Mark 4:2
- Jesus explains difficult things in a simple way. Today it is common for preachers to do the opposite; they explain simple things in a difficult way.
Mark 4:11
- The “secret” is that the kingdom of God has come to earth through Jesus.
- Those who follow Jesus have thus become partakers of the kingdom of God.
- Those who do not follow Jesus do not share in the kingdom of God.
- Of all those who heard Jesus’ teaching, some chose to become his followers and some chose not to.
- Those who listened to Jesus but still did not want to become his followers, who had seen the kingdom of God, but still chose to leave.
- You don’t have to understand Jesus before you become his follower. When you meet Jesus, understand that he comes from God and choose to become his follower, God reveals more and more about who Jesus is. Those who meet Jesus but still refuse to believe in him, they also voluntarily refuse to know more about Jesus.
Mark 4:12
- Jesus quotes Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10).
- Anyone who hears Jesus’ parables can be content not to understand the meaning of the parable or to ask Jesus for the parable’s explanation. There were many who heard Jesus tell parables but it was only the disciples who asked Jesus to explain the meaning of the parables.
- A person who hears about Jesus but chooses not to become a follower of Jesus risks not only continuing to live as a sinner but also becoming an opponent of Jesus.
- The road to repentance then becomes twice as long.