Getting to Know Jesus in the Gospel of Mark
Study Twenty-Three:
Mark 4:26-34
26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should
scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed
sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the
blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is
ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God,
or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed,
which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32
yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants
and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its
shade.”
33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they
were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but
privately to his own disciples he explained everything. (Mark 4)
1. Both these
parables are aimed at illustrating something about the nature of “the kingdom of God”. What do you think
is the lesson of the first parable (vss 26-29)?
2. What do you
think is the lesson of the second parable (vss 30-32)?
3. What is the
difference between the two groups of people described in vss 33-34?
4. What is the
difference between the way both these groups would relate to what Jesus taught
in the first parable (26-29)? Think of the differences between the way this
would sound to people outside the kingdom, compared to those inside the
kingdom.
5. What is the difference
between the way both of these groups would relate to what Jesus taught in the
second parable (30-32)?
6. Which of these
two groups best describes you, and what are your reasons for this?
7. What is Jesus calling
you to do with the lessons of these parables?
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
No comments:
Post a Comment