft critics who aren’t quite prepared to vilify us, but they really do think that we are out of our minds. And finally there are the traitors who befriend us and work with us until they don’t, then they unfriend us and work against us, and everyone is shocked. But Jesus isn’t shocked: He knows all along.

Although terms like ‘opportunists’ and ‘harsh critics’ and ‘misguided soft critics’ and ‘traitors’ may seem abstract, bear in mind that we are talking about real people – people with the longings and the insecurities that are common to mankind. Picture parents who just want relief for their suffering child. Picture well-meaning people who have built their entire life on a faulty religious system. Picture thoughtful humanitarians who want to promote their version of compassion and justice, but cannot stomach the truth of a blood-stained cross. Picture disappointed men and women who feel that the church let them down or who feel that Christianity didn’t work for them. It is such people who are our neighbors, our friends, our co-workers, our extended family members. Or maybe you even find yourself in one of these descriptions.        

True Disciples

But there is also a fifth group: true disciples. The Gospel of Mark was written for the purpose that we might eagerly follow Jesus. Mark 1-4 gives us several snapshots of what faithful discipleship looks like.

Here is a snapshot from Mark 1: “And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” And immediately they left their nets and followed him.” (Mark 1:17-18) True disciples hold fast to Jesus, but hold loosely to everything else.

Here is a snapshot from Mark 2: “[Many] tax collectors and sinners were reclining with Jesus and his disciples” (Mark 2:15). Where are the disciples? They are with Jesus. What are the disciples doing? They are doing what Jesus is doing. True disciples are on mission with Jesus.

Here is a snapshot from Mark 3: “[Whoever] does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:35) Jesus’ spiritual family is characterized by obedience to God’s Word.

Here is a snapshot from Mark 4: “But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” (Mark 4:20) True disciples pay attention to God’s Word, they hear it with understanding, it goes deep into their hearts, and it transforms them into people who live fruitfully for God’s glory.

So you’ve got the opportunists, the harsh critics, the misguided soft critics, the traitors, and you could certainly use additional terms to describe more kinds of faulty responses to Jesus’ ministry. Then you also have the healthy responders – the eager and true disciples. All these various responses are happening whenever and wherever God’s Word is faithfully proclaimed. And it is in the context of this varied landscape that Jesus says:

“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”” (Mark 4:3-9)

INSIDERS AND OUTSIDERS

When you consider these various responses to Jesus’ ministry, you get the fundamental contrast between ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’. A ‘kingdom insider’ is a true participant in the fellowship and mission of God’s kingdom. A ‘kingdom outsider’ is someone who remains lost and on the outside of God’s kingdom, even though they might appear to be on the inside. An opportunist might look like an insider for a while, but wait… A future traitor might seem like an insider for a time, but wait… It’s like the fair-weather “rocky ground” responders I told you about last week from Mark 4:16-17 – they respond to the word superficially. Outwardly they appear to be a Christian for a while, but when they realize what it actually costs to be a Christian, they bail. Then you know. Or consider the half-hearted ‘thorny soil’ responders from Mark 4:18-19 – they may get a little bit of Bible and a little bit of church and a little bit of Christian fellowship into their lives, and they might look like an immature newbie for some stretch of time, but they never go ‘all in’ for Jesus and ultimately the thorns of worldly priorities “choke the word” (Mark 4:19). By their long-term unfruitfulness you shall know them.

This distinction between ‘kingdom insider’ and ‘kingdom outsider’ is especially apparent in Mark 4. Notice the contrast between the “very large crowd” in verse 1 and the smaller group of disciples in verse 10. Look at verse 1: “And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.” There must have been a lot of opportunists in this large crowd, along with a smattering of other folks, including some earnest disciples. But the large crowd consisted mostly of ‘outsiders’. Eventually the day draws toward a close, the crowd disperses, and everyone goes home. Later, the disciples gather around Jesus for some additional instruction. Look at verse 10: “And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.” This smaller group of disciples consisted of ‘insiders’ – although Judas was only an ‘apparent insider’ who would “fall away” (Mark 4:17) in due course.  

So there is this great divide between ‘outsider’ and ‘insider’. Israel’s religious elite (the harsh critics) and Jesus’ physical brothers (the soft critics) and the opportunistic crowds are ‘kindgom outsiders’, whereas the ‘kingdom insiders’ are the ordinary people who had been called by Jesus to follow Him and gather around Him in order to hear and do God’s will.

The ‘kingdom outsiders’ are blind to the beauty and value of God’s kingdom, but King Jesus is committed to helping His disciples see the splendor of the everlasting kingdom. So there is this rhythm where He teaches “many things in parables” (Mark 4:2) to the large crowd, but then takes time to explain things to His small company of followers. As Mark says later in the chapter: “With many such parables he spoke the word to them [the large crowd], as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.” (Mark 4:33-34)

This is the rhythm that Mark is describing in verse 10. Jesus had spoken verses 3-9 to “the whole crowd” (Mark 4:1). But now in verse 10 Jesus is with the twelve as well as some other disciples, and He takes time to instruct them. “[Those] around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.” (v. 10) Jesus’ disciples want to know what ‘The Parable of the Four Soils’ and the other parables mean. And they want to know why Jesus is speaking to the people in parables (see Matthew 13:10).

THE GREAT DIVIDE

In verses 11-12, Jesus tells His disciples about this great divide between ‘kingdom insiders’ and ‘kingdom outsiders’. Look at these two verses:

“And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, so that ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”” (Mark 4:11-12)

We must always test our knowledge by the standard of God’s Word. Sometimes well-meaning church people give the impression that the parables were a brilliant teaching strategy because they brought theoretical truth ‘down to earth’ and made difficult ideas easier to understand. That, however, is only half of the truth. To be sure, if you have spiritually-attuned ears that are able to hear with understanding, then yes, the parables prove to be accessible teaching. But if you are hard of hearing, then parables are not designed to heal your deaf ears. Instead, parables are an act of judgment against unbelievers. So parables cut in two directions: they reveal truth to insiders, but conceal truth from outsiders.

In verse 11, Jesus says that the secret of God’s kingdom “has been given” to His disciples. In other words, the truth of God’s kingdom is a secret or mystery that is hidden from human beings unless and until God reveals it. If God reveals His kingdom to you, then you perceive its beauty and understand its truth. But if God doesn’t reveal His kingdom to you, then you remain blind and deaf.

In the middle of verse 11, Jesus goes on to say that “for those outside” – for outsiders, for unbelievers, for non-disciples – “everything is in parables.” Mark 4:2 tells us that Jesus “was teaching them many things in parables” and Mark 4:34 tells us that “He did not speak to them without a parable.” Here in verse 11 Jesus says that “everything is in parables” for those who stand on the outside of His kingdom.

Let’s think about this a little bit. The word ‘parables’ is a word that refers to all kinds of figurative or metaphorical speech. ‘Parables’ refers to instruction that is given in the form of comparisons or illustrations. For example: a farmer sowing seed on different kinds of soil with varying results (in the parable of verses 3-8) illustrates the kingdom-of-God-reality that the preacher proclaims God’s Word to different kinds of people with varying results (in the parable’s explanation in verses 14-20). The down-to-earth metaphor of farming is designed to get us think about the spiritual truth of God’s kingdom.

However, the meaning of the parables is not obvious. If you think that the meaning of ‘The Parable of the Four Soils’ is obvious, that’s probably because Jesus told us what it means in verses 14-20. So to you the meaning is obvious because you already know what it means! But if you were part of the large crowd that heard the parable (in verses 3-9) but didn’t hear Jesus’ explanation of it (in verses 14-20), how would you know what it means? You hear the story, but you don’t understand the kingdom reality to which the story points. The parable would be like a riddle that you can’t solve, like a clue that doesn’t make sense, like a metaphorical treasure chest that you don’t have the key to open. You might be able to enjoy the story at the story level, but you cannot connect the theological dots.

So “for those outside everything is in parables,” everything is in figures, everything is in riddles and codes, and they are unable to press through the figures to the plain meaning. They cannot press through the riddles to the rock solid reality. They do not have the ability to decode the code.

And here’s the sobering reality: in verse 12, Jesus makes it clear that “everything is in parables” (v. 11) for outsiders as an act or sign of God’s judgment against them. Don’t trip over these sobering words:

“… for those outside everything is in parables, so that ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’” (v. 11-12)

Jesus’ words reveal God’s purpose to judge sinners. Verse 12 begins with the words “so that,” thus indicating purpose – and it is certainly God’s purpose that is in view. In the rest of verse 12 Jesus is actually paraphrasing Isaiah 6:9-10. The prophet Isaiah was tasked with a heavy commission: to bring a word of judgment against the disobedient nation of Israel. God told Isaiah that his job as a faithful prophet was to bring judgment upon an unfaithful people. When God commissioned Isaiah, He told Isaiah to say this to the people: “Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.” (Isaiah 6:9) Then God told Isaiah what to do: “Make the heart of this people dull, and their eyes heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” (Isaiah 6:10)

Don’t misunderstand Isaiah’s ministry. God didn’t send Isaiah to a humble, faithful, God-honoring, and compassionate people. It’s not as if God decided on a whim that He would like to send Isaiah on a mission of destruction against obedient people: blind those humble people, deafen those faithful people, and dull their teachable hearts, then I can come and judge them! No, it wasn’t like that at all. Read Isaiah 1-5 and you will see that Israel had become a proud, disobedient, idolatrous, unrighteous, violent, wicked, and sin-sick people. Then in Isaiah 6 God basically says, ‘Enough is enough’, and He sends Isaiah to confirm the unrighteous in their unrighteousness and ripen them for the destruction that they so richly deserve.

Then Jesus comes along seven-hundred years later and tells us that part of His ministry has an Isaiah-like design. Jesus, who always did what He did in dependence on His Father, understood that His parable-only speech to the crowd was aligned with His Father’s purpose to enact judgment on many people. Why is “everything… in parables” to outsiders? “[So] that ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’” Jesus will also confirm the unrighteous in their unrighteousness and ripen them for the destruction that they so richly deserve.

So here is the reality of what is happening in verses 11-12? God is giving grace to some, and He is giving judgment to others. ‘Kingdom insiders’ are the ones who receive spectacular grace: God has graciously opened their eyes so that they can see the incomparable beauty of His Son and the bountiful riches of His kingdom. ‘Kingdom outsiders’ are the ones who stand under God’s judgment: parable-only speech is an act of God’s judgment against them and it hides the truth from their eyes, and so it is that they remain blind, deaf, and unconverted.

God Judges Some and Shows Mercy to Others

The sobering word of judgment in verses 11-12 might offend some people. It might offend people who don’t like the idea of the Holy God judging guilty sinners. So it is a good time to remind us that we must know and love and worship God as He actually is, and not as we might imagine Him to be. If we attempt to know and love and worship God as we might imagine Him to be, then we are idolaters who are worshiping a god in our own image. If we attempt to stand in judgment over God’s Word as if we are wiser and more loving than God is, then we are deluded. Instead we must approach God’s holy throne and God’s holy Word with humble awe, and let God tell us who He is. God is the glorious and sovereign Creator who rules over human beings. Left to ourselves, we have no claim on His kingdom. Ever since our first parents, Adam and Eve, fell into sin, every human being is a sinner who deserves the judgment of God. If He enacts judgment against you by handing you over to the full measure of your sin and by hiding His grace from your eyes and ears and heart, then He has only given you what you deserve. That’s justice. As Scripture says, “[The] wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

On the other hand, if God shows you the riches of His kingdom by giving you spiritual ears to hear with true understanding and by giving you spiritual eyes to see with true perception, so that you turn to Him and receive His forgiveness and become a glad participant in His forever kingdom, then He has treated you far better than you deserve. That’s mercy.

The only people in God’s universe whom God treats unfairly are His own children: He has lavished abundant grace and undeserved kindness upon them; He has healed their blind eyes and washed away their sins; He has given them a seat at His banquet table. All this is over-the-top mercy, and is not an exercise in fairness. As Scripture says, “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.” (Psalm 103:10)

If you are a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, then the Father does not treat you fairly. On the contrary, He treats you much better than you deserve: “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God.”

Although the God-appointed season of parable-only speech is now past, the truth remains that the beauty and truth of God’s Word always remains hidden from ‘kingdom outsiders’ unless and until God opens their eyes. Whenever God’s Word is proclaimed, some have their eyes opened to see the glory of the King, while others are confirmed in their blindness.

IF YOU HAVE SPIRITUAL SIGHT, BE PROFOUNDLY GRATEFUL TO GOD

I want to conclude with an important application. In light of what Jesus teaches us in verses 10-12, what should your attitude be? This: if you are a true disciple – if you have spiritual sight – then you should feel profound gratitude to God for opening your heart to understand and love His truth. Let me put this in terms of a real life story.

Just this past week I started reading aloud a biography of George Müller to Matthias and Keziah.[2] There are probably many of you who know about this famous 19^th-century missionary who demonstrated God’s love to thousands of orphans and who humbly depended on God to provide for his needs. What I didn’t realize is how much of a rascal George was prior to his conversion.

Throughout his teenage years and even into his early twenties, George was excelling in the ways of sin. He was dishonest and deceitful; he was a thief and a swindler; he was a partier, drinker, and card-playing gambler; he loved money and benefited from his father’s regular supply of funds, and yet he incurred debts he couldn’t pay, then had to scheme in order to survive. Over the course of time he had stolen money from his dad and from his friends. He was wasting his life, indulging in triviality, and lacking in any great purpose for his life.

George’s sinfulness continued apace into his late teens and early twenties, when he was a theology student preparing to become a Lutheran pastor. He loved going to have fun at the local tavern, where he would indulge in beer, story-telling, and gambling.

One day his friend Beta, who had been going to the same tavern, told George that he wouldn’t be going to the tavern tonight because he was going to a Bible meeting. Beta wasn’t inviting George to go with him, but George said that he would go with Beta to the Bible meeting. Why? Basically as an exercise in humor bordering on mockery: going to a Bible meeting would become fodder for a good story to tell back at the tavern. Not the most noble motive!

Let me cut away from the story for just a moment and make an observation. How many unconverted people have gone to a Bible meeting or to a Bible study or to a Christian camp or to a church service – and yet it made absolutely no lasting difference in their lives? The number is quite high, and yet it comes as no surprise: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing” (1 Corinthians 1:18), and “for those outside everything is in parables” (Mark 4:11). But then there are those moments when God causes the light of His truth to flash forth into the heart of an unsuspecting sinner.

So George goes to the Bible meeting, and it was unlike any other experience that he had ever had. The biography puts it so well: “These people sang as if they were singing about someone they knew. They prayed as if they were praying to someone in the room. And they preached as if they believed every word they said.”[3] After the meeting, Beta asked George what he thought of the meeting. Gone from George’s soul was the shallow and trivial outlook, and a seriousness was birthed within him. George told Beta that the Bible meeting was the most enjoyable experience that he had ever had. Within a week George was soundly converted to the Lord Jesus Christ: he had a new taste for the things of God, and his former taste for partying, gambling, and scheming was gone. And in less than two months, George knew that the Lord was calling him to the mission field.

In October 1825 George had been enslaved to his sin, a student of theology who was unable to perceive and understand Christian truth. But by December 1825 George had become a planting of the Lord who was ripening fast in the “righteousness and peace and joy” that comes from the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17). What happened? God’s grace is what happened!

One person perceives the beauty of Christ, but another person doesn’t. One person understands the truth of the gospel, but another person doesn’t. One person turns to the Lord of glory and receives forgiveness, but another person doesn’t. God’s grace makes all the difference!

The same Lord who called the four fishermen Simon, Andrew, James, and John on the shores of Galilee; the same Lord who called Levi the tax collector from the tax booth; that same Lord goes to someone like George Müller and says, ‘You are mine, George. Receive your sight. Receive your ability to see and hear and understand. Now rise on your feet and follow Me into the wonders of My Father’s kingdom.’ And immediately George leaves his former life and follows the Lord (see Mark 1:18).

It is to this graced and privileged company – and that includes you if God’s grace has found you in the same way that it found George and Levi and the four fishermen – it is to this graced company that Jesus says: “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God.” And since this treasure is a sheer gift, you should feel profound gratitude to God for opening your heart to receive it. For without this eye-opening grace, you would still be wandering around in the darkness.

But if you are still on the outside – if you are still wandering around in the darkness – will you ask the Lord to heal your eyes and give you sight? 

ENDNOTES

[1] I am following Andrew E. Steinmann, Daniel (Concordia Commentary: A Theological Exposition of Sacred Scripture), Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2008, in referring to God’s kingdom as His kingdom of grace.

[2] Janet & Geoff Benge, George Müller: The Guardian of Bristol’s Orphans (Christian Heroes: Then & Now). Seattle: YWAM Publishing, 1999. My biographical summary of Müller’s pre-conversion life, his conversion, and his call into missions, are drawn from Chapters 1-3 (p. 11-48).

[3] Ibid., p. 40.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Victor Babajide Cole, “Mark.” In Africa Bible Commentary: A One-Volume Commentary Written by 70 African Scholars. Tokunboh Adeyemo, General Editor. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006.

James R. Edwards, The Gospel according to Mark (The Pillar New Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.

William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark (The New International Commentary on the New Testament). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1974.

Eckhard J. Schnabel, Mark (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries Vol. 2). Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2017.

Ben Witherington III, The Gospel of Mark: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2001.