In the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Mark, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who sows seed. You can read the parable and Jesus’ instructions about the parable here. As we think about this text in Mark, we should remember that parables are short little stories meant to illustrate an instructive point. So this parable about the farmer sowing seed isn’t really about a farmer sowing any crop seed, rather the parable is about the kingdom of God.
We know that Jesus is talking about the kingdom of God because after he tells his disciples this parable, he says to them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you” (v. 10).1 Then when Jesus begins explaining the parable to his disciples, he says, “The farmer sows the word” (v. 14).
The “word” is the message that Jesus proclaims as the gospel,2 which is the good news of the kingdom of God (Mk 1:14). Jesus has come into the Galilean region proclaiming this message about the kingdom of God while embodying the message in his life through his preaching, teaching, and healing. Per Jesus’ explanation of the parable, some will hear the word but Satan or concerns about persecution, worldly affairs, and so forth will drown out the message. For such people, the gospel is like a seed sown on the ground that is not conducive to cultivating any seed that will grow into a crop-producing plant. However, for those who are likened to good soil, what farmers think of as fertile soil, they “hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop” (v. 20) thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times more.
The difference is those who hear the word. That is why earlier, as soon as Jesus finished telling the actual parable, he said to his disciples, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” (v. 9). The NRSV reads, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” The question we’re are faced with is whether we’re listening to Jesus. We may have ears but that doesn’t mean we automatically hear Jesus. Some do but some don’t.
Why do some with ears to hear, fail to hear? Well, Jesus tells the disciples. As mentioned earlier, The schemes of satan and concerns about worldly affairs have a way of diverting our attention from the gospel.
“What matters is how we love both God and our neighbor and to do that, we must listen to Jesus and keep listening to Jesus more and more.”
One of the major schemes having to do with worldly affairs that churches are challenged with today is partisan politics. Earlier this year the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette ran an article about the preacher shortage that Churches of Christ are facing, which comes at a time in history when most Churches of Christ are also in decline. The article shares a quote from Jeremy Beller, the opinion editor for the Christian Chronicle, that caught my attention:
“Everything we say from the pulpit is being heard from a political lens and people are leaving the church, not because they understand Jesus and are more committed to Jesus but because they're more connected to their political party.”3
Although anecdotal, Beller is far from the only one who sees the problem that politics is wrecking among Churches of Christ.4 The problem, however, isn’t merely politics but that too many Christians are listening to the never-ending line of talking heads and ideologues who keep chasing after kingdoms of this world rather than Jesus. Thus, matters that have little, if anything, to do with the kingdom of God become the concerns and hence these “desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful” (v. 19).
Our ability to live as a productive kingdom crop stems from our willingness to live as faithful followers of Jesus Christ. We are never told when the harvest of such crop will appear, whether we will see the fruit of our faithfulness in our lifetime or only when Jesus Christ comes again. However, when 24-hour news like CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, and Newsmax is what we turn on before and after work, where’s the time for listening to Jesus? When our social imaginaries and worldviews begin to reflect The Guardian US, The Daily Wire, Mother Jones, Breitbart, and on and on, is it any wonder when what a preacher says is filtered through politics?
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that politics don’t matter at all, as such a suggestion would be nonsensical. But if we believe that Jesus is the crucified, resurrected, and exalted Lord and Messiah who is to come again, then most of the issues, including who wins an election, will be nothing more than a minuscule footnote in the annals of history. What matters is how we love both God and our neighbor and to do that, we must listen to Jesus and keep listening to Jesus more and more.
So here are my three suggestions as alternatives to the consumption of politics. First, read the Bible and keep reading it. I know that may sound rather cliché but I have never met a Christian who lived like they spent too much time reading the Bible. On the other hand, I’ve met some Christians who seem like they never read the Bible and you’ve met them too. If we’re serious about following Jesus, we need to read the Bible because the Bible is given so that we might learn how to live as followers of Jesus.5 Secondly, spend more time in prayer and solitude. The contemplative space of prayer and solitude allows for reflection on how the good news of Jesus and the kingdom of God form us for living as followers of Jesus. Finally, stay connected as a participant in a local church. We deceive ourselves if we think we can follow Jesus apart from a community of believers following Jesus. Self-perception can easily become self-deception but within the community of a local church, the Spirit who dwells within other believers just as he dwells within us can help guide us along the path of following Jesus.
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According to Saint Mark, Black’s New Testament Commentaries, Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1991, 125-126.
Frank E. Lockwood, “Churches of Christ grappling with preacher shortage,” The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Sept 20, 2023, https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2023/sep/30/churches-of-christ-grappling-with-preacher/.
Bobby Ross Jr., “Why are some Christians so angry?,” The Christian Chronicle, Sept 12, 2022, https://christianchronicle.org/why-are-some-christians-so-angry/.
K. Rex Butts, Gospel Portraits: Reading Scripture as Participants in the Mission of God, Eugene: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2022, 39. This is part of the argument I make, which is in contrast with the Christendom paradigm which has nullified much of the call to discipleship.