Jesus gave three short parables after the one on different types of soil. The first was about putting a lamp where it can be seen. The second was on the way the kingdom grows without our being aware of it. And the third was on the tiny beginnings of the kingdom of God and the promise of great growth. The more we shine and cast the seed of the Word, the greater is the growth of God's kingdom.

The parable of the sower is key to understanding parables. In it, we see the four kinds of soil that represent the condition of our hearts. We need to tend our heart's soil to see that we readily receive the Word when it is proclaimed and that we allow our roots of faith to grow deep into the living water if we are to bear fruit.

In this passage we learn about Jesus' family and the conflict with the scribes from Jerusalem. The sermon also covers the unforgivable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

Mark's repeated mention of the pressing crowds lend validity to the account of Jesus' divine powers. After a night of prayer Jesus calls His disciples up a mountainside and selects the twelve who will officially represent Him in the kingdom He is ushering into the hearts of mankind.

When Jesus found himself in a trap set by the Pharisees to see if his compassion would cause him to break their oral laws, Jesus did not hesitate to show the heart of the Father. He asked them if it the Sabbath was to save or to kill. They would not answer. He healed a man with a crippled arm and their response was to plot his assassination. Apparently, their answer was to kill.

The Pharisees were trying to find fault with Jesus. They saw His disciples pulling grain from the edge of a field and eating it on the Sabbath. They accused Jesus of letting them break oral tradition. But Jesus reminded them of David sharing the shewbread with his men which were only to be eaten by the priests. The analogy was rich with comparisons including one that predicted the end of the Pharisees.

People asked Jesus why He and his disciples did not fast like Pharisees and John's disciples. Jesus answered that wedding guests do not fast during a wedding feast. Rabbi even said that joy was more important than religious rules. Inferring that He is the bridegroom means He is the Messiah. He predicted His departure saying they would fast when He is forcibly taken away. This is about the Kingdom of God breaking into the world and an invitation to joyfully be the bride of Christ.

“The Beauty of the Lord—Theology as Aesthetics”

Jesus called a greedy tax collector to be His disciple. That is because Jesus could see what others could not. He saw in Levi a future scribe and conveyor of the gospel, a gift of God to the world. That is why He renamed him Matthew, meaning a gift of God. Jesus sees in all of us the potential to restore the image of God that we might become who God created us to be.

When Jesus was trying to preach in Capernaum, the crowd was so thick that so men got their paralyzed friend in front of Jesus by breaking through the roof. Jesus first forgave the man of his sins. That caused the Scribes to think Jesus was declaring He was God. He was! Then He proved it by telling the man to rise, pick up his bed and walk. The greater miracle was the forgiveness of sins. Have you experience it?