Steve Ngai (危 志 荣)

A Lamp on a Stand
21 He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? 22 For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.”

24 “Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. 25 Those who have will be given more; as for those who do not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”

The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

Note:
v26-29 – This shows that the word of God works invisibly within us. God promised that His word would accomplish the purpose for which He sends it (Isaiah 55:11). So when you hear the word it works in you – even as you sleep! In works in you spiritually, in a way that it invisible to our eyes. Another analogy: physically growth of a child.

v27 – Because Jesus said that the Parable of the Soils was a key for understanding other parables (Mark 4:13), we can say that the seed He speaks of here represents the Word of God, as it did in the Parable of the Soils. Therefore, with this parable, Jesus shows the way the word of God works with hidden and mysterious power, just like a seed.

v29 – The bible say that good tree will bear good fruit (Luke 6: 43) and we know that the seed is God’s word (Mark 4: 14). So the pseudo code become:
if seed = God’s word, then it is a good seed.
if seed = good seed, then it will become good tree.
if tree = good tree, then it will bear good fruit.

The Parable of the Sower
1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that,

“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’[a]”

13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

Note:
v13 – This parable is a very unique parable because it is a key for understanding other parables. Thus, Jesus explains it and not all the other parables.

• The four soils represent four different ways people respond to God’s message. Usually we think that Jesus was talking about four different kinds of people. But he may also have been talking about (1) different times or phases in a person’s life, or (2) how we willingly receive God’s message in some areas of our lives and resist it in others. For example, you may be open to God about your future, but closed concerning how you spend you money. You may respond like good soil to God’s demand for worship, but like rocky soil to his demand to give to people in need. We must strive to be like good soil in every area of our lives at all times.
• We learn something else here: It is by preaching that the seed is sown. You can study the seed, categorize the seed, analyze the seed, know the seed, or even love the seed. But if you don’t sow it, nothing will grow.

v14 The farmer sows the word – 1 Peter 1:23 also says that the word of God is like a seed – “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.”

v15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

• “There are some that hear the word, but never meditate upon it, never lay it to their hearts, never cover it with second thoughts.” (Poole)
• “Hard hearts must be ‘plowed up’ before they can receive the seed, and this can be a painful experience (Jeremiah 4:3; Hosea 10:12).” (Wiersbe)

v16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

• What is your root or foundation? This related to Matthew 7:24-27. We need to not just hear the word but also put it into practice. Then, our spiritual life is built on strong foundation. Otherwise, our spiritual life is built upon weak foundation. It is okay during good and happy times, where you receive a lot of love, encouragement, care, attention and needs were met. But when needs were not met, problems and persecution, that spiritual house(life) cannot survive.
• Who is the root? It could be your family, or your Christian friends, or your pastor. Those can be the secondary but the main root should be Jesus Christ as Colossians 2: 6-7 says, “6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”

… and thus emphasize the deeds of Jesus more than the words of Jesus (his teaching). There is no genealogy because people are not interested in the genealogy of a servant.

It was written especially for Romans. The Romans know nothing about Old Testament Scripture. They were not interested in prophecy being fulfilled. The Romans liked it’s straightforward message. The Romans of Jesus’ day were like average business people of today. It is the business person’s Gospel. It is … the book of Mark in the Bible, the first written gospel.

Jesus Appoints the Twelve
13 Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve[b] that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach 15 and to have authority to drive out demons. 16 These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter), 17 James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means “sons of thunder”), 18 Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot 19 and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him.

Note:
Here we can learn from Jesus’ leadership. If Jesus continue to heal people by himself alone, then Jesus will always tie down by all the healing work. By giving the healing power to the 12, Jesus spread the load. I think Jesus also choose the right time to pass this healing power. He did not do this in the beginning. Jesus wants to see who he can trust and faithful and has the heart. And Jesus also wants to train and prepare them. After all these, it is the right time for Jesus to entrust them with the authority to drive our demons and the healing power.

Jesus also know the have the “Business Continuous Plan (BCP)”. In the corporate world, it is important to make sure that there are BCP. Without BCP, if there is anything happens, business or operation could be able to continue and this is a BIG thing. Here, Jesus knows that his time is short. Jesus knows that very soon he need to be crucified, resurrected and back to God in heaven. Besides sending the Holy Spirit to the disciples, he also make sure that they are spiritual leaders around and these 12 are them.

Without having a clarify who are the spiritual leaders, the first century church can be a havoc. They won’t know who to look up to. But having this clarify of knowing who are their leaders, it helps the organization of the church.

Jesus style of leadership consists of many ways. He teaches by words (preaching), he show how to do certain things, example how to cast out certain demons, how to preach, how to heal, how to deal with certain difficult people or situation or problems. Effective leadership training should consist both teaching (direct) and showing it and walk the talk (indirect). A preacher might preach a very powerful sermon but if the preacher could not show it by his life, people will not be inspired. Jesus started this kind of training to the 12 right first in the beginning. He said “Follow me”. The phrase “Follow me” is a big keyword to leadership. It means “Follow me and I will show how to do it”.

So, if I were to be given a chance say a bible talk leader, I also need to imitate Jesus, to train and prepare the Christian to become a small group leader or a bible talk leader if case I am not around or any changes to me in the future.

This is also applicable to in my career as well if I was given a chance to hold the management position like team lead, manager and etc.

Jesus Accused by His Family and by Teachers of the Law
20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family[c] heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebul! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”

23 So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house without first tying him up. Then he can plunder the strong man’s house. 28 Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven all their sins and all the blasphemies they utter. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, but is guilty of an eternal sin.”

30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.

34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

Note:
Why did Jesus choose twelve disciples? Because this is the foundation of the new chosen people, and as Israel had twelve tribes, Jesus would have twelve apostles

It seems that the names of the twelve disciples are usually arranged in pairs. “Since Jesus sent His Apostles out two by two, this was a logical way to list them.” (Wiersbe)

• Peter and Andrew.
• James and John.
• Philip and Bartholomew (also called Nathanael in John 1:45).
• Thomas (his name means “twin”) and Matthew (Levi).
• James, son of Alphaeus and Thaddaeus (also called Judas, son of James in John 14:22).
• Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot.

Why did Jesus choose Judas?

• It wasn’t because Jesus didn’t know how he would turn out. Jesus told His disciples that He chose them, and knew one of them was a devil.
• It wasn’t because He no others to choose. He could raise up followers from stones, so He could easily have found someone else.
• It wasn’t because He wanted a scandalous person, or a “bad boy” – we read of no scandal surrounding Judas during Jesus’ ministry. The other disciples did far more stupid things during their three years with Jesus.

A man once asked a theologian, “Why did Jesus choose Judas Iscariot to be his disciple?” The teacher replied, “I don’t know, but I have an even harder question: Why did Jesus choose me?”

Why would some from His own people think that Jesus was out of His mind?

• He left a prosperous business to become an itinerant preacher.
• The religious and political leaders plotted to murder Him, but He did not back down (Mark 3:6). They were afraid for Jesus’ sake.
• Huge crowds began to follow Jesus, and they knew how such fame and attention and celebrity can go to someone’s head (Mark 3:7-8).
• He showed spiritual power and ministry He had never really shown earlier in His life (Mark 3:9-11). Was something very wrong?
• He picked such an unlikely group of disciples that His judgment could fairly be questioned (Mark 3:13-19).
• But there was one last straw: the pressures of this incredible ministry made Him miss regular mealtimes (they could not so much as eat bread).

The opinion of these teachers of the law carried a lot of weight with many people. It is just like an opinion from a Pope in today.

This wasn’t the only time Jesus was insulted like this.

• “He has a demon and is mad. Why do you listen to Him?” (John 10:20)
• “Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” (John 8:48)
• “We were not born of fornication.” (John 8:41)
• “A glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ (Luke 7:34)
• “You have a demon.” (John 7:20)

Jesus counter back the attack by stating a logical argument because the attack has illogical argument.