How to Know Parables
Mark 4:13

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

The 'Parable of the Sower' was given to teach us a spiritual lesson and to teach us how to understand all parables.  While most people deal with this parable and the lessons that come directly from it, I will deal with the method for understanding all parables.

• Our reference tells us that this parable, and the following instruction from Jesus, is designed to teach us how to understand all parables.  That means that we are supposed to find and understand the general and abstract rules which apply to all parables.  Those rules are in Mark 4.
• The 'Parable of the Sower' is the first parable of the chapter.  It lets us know that different people receive instruction and commandments from God into their hearts different ways and with different results.  To receive the greatest blessings from God we must have a heart that is the most open and receptive to His teachings.
• In Mark 4:11-12 we read And he said unto them,'Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these 'things' are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and 'their' sins should be forgiven them. God holds all people responsible for the instruction which He gives them regardless of their level of understanding.  God will hold you responsible for what His word teaches even if you don't understand it.  Later we will see that people don't understand because they have a rebellious heart that refuses to obey.  When we are rebellious and refuse to obey, God judges us and refuses to convert us.  The only way to truly understand parables is to have a heart that is willing to obey whatever God shows us in His word.  When we have that type of heart then God will convert us to make us like Him and make it easier to understand the parables.
• Following the last parable of this chapter is the account of Jesus putting His disciples through a test which they failed.  In His rebuke of them He asked them: Why are ye so fearful?' how is it that ye have no faith? The purpose of parables is to teach us spiritual truths which are then supposed to increase our faith.  God always puts His children through tests.  If we do not learn the true spiritual lessons which He gives us, then we will fail our own personal test.  Each person hearing this lesson should expect to receive their own personal test of faith in the near future.
• The last sentence of our chapter says: And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? The purpose of the teaching and of the test is to display God's power to us and through our life to others.  When we truly completely understand and believe that God has power beyond our understanding and that it is available to respond to our true faith, then our faith in God, and His power, will increase.  That is God's ultimate goal.
• When Jesus was asked why He taught in parables He answered Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these 'things' are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and 'their' sins should be forgiven them. (Mark 4:11-12).  All people are responsible for understanding and obeying God's commandments.  When lost people fail to obey, God will tell them that He gave then the information in a parable and it was their duty to get understanding.  Therefore, they are condemned for not obeying and their failure to understand is not an excuse.  God expects all people to receive His Holy Spirit and to let His Holy Spirit instruct us.  'Ignorance of the law is never an excuse for breaking a law'.
• The phrase: ears to hear is found 10 times starting in the Mosaic Law and ending in Revelation.  The phrase: let him hear is found 18 times starting in the prophecy of Jeremiah and ending in Revelation.  When we study these references, we see that people who refused to hear did so because they had a rebellious heart.  The Bible teaches that our ability to hear, retain and obey the word of God is directly related to the condition of our heart.  One of the simplest commands to do, yet which is ignored, is to meditate in God's word (Joshua 1:8).  The commandment in Joshua includes for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.  If you can't remember what it taught and preached then you can't meditate in those lessons and can't obey them.  This is a major reason why God's people are not prosperous.
• Twice in this chapter we read: If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. This means that if we are capable of hearing, understanding and obeying the spiritual truth of the parables then we are commanded to do so to the best of our ability.  If we are not able to understand then God expects us to get saved and let His Holy Spirit teach us so that we do understand.
• Returning to our first parable, we are told that, The sower soweth the word. (Mark 4:14).  All understanding of parables comes from God's word as interpreted by God's Holy Spirit.  Jesus started teaching in parables after the religious leaders criticized Him for not keeping their rules about the sabbath which they added to God's Law.  Those religious leaders, and their followers, are the main group who did not understand the parables.  Even today and among fundamental Baptists we have religious traditions which are added to God's word.  We need to verify everything which we believe against the Bible if we want God's Holy Spirit to give us understanding.
• In the account of 'the Parable of the Sower' given by Matthew He quotes from Isaiah and states a precept which applies to why some people could understand the parables and some people could not.  Some people claim that the New Testament replaced everything from Genesis thru Malachi so that they can justify not tithing.  However, all throughout the New Testament we see quotes from the Old Testament like this quote of Isaiah.  That means that part of the Old Testament is still in effect.  The fact is that only the religious part of the Old Testament was replaced by the New Testament.  If we want to understand parables we must accept all of God's word that applies to us.
• When Matthew quoted Isaiah, he stated a precept.  A precept is a truth that never changes regardless of circumstances.  Isaiah 28 tells us that when God teaches us knowledge He teaches us precepts first.  We must know precepts before we can truly understand parables.  The true understanding of a parable never goes against a precept of the Bible.
• An example of this is the fact that many people teach that there are only two kinds of people when the Bible teaches that there are three kinds of people.  People claim that everyone is either saved or lost.  However, the Bible says that there are people who are saved and their life testified to their condition.  Then there are the lost and their life testified to their condition.  The third group are people who claim to be saved while living like they are lost.  This is the group that includes people who are identified as having hearts that are stony ground and ground among the thorns.  The Bible teaches that we can not know if these people are truly saved or lost.  Only God can separate the saved from the lost and He will do it at the judgment when it is too late for anyone to change their fate.  In addition, the Bible teaches that the saved from this group will lose all of the blessings of being saved and suffer at least 1,000 years of tears.  The teaching about that group is a separate subject.  However, what is important here, is that some people preached that these two types in the parable are saved and some preach that they are lost.  Both teachings are wrong.  Both are because the teachers really don't understand Bible precepts properly.  We must understand Bible precepts properly or we will not understand parables properly.
• The last two parables in our chapter in Mark are about the kingdom of God.  A lot of people confuse the kingdom of God with the the kingdom of heaven.  The word of means 'belongs to'.  The kingdom of heaven is 'the kingdom that belongs to heaven'.  This includes the angels, God's throne, the crystal sea and our eternal rewards which we will receive when we get there.  In contrast, the kingdom of God is 'the kingdom that belongs to God'.  A king puts his character on his kingdom.  Satan's kingdom is evil because Satan is evil.  God's kingdom is holy and righteous because God is holy and righteous.  When the Bible speaks about the kingdom of God, it talks about us receiving God's character in us while we are alive in this world.  Any teaching about a parable that does not include a lesson on how we are to become more like God is either incomplete or wrong.
• The second parable of our chapter is in Mark 4:21-22.  The obvious physical lesson is that a candle is bought to be put on a candlestick and give light to all around it.  The first, obvious, application is that Jesus is the light of the world (John 9:5).  He brings spiritual light and understanding to everyone who turns to Him and accepts His spiritual light.  The second, obvious, application is that the saved are to be the light of the world (Matthew 5:14-16).  This application is part of the context of the same parable in Matthew.  However, there is a third application which most people miss and it is actually said in our account in Mark in Mark 4:22.  At the judgment seat of Christ,  everything which we thought was hid from the world will be revealed by Jesus.  Without going into the details of that parable, the lesson for understanding all parables is that everything which we do in this life will be revealed when we are judged.  Therefore, the true teaching of any parable should encourage us to do things which will get us a good judgment.  We always want to be aware of our final judgment any time that we make a decision in this life.
• We already talked about the next verse which says If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.  That is: be aware of the spiritual lesson that has just been taught. The lesson of the prior verse is that everything in our life will be revealed when we are judged.  The secrets  that Filipinos love will all be revealed so don't do anything that you don't want all of Heaven to know about.
• Our next verse says Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. The phrase Take heed means 'pay attention'.  Some people interpret some parables to justify people sinning against other people.  Our sentence is warning us to not listen to that type of doctrinal error.  For example, there are people who take the parable in Matthew 18:21-35 to claim that you must forgive your saved brother of anything that he does against you even if he doesn't repent and refuses to restore what he stole from you.  They ignore the fact that the servant who first received forgiveness was delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto (the master).  Only the parable started out saying that the servant could not pay, which means that he was literally tormented to death.  I have seen God bring terrible judgment upon saved people who used the perversion of this parable to claim that saved people can mistreat their brother and then demand forgiveness while they did nothing to restore the damage which they did.  Our verse in Mark says: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you.  We are to not listen to anything which says that we can treat our saved brother or sister wrong and get away from it.
• The last phrase of that verse says: and unto you that hear shall more be given.  In the parable of the pounds and the parable of the talents, the person who brought the greatest profit to his Lord received even more reward while the person who brought no profit lost everything and was an eternal pauper.  We are to hear instruction that encourages us to bring a greater profit to God's kingdom.
• In the matching account of Luke, we read: Take heed therefore how ye hear (Luke 8:18).  If we let the Bible lesson go in one ear and out the other without retaining and considering it, we will bring God's judgment upon ourselves for not obeying.  If we listen and apply a lesson to the physical reality, we may miss the true rewards from God.  But when we listen with the intent of understanding and applying the spiritual lesson, then we will receive the greatest reward from God.  Always listen for the spiritual lesson of a parable and how to apply that spiritual lesson to your life.
• The first parable on the kingdom of God, within our chapter is in Mark 4:26-29.  Here we see that we are to do our part and expect God to do His part even though we do not understand how God works.  We are to trust God and not worry about understanding everything.  Also, when God brings a spiritual harvest, we are to reap it and thank God for the results.
• The last parable of our chapter is also about the kingdom of God.  When God's word is first planted in the heart of God's people it seems to be a small thing.  A lot of time the preacher or teacher wonders if they even were understood or if the people got anything out of their lesson.  Yet, later, God takes that small lesson and uses it to build a large ministry.  The lesson is to do what God gives us to do and let God worry about the results.  We never know when something that seems small to us might be used by God to do a great work.  Therefore, especially when combined with the prior parable, we are to do our part and not worry about how God does His part.  As with the parables, we have a very real job to do in this world.  The spiritual results are related to what we do and are based upon what we do, but the spiritual results are all up to God.  Therefore, we are to do what God tells us to do with the knowledge that God will use our efforts to produce spiritual results even while we do not understand how God produces those results.

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