Parable of the Sower: A New Interpretation Pt 2

0:00 All right. Gospel of Mark. Gospel of Mark. One of the bad things about continuing from the first hour to the second hour is well, everyone from the second hour is different from the people in the first hour, So that means a lot of times I have to review, which then I get Then by the time I get home, if I go back and listen, I'm like, gosh, I spent too much time reviewing. I should have not reviewed so much. So I'm gonna try to condense this as fast as best as possible. But I definitely would challenge you to go back and listen to the first hour when it's uploaded, because it's very very very very very important.

0:42 All right, and you'll see why here. Hopefully we will read this verse. If you look at Mark, chapter four, verse thirteen. We read these words Mark, chapter four, verse thirteen. Here's the words we read, and he said to them, this is Jesus speaking. Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? All right, Jesus is basically saying, or at least this is one possible interpretation. Hey, if you can't understand this parable, you can't understand any of the other parables. And the parable that Jesus is referencing. If you'll go back to Mark four, looking at starting a verse three, it's the parable of the sower, sometimes referred to as the parable of the seeds and the soils, or the sower and the seeds however you would like to are the sower and the soils, however you would like to describe it. This is the parable Jesus is referring to. This is the parable. If we can't get this one, we can't get any of them.

1:43 And I will put forth the argument, well, then that means Christians can't get any of them because no one understands the parable of the sower. Christians claim they do, but they do not. All you have to do is start listening to sermons on the parable the sower, and you will realize no one agrees on anything within the parable. It's a free for all. Nobody agrees, nobody understands. The typical way this is approached is that this is somehow a proof of salvation passage, and I'm going to argue it is not. How I ended up here is I was reading an article about how to study the Bible, and they made the argument that Mark four gives us the key to being an effectual Bible student and for the Bible to be effective, And the key is you don't start with your mind and principles of interpretation. You start with your heart. Because if the heart is not right, the Bible will be of no value. Because the parable of the sower. If you don't know the parable, it talks about someone who takes seed, goes out in a sense, plants the seed, and then it falls on different soil, right, and only one of the soils produces fruit. Okay, So the argument is those are the only say people or those are the only people who the Bible will be of any value to. Well, you can preach that and everyone in every church. We could go from church to church in Abilene and I could preach it that way

3:15 and everybody would say, amen, Amen amen. I think it's the most illogical and ridiculous interpretation of a parable ever heard in my entire life. And here's the reason why. Just think about this logically, right, if you state that to be a good Bible student, for the Bible to have any effect of your life, your heart has to be right before the Bible will be of any value. What do we also say that it's the Bible that gets the heart right. We'll have to get the heart right for the Bible to have any effect. But the Bible is of no effect until the heart is right. You're talking in circles and it's illogical and it's ridiculous.

3:55 So I took that interpretation that has used my Christians all over the place, gave it to Ai. And AI was like, this is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life. This is circular reasoning. It's ill logical, and it's foolish. And I'm like, well, thank you. Could you tell churches all over America all right? Because it's ridiculous. The other view is, well, this represents one the hard soil where the sea doesn't. They're lost, and the next soil they're lost, and the next soil. The only people saved in this parable are the people with the good soil. I decided all of these interpretations are ridiculous. What some people do. Another thing that pastors do, and I heard sermons that do this, well, they that one and the last part of Mark four, they produce fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, some one hundredfold. And we know what the Bible says by their fruit you should know them. Well, guess what, ladies and gentlemen, that's a cross reference to the Gospel of Matthew. That cross reference by your fruit you shall know them has absolutely nothing to do with the fruit and Mark four. You know why, because the fruit mentioned in Matthew about buy the fruit you shall know them is a reference in knowing if someone is a false teacher, not whether someone is saved or not saved. Right, So the cross reference doesn't even make any sense. Once again, I asked Ai, and AI said it's a bad cross reference and it should not be utilized. I'm like, well, thank you. I just want AI to preach. I want all humans fired, including me, and I just want AI to now be the pastor in every church. Okay, that's the way it should work. Get rid of human beings.

5:27 We stink at theology. Humans should not do theology. You know why, because we always find a self by connecting ourselves to a team, and then we preach that team's message. AI doesn't have a team. That's what I love about AI. It doesn't have a team. Right for the most part, if it's open AI, if it's closed AI, then it's gonna be what whichever team gave it the information. Right, The Bible Memory app just did an AI function. But any AI that's connected to a Christian organization, I don't want why because it's going to have that team's influence.

6:09 I want open AI where it's pulling from what every I want it pulling from everything. I don't want a team, right, because teams stink in theology. Right. So I sat out and said, you know what I'm going to do. I am going to write my own interpretation of Mark chapter four and this parable. So I wrote two of them, right. The first one. AI was like okay, because I asked AI to analyze my interpretations. So the first one, AI was kind of like, there's a possible problem here, right, and kind of pointed out my possible problem, like, wow, okay, we'll get back. I'll get back to you. I'll go ahead and write a second interpretation. I wrote a second interpretation and AI was like this pretty good, and I was like, okay, I'm going to go that. So in the first hour I taught my second interpretation. Are you ready for my second interpretation? I'm gonna go quickly. Right ready, here's my second interpretation. I'm gonna break it down into bullet points. Ready, here we go. The seed that is zone is God's message to Israel about the kingdom and about the covenants, all right, Because the typical interpretation refers to the seed as the Word, and we always just say it's the Bible, but many argue, even who who don't have my interpretation, even they have to agree, Well,

7:40 the word there probably is a reference to Jesus' message when he first started preaching, which was the Kingdom is at hand, which is a message primarily too to the Israel, primarily right right, So because the Messiah has shown up, the king has shown up, right, So I believe the seed is the message to Israel about the kingdom and about the covenants. Can everyone get that? The covenants? All right? Now? The different soils represent Israel's historical response to that message, from the Exodus all the way to their restoration. All right, here's the reason why the different soils. What's the first one?

8:29 Sometimes your Bible may refer to it as the wayside. Right, Look at Mark chapter four, verse four. And I know I'm not reading all of this, but I got to do my review quickly. And it happened as he showed that some seed fell by the wayside. Some refer to this as the path. We know that this is the hardened ground, right, Okay, well, guess what this symbolizes periods in Israel's history when the people were hardened and unresponsive to God's word, such as during the wilderness wonderings and at the time of the Judges, when everyone did what was in their own eyes. There's no way you can read Israel's history and not say there were time they were like what they were like hard ground. They did not listen. In fact, Jesus even I think even in Hebrews reference in how Israel hardened their hearts. There's times they were like the past. And guess what did God continue to give seed to Israel. They got seed more than anybody else, did they not. They had the law, they had the prophets, they had the Tabernacle, they had the Temple, they had God's presence. They were getting the seed.

9:33 Come nobody else was getting all of that. And then Israel sometimes showed a heart over and over and over and over again. All right. The next soil is sometimes described as the rocky soil. This could represent times in Israel's history where you had initial revival or acceptance, followed by very quick apostasy, perhaps reflecting the reigns of certain kings who followed God but quickly turned away. One of the ones they list is Solomon. Rights. We see that in israel history. Right, there's an initial time of revival and reform. But how long does it last? It's gone, right, So there's the path, there's the rocky soil. The third is the thorny soil. This might reflect periods like the Divided Kingdom when idolatry and the influence of surrounding nations choked out the worship. Right do we not see that in Israel's history? Yes, they can become influenced by what everything around them, and the true worship is choked out.

10:34 And what do they end up doing idolatry, marrying people they're not supposed to marry, making political alliances with knations, and they get they choke out. Solomon is a good example, the cares of this world. Next thing, you know, he's marrying all these women, and what happens turns to idolatry. Right then the fourth soil is the good soil. Now the good soil. When I read the parable, I immediately think this is how I think, Wow, this sounds like the New Covenant because it talks about being fruitful. So I started thinking about Deuteronomy twenty eight through thirty, the Land Promise, where God said, hey, Israel, there's gonna come a time and if you'll go into the land and you'll follow me, then what does he say is going to happen? In Deuteronomy twenty eight through thirty, which we refer to as the Land Covenant, You're gonna be fruitful.

11:27 Everything's gonna the things are gonna grow, Your crops are gonna be great. Everything's gonna be good, the fruit of your womb. It even uses the word fruit Deuteronomy twenty eight through thirty. I'm like, that sounds like Israel. And then when you get to Ezekiel thirty six about the New Covenant, God promises that there will come a time Israel's gonna be restored. They're gonna be brought into the land and God God is gonna take their heart of stone, oh that's the hard crown, and give them a heart of flesh. That's not far out. Let me make it very clear, I am sick and tired of every church in America who preaches Ezequel thirty six being about for us?

12:11 Every church in abiling does it that they can't read because Ezequel thirty six is about whom Israel. There's no way you can interpret it any other way. And who is going to get a new heart Israel? When when God restores them and they're back in the land and He's going to be their God and they're going to be his people, what does it say when they get a new heart, they're no longer going to do sin now? So, therefore, Christians who keeps saying we get a new heart, if we get a new heart, then we should not sin. And how do I know we don't have a new heart yet? What's the verse Sarah? We just told everyone looking it up Matthew fifteen. Everyone look at Matthew fifteen.

13:01 Everyone look at Matthew fifteen. This is proof that you do not have a new heart. I know, if you leave this church and you tell anyone you know that you went to church and found out you don't have a new heart, they're gonna call you a liar. But I don't care. They're the liars, all right. Matthew fifteen, eighteen and nineteen. I'm not even gonna read it for you. Matthew fifteen, eighteen and nineteen. What does it say? Wow, all that comes from the heart. Guess what's still in your heart? All of those things, even if you don't commit the act, they're there. Meaning we don't have a new heart. And every Christian who says it is a liar.

13:54 And I don't care. I know that. This, just this teaching right here is why I could not go to any church a bee because I wouldn't be able to fit in. But Juan don't have a new heart. Israel's gonna get a new heart, and it's gonna be all the heart of stone, there's the path is now gonna be a heart of flesh. And what does he say in Ezekiel thirty six? We read it in the first hour. There's not gonna be any more on righteousness. They're not gonna be an idolatry, and they're gonna follow in his judgments. They're going to obey him. Well, guess what nobody is Israel doing that now? No, we're not even doing that now. But they're going to come a time and an Israel is gonna be restored to the land that's the good soil, and they're gonna produce thirty sixty and one hundredfold. They're going to be fruitful. In fact, it even goes on to say, and I think get Ezekiel, and you take in Jeremiah thirty one. They basically the land that's all dry and dead is gonna become like the garden of Eden.

14:52 Wait a minute, that has not happened. And I know reform people will say that's the church. I'll give me a stink and break. I can't read. I'm so sick of hearing it. And it's not even a matter. Look, I'm just tired of it. Like if we can't figure out when Israel is Israel, then I give up in interpreting the Bible, all right, Like that's the one thing when you read Ezekiel, and it's like the land I gave to your fathers, Like it's clearly language referring to Israel. Correct, So the good soil is Israel when they have been restored. Does that ever understand that? So my perspective is the seed is the message to Israel. The soils are the different responses. This aligns perfectly with Deuteronomy twenty eight through thirty Jeremiah thirty one, thirty one through thirty four, and Ezekiel thirty six twenty six, all the way into like thirty four thirty five. It connects all of it. That is my interpretation of it. All right, that's my first interpretation of the parable. All right, So do you want to hear how AI summarize my interpretation? What it said about my interpretation? This says by viewing the Parable through your interpretation, it serves as a profound teaching on the importance of reception to God's word and the consequences of different responses. It connects the narrative of Israel to the broader Christian message of salvation in God's Kingdom. This approach provides a deep, historically rooted and phiologically rich understanding of

16:24 the Parable, bringing old and New Testament themes and emphasizing God's on going relationship with his covenant people Israel. And I'm like, thank you, Ai. That's what I was attempting to do. Right, That's what I was attempting to do. Now, how does it relate to us? All right? This is how we ended the first I want everyone to pay attention. If you draw two lines right, one line starts all the way back from the Exodus, so you could write on your paper you could start a line all the way further back Exodus. The other line begins an acts. That's three four. People are gonna lose their minds. Been me saying that, But that's okay. Israel from the time of the Exodus, they were delivered from Egypt, and from that point in time God kept giving them seed, and all of those responses parallel Israel's history, and it goes all the way from Egypt. Well, refer to the millennial kingdom is where we're gonna put it right. But I don't even care if you believe in a millennial kingdom until Israel's restored in the land and they get a new heart and God is their God and they're the people.

17:36 That's when you get the good soil. In the meantime, it's a mixture, just like it's always been for us. We show up, We'll say, the church shows up in acts, right. I know there's debate over that, but we show up in acts and guess what we have been delivered from. If I'm gonna not lose my voice, we have been delivered from bondage, in which sense. No, I know, I'm going to take off, you know, Christians, but we have been delivered from the penalty of sin, from the condemnation of sin. We have not been delivered from the power of sin. Every church in Abilin will tell you you've been delivered from the power of sin. They are liars.

18:20 You know why. If you've been delivered from the power of sin, you should be able to be perfect. If you're not perfect, what's keeping you from being perfect? Sin? Well, then what's keeping you from perfection? Clearly you are in bondage too. That's just logical thinking, right, So guess what we parallel Israel's responses. Sometimes we are what hard and the sin and the seed, just as what bounce off and we don't care. Sometimes we receive the word and we're all excited, but at last war thirty minutes, right by the time you get home from the sermon, you've already forgotten it. Right. Sometimes we believe in the word and we we we really get into it. But then what happens The cares of the world begin to choke it out and in sometimes and ultimately, when will we ever be the good soil producing all the fruit? When the sin is completely gone. That's my interpretation of the parable.

19:24 It's about Israel first, but we apply to it because we live the exact same life they lived. That's interpretation number one. All right, what do you think of that one? All right, think it's pretty good. I think it's I think it's pretty solid. I think it's I think it's pretty good. Now the second one, this is thing not so okay, okay, but we're gonna work on it. Okay, We're gonna see. I'm what I'm going to try to I know what you're thinking. Well, if the first one was good, why are you gonna give us the second one? Right? Well, one because it's a good exercise in hermeneutics, but two as I haven't done it yet, but I'm going to try to do it right now in real time. I'm going to try to connect my second one to the first one and try to somehow combine them in to our more detailed interpretation. But it's going to happen in real time, meaning this may not work very well. So for everyone who listening online. I said it in the first hour. I'll say it again. I am pretty dogmatic about the first interpretation, but I am still classifying it as a hypothesis because I think rarely can we ever be truly dogmatic with any interpretation. All we can do is do the best we can at that time, and then the next time we study it, throw out the previous and start over. Right. That's how I got here.

20:44 I threw out all my previous interpretations. Right. So, because I've preached that parable before and have never preached it that way, I've preached it the Lordship way, based off MacArthur's book. That's back when I was teaching theology and not doing theology, which was the worst thing I should have ever done done it. I should never taught theology. I should have done theology, right, But it takes a lot of work to be able to do theology. And you know, and look, if I would have been doing theology from the beginning, this church would not exist twenty three years later because once I switched from teaching to doing theology, we have started losing people because nobody wants a church that does theology. What do they want? Here's my team. Now, just tell me what my team believes, and just give me some three point little service that you feel like you had a little church service. And now you can feel good about yourself. It's just a joke and it's ridiculous. And church that should just close down because they're useless. I know that's not gonna go over well, but it's just as a waste of time. Right.

21:45 It's like you either go to learn or you just go to pretend. Well, you know, I'm not good into the pretend thing when it comes to church. I don't like the games and the reindeer games. Yeah, I show up to learn something and I'm not going to learn something I don't want to be it. I used to get into that argument all the time when I lived in Nebraska. And you know, it's fifteen below zero and I'm driving to church on a Wednesday night. You know what, I drove to church for Wednesday night for a little fifteen minute devotional and then forty five minutes of praying for someone's ingrown tone now and I'm like, come on, now that I come to church for fifteen minute devotional, I could have had the devotional on the drive here. And if you want me to pray, just send me a list of things to pray for now, well, you need that praying with people in the community or your Christian life won't be I'll just stop it. If you want friends, go find friends. I don't need to be your friend. You don't need to be my friend, right, We need to just learn. If you want friends, KAO, get them right, they're apps, they get friends, Okay, you know, but church becomes the how to get friends kind of concept.

22:52 And I know that sounds derogatory, but it just drives me crazy, because we're supposed to come to learn, right, and that's the whole thing. He gave pastors and teachers for what purpose to equip saints, not to do what sing kumbaya? Hold hands right? So I've grown tired of the learning or just teaching theology and trying to do it. But trying to do it is so controversial in our culture. Does that make sense? All right? So are you ready for this second one? Yeah? Here what we're gonna do. I'm gonna start first with the original article that kind of sparked my second and well it was actually my first interpretation. I'm gonna go through the article and I'm gonna show you where I'm Like, all of a sudden, I started thinking, huh, maybe this will work. All right?

23:44 So this is how the article begins, Are you ready? In Mark four, Jesus begins the parable of the four soils. Say they call it the parable of the force. Nobody can't even agree on the name of it. Okay, listen, behold they sew or went out to sew. Now, this one comes from a free grace perspective. It says, anyone exposed to free grace teaching in regards to this parable understands how misunderstood it is by many within Christendom. So let me just start right there. What I find hilarious is every book, every commentary always starts with nobody else understands it. Okay, because every commentary offers an interpretation that almost differs with every other comment So all right right there, that should bother you? Why should it bother you? Because Jesus said, if we don't understand this parable, we can't understand any of them. So that should bother me, because then we should all come to how many interpretations so that we can understand the rest. But let's see why they think everyone misunderstands it. You're ready, Well, everyone agrees that the first soil represents unbelievers. Most think that the second and third soils represent unbelievers as well, and that only the last soil represents believers. Now I'm going to stop right there. I already disagree with all of that, because I believe it represents, first of all, Israel's response, and then it parallels the response of all believers. Those

25:15 three soils represents all of our struggles, and the fourth soil represents ultimately glorification. So I'm already I'm thrown. No, I don't agree with anybody on it. Okay, so does everybody understand that? But let's see how this sparked an idea. Right. They do this because the second and third soils do not produce much fruit, and they believe that all true Christians always produce much spiritual fruit. If we understand the difference between receiving eternal life as a free gift and bearing spiritual fruit by works after eternal salvation, then it is clear that the last three soils all represent believers. It is not a question of whether they are believers.

25:57 They all are and have life. All three have a plant spring up, but it is a question of whether they will produce a great harvest for the coming kingdom. All right, So they try to make an argument that more people are saved. I think the I think the problem is when you go to this this parable and turn it into a soteriological study of who's saved or not saved, you've missed the boat. I think you've already missed the point. Right, This is about the historical response of Israel, and we can then say it parallels us. And what can we say throughout our entire Christian life there are times where the path and the seed does wide bounces right off, and there's time where every one of those represents times in our Christian life. Okay, that's that?

26:45 Like that, my, my, my belief parallels reality? Right, Remember we talked about faith in reality like what last week? Okay, all right, So they go on to talk a little bit more. It says, well, we've been exposed, while I have been exposed to a correct bas under basic understanding of this parable. Recently, I took a closer look look at the context. It is always important to do so, and I found, but not surprisingly, the context supports what he believes his view. And look what he says. He says Mark three ends right before the parable of the four soils, and I was like, as soon as I read that, I was like, you know what, we never do We never look at Mark three and how it relates to Mark four. We never do that. Now, let me just go ahead and get the problem with this, Okay.

27:48 So this sparked me, and so I even gave an assignment on the podcast. Everyone go listen, go read Mark three and see how it connects to Mark four. But here's where it falls apart. Everybody read. The reason this falls apart to some level is because I can go to Mark three and I think I can come up with an interpretation that fits Mark four. But here's the problem. The parable shows up in Matthew thirteen. Well, unless Matthew twelve is identical to Mark three, then I can't interpret the parable based off the previous chapter because the parable has two different settings. So then what are my options? Well?

28:37 Option one, I could say, well, Jesus gave the parable twice and two different context so then that means I could understand I would interpret the Mark four interpretation different than the Matthew thirteen interpretation, but it was the same parable. That does not work, and I don't have any proof that he gave the parable two different times. So then I'm like, oh, but I'm like, Okay, I'm still gonna work it. I'm still gonna work it. Now I could read the rest of this article, but for time's sake, i'm gonna skip it. I'm gonna skip it because it's long. So then I was like, okay, let me start working on this, right. So I kind of gave again, just like I did with my other interpretation. I kind of went to AI and was like, hey, here's how I'm trying to interpret this parable. What do you think? And so my argue so I started providing an argument that Mark four was based off Mark three. This is how AI responded. Now, I did point out the problem. I did point out the problem, but it did say this, it is possible that understanding the parable of the sewer and Mark four is closely related. Are you ready for two the different groups of people mentioned in Mark three?

30:03 Because my argument to AI was, wait, Mark four has these different soils, and we think these different soils represent different people. Well, isn't it kind of interesting that Mark three has a list of different people. I'm like, boom, I'm so smart. Okay, Now, at this point I completely forgot that the parable is anywhere else, right, I completely I completely forgotten. I had no idea, all right, So here we go. When we consider the context of Mark's gospel, particularly his interactions and conflicts in chapter three, we can see that the parable may be illustrating the various responses to jesus ministry and message as demonstrated by the group's present in that chapter. So the way I thought is what Jesus did is three. He's having these interactions, right, and the people are doing what responding in different ways.

31:00 So then he comes to Mark four and he begins to give the parable, and he's giving a word picture of what just transpired. It would be like a pastor. Oh, I know, I won't even say a pastor. It would be like if some man went out on the roof one night saw a woman taken a bath and said, I want her go get her, has physical relations with her. Then she gets pregnant. Then he comes up with a plan to get the husband drunk so that he'll have relations and he'll think the baby is his. But then they're like no, no, no, that's not gonna work. So then he kills the husband, covers it all up, and then someone comes knocks on the door and say, hey, I've got a story for you about a sheep a rich man, and then David's like, the man needs to be put to death, but basically because he just hears the story, and then finally you are the man. Pastors can do the same thing, right, You can be getting frustrated by issues in the church, so you try to tell it in a picture. You kind of paint a picture, try to tell a story. Now, sometimes you do that and you look in the congregation and realize no one catches hont to what you're doing here, like unbelievable. The people are like, yeah, those people need to be poished, like I'm talking about you, okay, right. But sometimes you can try it with your kids as well. Let me tell you this story, and they're like, yeah, those kids

32:31 are bad, I'm talking about you, okay, right. Well, maybe that's what Jesus is doing. That's my that's my theory. Maybe he's like all those reactions, let me paint that picture in a parable possibly, all right, so you ready to kind of work on this, all right, So let's overview the different groups. So mark four. Everybody, Remember we got the different soils, right, how do we kind of break down the different sol We'll call it the path, the rocky ground, the thorny ground, and the good crown. Everybody got that, all right? So look at Mark three and tell me who we encounter in verses one through six.

33:28 Mark three, And he entered in the synagogue again, and a man was there who had withered hands. So he watched him closely whether he would heal him on. So they watched him closely, whether he would heal them on the Sabbath. Okay, right, well, I'm just we'll get there. I'm trying to help you walk through it. So they that they were there, Well, what are they watching for? He's gonna heal in the Sabbath. Do they care about the man with the withered hand? They could care less. What are they looking for? If he heals him, we can call him a Sabbath breaker, and then therefore he's not the Messiah. Right now, remember who is Jesus? In the beginning was the word was with God? It was God.

34:15 The sower goes out to sow the word Jesus. Is that word? He's right there in front of them, And what do they see? Do they see the word? They are so hard. All they want to do is find a way to make an accusation against the word. That's the path, is it not? Look what happens. And he said to the man who had the withered hand stepped forward. Then he said to them, is it lawful on the sabbath to do good or to do evil? To save life or to kill? Jesus knows exactly what's going on. He's setting up the entire situation. And when he had looked around at them, and when he had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, he said to the man, stretch out your hand.

35:00 He stretched it out, his hand restored them. Then the Pharisees went out immediately plotted with the Herodians to destroy him. Ladies and gentlemen, If that's not the hard ground, I don't know what is is Jesus in Mark four, I mean, come on, when you see that, you can't you can't just ignore that. I mean it usually it literally says hardness, right, I mean, come on, like, you gotta think that's at least impressive, somewhat right, Okay, because almost inevitably we have a tendency to forget that. Right, Because what do we do when we come to a passage what do we look for? We always look for us. I think Jesus starts off the parable by pointing out to the people he first had conflict with. Right, Ai said this, the Pharisees and the Herodians conspire against Jesus, seeking to destroy him after he heals. A man on the Sabbath present outright hostility and rejection of Jesus and his message. Now Ai does not immediately use the same language, but I would say, go look at Mark four. That's the hard sore, that's the hard ground. There's no way to get around that.

36:13 Everybody got that. Look that went. I think we can be dogmatic about that's pretty sure, right, Okay, Now, how about look at Mark three seven through twelve. Mark three seven through twelve. Who do we find here? We have a large crowds following him. Right when Jesus withdrew, great multitude followed him and beyond the Jordan tire side, and great multitudes when they heard how many things he was doing, came to him. So he told his disciples a small boat should be ready, because the multitudes unless they should crush him, for he had healed many so as many had of afflictions pressed about him, to and the uncling spirits, whether they saw him fell down. We have all of this going on, right, Okay, Now, what do we know about the crowds following after Jesus? What do we know about the crowds? They are initially very excited about him, right, But they don't seem to have much root because they don't last, do they? They fall away quickly? Right? In fact, it's not very long that we read things like in the Gospel of John that they walk away and don't follow him anymore. We know ultimately they're going to be screaming crucify him. That don't last very long, right, Ai said this about the crowd. Large crowds follow Jesus from various regions, attracted by his miracles and healing power. While they are interested in Jesus, their interest seems primarily focused

37:46 on what he can do for them, rather than a deeper understanding or commitment to his teaching. So the crowd represents what the rocky ground where there's no actual route fits Pretty good? Does it? Not? So far? So good? All right? How about the third what do you have? In Mark three thirteen through nineteen, he chooses the twelve apostles says he not right. They're sent out to preach and cast out demons. They represent those who have responded positively and committed to following Jesus. And if they do not fully understand, even if they do not fully understand everything at this stage mark three thirteen through nineteen. Now here's what I would say, Yeah, because you kind of want AI wants to kind of put them where with the good soil. I would say, maybe there's a little bit of the good soul in them, But what do we know about the disciples themselves. They're gonna They're all over the place, right, I mean, it's not gonna be long that one of those people chosen. Peter is gonna do what that I'm three times most of them are gonna run and hide. Thomas is gonna have doubts. Right, we know they're gonna have issues, right. We know letter on the apostle, Paul is going to say the things I want to do I don't do. We know that even as the apostles, they're human beings. Then they struggle, Paul and Peter get into an argument. We know all of the issues that happen. But I think so, I think in some ways the disciples kind of represent all

39:17 the soils to some level, all right, But once again, it's a different group of people, is it not? How about Mark three twenty through twenty one and thirty one through thirty five. Mark three, twenty through twenty one and thirty one through thirty five. Who is this twenty to twenty one, thirty one to thirty five? Yeah, I know who is this? It's his family. His family shows up, right, and they come to taking him away, believing he's out of his mind, which versus they think he's out of his mind verse twenty one. Right, they that's his own family.

40:15 His own family thinks he's crazy. So their rejection is just as as now. They may have some understanding, right, as Ai says, They're depicted as having partial understanding of who Jesus is and are confused or concerned by his ministry. However, Jesus redefines his family as whoever does the will of God, including a spiritual kinship beyond biological ties. But they show up once again. Not a great response, is it? So what do we have? Mark four? The different soils are actually representation of the groups of people in Mark Chapter three. Let's look at hang on look at verses twenty two through thirty. I think we have another group of people.

40:57 It would be perfect if it was four and four, wouldn't it. It's not form for, But I don't think it's supposed to be form for because I think what it's demonstrating is all these people have various different responses, just like what he's trying to do. What's the point he's trying to get across to the parable? Remember the parables have one main idea basically the different responses. And what's interesting is all the people in Mark three are Jewish? Do they not represent Israel? And all the different responses from Israel. See, I think it's gonna fit my fat You say, how now I'm going to try to connect it to my first interpretation. Right now, Look, who do we have in twenty two to thirty the scribe? So we have describes, and so now we have all the religious leaders of Israel, do we not? The scribes accuse Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beel's above, attributing his works to demonic influence. Jesus strongly rebukes them and warns them of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit, which is an unforgivable sin that represent a hardened and spiritually blind response to jesus work and words. Does everyone see how that you have describes and the Pharisees, you have all the religious leaders, you have the crowds, and you have Jesus' own family. You have the totality of Israel represented in Mark three, which I believe Mark four the soils represent the historical response of Israel through from the

42:31 Exodus all the way time to the restoration in the Lane. So the parable I think that you can connect it to Mark three, but I'm going to use it to verify my initial my interpretation I already gave, which this is all about Israel's response to the Word. And guess what it played out in real life? Because the Word became flesh and dwelt among them. He came to his own who's his own, Israel, and they received him. Not the Gospel is first to the jew. This is simply Mark Iree just proves my point. I'm going to argue, originally I had it as a separate interpretation because I didn't look at it from a dispenser. I mean, I already had the dispensational idea, but I couldn't get it to work out at first. So now I was like, this is perfect. There's Israel and actually responding. Now Jesus is gonna say, you guys have been responding to the seed all the way from Exodus, and you're going to continue to respond this way until the New Covenant is implemented, and then the heart of stone will be replaced with a heart of flesh, and then you'll be changed. And it parallels Us. It parallels Us. I know we don't want to admit that, but Christian So look at some of the those responses come on sometimes do we really

44:03 care about people? Or do we want to get into a religious argument and win? Oh that sounds like the Pharisees? Does it not? Come on? Sometimes? Do we follow Jesus for what we can get? And we get kind of upset when we don't get what we want right? And we have to kind of hear you get what you get and you don't throw a fit because sometimes we're just like the people. And sometimes or are we not confounded and confused by what Jesus does or doesn't do? Or are we not sometimes I know we're not supposed to say this, do sometimes we think God is out of his ever living mind. Sometimes I think I don't get it. I think it parallels Us And guess what We're gonna have all these responses throughout our Christian life, all the way to our restoration, our glorification. It parallels Israel identically? All right? Does it make sense? So I asked Ai? How does this work? So this? Ai gave me this the possible correspondence between the groups and Mark three and the soils and Mark four. So then asked Ai for some help. Right, I had already done the work, but I needed I wanted to make sure. So this is what he Ai he This is what AI did, Mark four fifteen. Are everybody look at Mark four to fifteen.

45:24 What does it say? Mark four to fifteen? Okay, these are they by the wayside? So this is who he puts. This is who AI puts in that category, the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the scribes. The seed is sown on the path, representing those who hear the word, but Satan himself immediately takes it away. This could correspond to groups like the Pharisees, the Herodians, and the scribes who hear Jesus teaching but outright reject them. Their hearts are hardened and they are spiritually blind to how the seed is snatched away before it even penetrates the ground. So that's who they put all there. And does that not represent Israel?

46:08 Many cases? Yes, that complete rejection and hardness of heart. Next the rocky ground, Martin look at Mark four sixteen through seventeen. Does it not describe the rocky ground? He places? Ai places the crowds there. The seed sown on rocky ground represents those who receive the Word with joy, but have no root and fall away in times of trouble of persecution. This could respond could correspond to the crowds who follow Jesus for his miracles and healings, but lack a deep committed faith. They are interested and enthusiastic initially, but their interest is superficial and does not endure through the challenges. Now, the thorns, the thorns, they say, that's Mark four eighteen through nineteen. Everyone see the thorns right, Ai says, this is Jesus' family. The seeds sown among thorns represents those who hear the word, but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, desires, for other things, choke the word, making it unfruitful. Jesus family who came to take him away because they think he's out of his mind could be seen as being caught up in concerns or misunderstandings about jesus mission, reflecting a divided loyalty or a distracted response. And then the good Soil Mark four twenty. They say, that's the disciples, all right, So in some ways, what did AI do? They grouped him into four? They put in four. So I do like that.

47:41 I just don't like the disciples necessarily being the good ground, because I think the good ground represents why glorification. That's what I think. I know. Not everyone's going to agree, but especially when as it pertains to Israel, all right. So then I asked Ai, why might Mark three? Why Mark three might be the key to understanding the soils and Mark four. So I wanted Ai to see if it could respond. Ai said, this contextual flow in thematic connection. Mark three sets the stage for understanding the very varying reactions to Jesus and his ministry. By the time we get to the parable and Mark four, readers have already seen examples of different responses to Jesus helping illustrate the type of soil. The parable then can be seen as a continuation of this theme, explaining why some people respond positively and others negatively to Jesus' message. All right, so ais like it makes sense. It flows. By the time you read mark four, you should already go, well, I already know these responses. I just read them. Now. My issue with way the way even AI kind of states that is all those different responses. What we typically, what pastors try to do is, hey, we've got to fix these responses, and how do we fix these responses? This is where pastors all over the place, and all the sermons I listen to, some say you've got to do it.

49:05 You've got to break up the hard ground. You've got to pull out the thorns. You've got to clean it all up so it'll be good. And if you don't clean it up, the word of God won't do anything for you. And then it's like, how am I cleaning it up Apart from God's word? It makes no sense. One sermon that I reviewed yesterday went so far to say that your heart can get so hard that not even God can break it open. Yeah, And I was like what has happened here? I am so confused. So but you see why this all falls when we put it in those categories. That falls apart because we got to figure out how do we fix the soil. To me, it may if you go with my interpretations, is its simple right? I've been set free from the penalty and condemnation of sin. And guess what all of these responses are going to show up in my Christian life all the way to glorification. Why because God did not give us a new heart. That's my per And I know, look, I'm telling you, just you leave. Go tell other Christians today what you heard. They will say that you're in a heretical church and we're false, false, and we're not even Christian. That's okay, but you know what they will prove probably within fifteen minutes have they continued a gossip in slander that they still have a sinful heart. And well, you talk a big game, but look, once you demonstrate

50:37 to me you still have a fallen heart, you prove whose interpretation, we don't have a new heart. So because we don't have a new heart, do all of those responses sound similar to you in your Christian life? At different times. Come on, have you been so hard that you just wouldn't listen? Have there's been times? I mean, I've already repeated this. I'm being repetitive, but I'm being for Are there times where kind of like the rocky soil where we're like, yeah, I'm gonna do it, and and it doesn't last? And at times are you like, man, I'm reading and studying the Bible, but then the cares of life, you got this, you got this, you got this, and it kind of jokes it out. I don't think we ever get the thirty sixty one hundredfold. I know MacArthur would lose his mind right now, but I don't care.

51:25 We don't. And even the fruit that we think is so good that we so bragg about it. Remember I talked about the Remember you see sometimes the layers that I add to and are teaching. Remember I did that teaching about spiritual fruit. And can we really say that spiritual fruit because we looked at the spiritual fruit listed right love joy, I'm like, that can show up in anyone's life. So then how do we understand this fruit? Right now? It becomes almost how do we decend well it comes from God, my love should be perfect, my joy, Well it's not perfect. Well, then we know that you can have what appears to be external fruit, but it actually is a spiritual fruit. So then like even to judge, fruit almost becomes white impossible, right, it becomes a fruitless exercise, it does, right, But what do I know? I do know what? There will come a time when there is no more sin, no more pay, no more suffering, no more debt, and then basically the garden of Eden is restored and everything will be fruitful. So that makes more sense to me, right, so he says, so our Ai says the context flows. Next Ai says it's an illustration of different heart conditions, and then it says it's a call to reflection, conclusion, understanding the parable of the sower and a lot of different groups in Mark three offers a compelling interpretation to suggests that the parable reflects the various Well, but then I was like, well, wait a minute,

52:59 than me and Ai I started having a conversation here about but wait, Mark three is the context for Mark four. But Mark three is not the context for Matthew thirteen. So everybody go to Matthew thirteen. I don't have to go through this quickly. Okay. So I started challenging me and AI started having some back and forth. Right, So this is what AI finally said, you ready, you are correct, and noting that if the key to interpreting the parable of the sewer and Mark four was exclusively tied to Mark three, then the approach would not necessarily work in Matthew thirteen unless the context of Matthew twelve was similar to that of Mark three. So then AI said, let's break this down and see what would happen. All right, So here's what the first thing they said. Comparing the context and Mark three and Matthew twelve, Mark three contexts Mark three, we see various groups responding differently to Jesus.

54:07 All right, can we agree to that this context highlights that diverse reactions to Jesus ministry, which can help explain the different soils and the parable Matthew three. Now here we get our Matthew twelve. I'm sorry, Matthew twelve. This is what AI says about Matthew twelve. Everybody got it open, you're scanning it really quick, all right, Here's what AI says, Matthew twelve. The context is somewhat similar, but it's not identical. Matthew twelve also shows increasing opposition to Jesus. For example, the Pharisees plotting against Jesus. In Matthew twelve fourteen, the Pharisees conspired to destroy Jesus after he heals on the Sabbath. Is that not like Mark three? All right? Blasphemy against the spirit? Matthew twelve. The Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of beiels above, prompting Jesus to speak about the bleshemy against the Holy Spirit? Is that not like Mark three? Okay? Those are very close parallels, are they not? All right? I was gonna help must break Gus down a lot more, but time wise, I just now have to go through it, all right? How about Matthew twelve forty six through fifty. Is that Jesus family, Oh, that's just like Mark chapter three? Right. While these elements are present and both twelve and three, Matthew does not include the scene with Jesus family thinking he's out of his mind, and the order of events different they do.

55:27 There is a different order, but it's still very similar, is it not. It's still showing what different responses, and those responses all flow from Jews, which parallel the historical responses of Israel to the Word to the Seed. All right, has everybody got that? Both Mark three and Matthew twelve depict a range of responses to jesus ministry, rejection by the Pharisees, misunderstanding or partial acceptance by the crowd Jesus' family, and a commitment by the true disciples. However, the chapters are not identical in the content or sequence, given that both chapters cover various responses to Jesus. Now, this is where Ai wanted to push back on me, because I was kind of like, well, this doesn't work. And this is where Ai was like, well wait a minute here, So this is what Ai said, all right. Given that both chapters cover various responses to Jesus, one could argue that the interpretation of the parable the Sower could still be informed by the broader context of the differing responses, even if the specific details differ in the gospels. So AI wanted to kind of stand a little bit more firm and go, wait, this could work, because at this point I was already like, well it doesn't work. I was already ready to throw it out because I was already ready to move on to my dispensational approach, all right, So but then it made me go, well, wait a minute, can I connect all of this together? And I think you've already seen them already connecting it together. Am I not? Right?

56:56 So this is so? Then I asked Ai, well, does this mean the theory wouldn't work? AI says, not necessarily, but it would be limited. The theory that Mark three is key to interpreting the soils in Mark four works well within Mark's gospel, where the parable immediately follows examples of diverse response to Jesus. However, it wouldn't mean that this is the only way to interpret the Parable and Matthew. The context of Matthew twelve, highlighting both rejection by the religious leaders and varied responses, can still provide a backdrop for understanding the different soils. Matthew's gospel, like Marx, shows the tension between those who accept and those who reject Jesus' ministry. Now, Ai goes on to say, but it says, hey, this could work. So here is my ultimate Are you ready for I'm going to just summarize it. You're ready, all right. The seed represents the message that went to Israel.

57:55 The soils represent Israel's reaction to the message of the Kingdom and the Covenants, going all the way back to Exodus. You do not get to the good soil until the fulfillment of the New Covenant, where Israel is restored. They receive a new heart. The heart of stone has been replaced with a heart of flesh, and there is fruitfulness in Mark four and in Matthew thirteen. It flows from responses of people of Israel to the living Word, to the incarnated Word that had been there, who had brought the Kingdom message to them physically. And although those responses parallel perfectly to Israel's historical responses, so primarily the entire parable is about Israel's response to the Kingdom and the Covenant, and they're never going to respond right until the New Covenant is fulfilled. So all of that combines to give us a picture of Israel. Where do we come in, Well, we don't start at Exodus. We'll say we start an acts.

59:11 We have been redeemed from what the penalty and condemnation of sin. I have to say that because if you go to any other church, everyone will say we've been redeemed from the power of sin. I preach that forever. Okay, but if I any logical person should be able to figure out it kind of ticks me off that religion makes us abandon logic. It kind of ticks me off, right because any logical person. In fact, I struggled with my whole Christian life. Well, if I've been delivered from the power of sin, And why do all Christians tell me we can't be perfect? Well, if I can't be perfect, the thing keeping me from being perfect is in power.

59:57 This is stupid. Oh sometimes Christianity it makes me mad. How stupid it made me? Right? Okay, so so, and I don't blame it. It's just because when we get to religion, we stop thinking in normal terms, do we not? Right, We just stop thinking? So, but you gotta get your thinking back. So to me, just parallels the same thing. I was set free from the penalty and condemnation of sin. But guess what, I still have a sinful heart. How do I know I have a sinful heart because it's from the sinful heart from which sin flows. If I sin, I have a sinful heart. Do you see how that works, right, he does everybody understand that logical idea. Sarah's taught logic. Right, that's a logical concept. Right? Do you sin? Where does sin come from? Therefore have a sinful heart? WHOA? That's basically I don't know why that is beyond Christians are like like a cow looking at a new gate, like what is that? I don't know what that is because it's called logic. A sinful heart. Now, since we have a sinful heart, what is gonna be true of your entire Christian life? Are you ready? From your entire Christian life?

1:01:08 There's gonna be times you have a hardness to the things of God and listening to God and you kind of do your own thing, right? I mean, come on? Does the Bible say you should love God's word more than food and gold and silver? You know that? And what sometimes? What's your reaction to that? Gonna do? What? Where's Lacey? Do what I want? Lacy was teaching truth theology before I was Okay, do what I want that. There's a truth to that. We all do that. That's that hardness that's still there? Why is the hardness still there? We have a sinful heart? Oh wait, sometimes we're like the rocky ground. We hear the sermon and we get excited.

1:01:52 And there are times you get those those periods of excitement in your Christian life. Ooh, I'm gonna read, I'm gonna study, I'm gonna go to church, I'm gonna listen to sermons. Then the sun comes up. It's all the excitement is gone. And in other times you're like, really going, it's going really good. Man. You bought a new Bible, you got a notebook, you've been listening, you've been praying, you've been man, things are going really good. And then what happens life, work, sickness, life, emotions, care, and all of a sudden, thorns are all over the place, and what happens chokes it out. That's that, to me is the Christian life. When do I want to get where the ground is perfect and it's just fruit? Now I know, MacArthur says that's the normal Christian life out of his ever living mind. I wanted it to be true. Look, make it very clear anyone listening to me online. I want that to be true. I want it to desperately be true that I have a new heart, that I'm a new creature. The oldest God. Everything is new. I don't sin. All I care about is God. I don't need anything else. I don't want anything else. My commitment, my contentment is found in Christ alone. That's all I care about. That's all I want, That's all I need,

1:03:23 and I dedicate my life to it. That's I want. That. It's never been that way. Why Because something in me is filled with lost adultree, blasphemy, wickedness, backbitding, gossip, slander, deceit, bitterness, hatred. All of that is inside where me, and it shows up. Forget all. I've got all the external working against me, and I've got all the internal wanting, all the external.

1:04:09 But the day is coming. We're just like Israel. I'll get a new heart, meaning my flesh will be removed. I'll get a new body, and that body will no longer have what sinful nature. And then thirty sixty one hundredfold it'll be perfect. I wish it was now. We condemn charismatics for taking the promise of a new body in perfect healing and pulling it into the present. Every Christian, you know, just like the charismatics. They take the promise of glorification and pull it into the now, and they're delusional to think that. What do I say about charismatics, I think they're insane. What do I say about charismatics, I think they need mental health. They don't need theological health.

1:05:10 You think you hear from God, you think people are being here, you need counseling. Well, I think most of our Christian friends need counseling because you think you're a new creature and the oldest passed away and everything is new. But then five seconds later you say you still struggle with sin? What sinner you struggling with? If you're a new creature? Do you not utter sound how utterly insane you sound? Do you not hear it? Well, I've got a new heart. Well then why do you sin? Het? Do we sin? Where does sin come from the heart? Therefore I have a sinful heart? Wow? Yeah, everybody should write that or on the refrigerator. And You're Christian friends will be like antinomian heretic. They'll just find some philological word they heard somewhere what it even means, but they can sound philo logical. You'll be like, no, I think that's just the reality. I don't like it. I don't like the reality. Again, I want the reality. And so how did I convince myself? I convinced myself by saying, I read more, I study more, I listen to sermons more.

1:06:18 I haven't missed church no matter what. I can work all night and I still go to church. I'm better I do it. I've been changed. But I had to pick in reality. I had to pick what I was already good at in my flesh, and then amazing, sometimes the things were good at spiritually, or what we were already good at. Isn't that true? Look, I was already reading and studying. I didn't need Christianity for that. Christianity just now, get let me focus in a little bit more on it, right, Okay, Right? I was always emotional about people suffering, always bothered me. Okay, when now look, I look, all of that is just my own fleshly thing.

1:07:05 Those things I was struggling with before I was saved. I still struggle with him. Oh come on, you can be the same way. You can be the same way. Right. I don't know your personalities, but I bet some of your personalities, some of those strengths were some of those strengths you already possessed before you got saved and some of those weaknesses are still there. Right, Oh me, all right, there's my new interpretation of Mark chapter four, the Parable of the Sword. Does it make sense? Took us two hours to go through all of them. If you missed the first hour, that's the dispensational one. The second hour.

1:07:52 I was referring to it as the Mark three is the key version. But now I'm taking the Mark three, Mark twelve and cannecting it to the dispensational so that it just adds layers to it. Matthew or Matthew. Matthew twelve and Mark three simply show in real time the actual historical response to Israel, and now they're doing it while the word is actually present there. Oh okay, Tyles, good point. So we could say it's the historical response of human beings, right, and it's going to be that way until glorification. I know that goes. I look, every Christian, I just I look. I have no problem admitting. I just want you to know because I don't want you tossed to and fro. Nobody will agree with my interpretation.

1:08:51 Everyone will say I'm wrong. So don't think. Don't think anyone's going to agree but I just I've listened to all the other interpretations and they're just circular reasoning and nonsense. And then they convince themselves that they're the good soil, and they aw and that's how it always ends. The preacher and the people in the church think that they're the good soil producing all the fruit. And they'll say, well, it's not perfect. Well, then how did you become the good soil? Well, I got a new heart. That's immediately where it falls apart. If you got a new heart, then you should be perfect. If you're not perfect, then you don't have You can't be the good soil unless the good soil doesn't represent a new heart. So now it comes even more convoluted, does it not? I A right?

1:09:35 So there you go, and the seed should go to everyone, no matter the condition of your heart, because it's the seed that ultimately works in the heart. All right, you don't have to get the heart right before you read your bile. That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard in my life. All right, let's prayer. Look, got we com before you this afternoon, two long, very difficult hours of trying to figure this out. Lord, we know that we have failed in the past understand it. We may be felling right now, we may have spent two hours felling again to understand it. But Lord, we know we need to understand it because we can't understand any of the other parables without it. So forgive us for our past misunderstanding, forgive us for maybe even our current misunderstanding.

1:10:17 The Lord, let us all just commit ourselves to continuing to try to understand it because of the importance of it. And we asked this in Jesus name, and God's people said