6. Mark 4:21-41
Three Mini-Parables
and One Mega Storm!
7. What is a “parable?”
para (alongside of) and baleo (to throw)
“To throw alongside of”
8. The purpose of parables
Mark 4:11-12
And he said to them, “To you has been
given the secret of the kingdom of God.
But for those outside everything is in
parables, so that “they “may indeed see
but not perceive, and may indeed hear
but not understand, lest they should turn
and be forgiven.”
10. The Parable of the Lamp
Mark 4:21-23
And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought
in to be put under a basket, or under a
bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is
hidden except to be made manifest; nor
is anything secret except to come to
light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him
hear.”
11. The Parable of the Lamp
Mark 4:13
And he said to them, “Do you not
understand this parable? How then will
you understand all the parables?”
Mark 4:15
The sower sows the word.
12. The Parable of the Lamp
Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a
light to my path.
13. The Parable of the Lamp
Mark 4:21-23
And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought
in to be put under a basket, or under a
bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is
hidden except to be made manifest; nor
is anything secret except to come to
light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him
hear.”
14. The Parable of the Lamp
Lanterns are meant
to be lit and to give
light! And so it is
with God’s Word!
15. The Parable of the Lamp
Mark 4:23-24
And he said to them, “Pay attention to
what you hear: with the measure you
use, it will be measured to you, and still
more will be added to you. For to the one
who has, more will be given, and from
the one who has not, even what he has
will be taken away.”
17. The Parable of the Growing Seed
Mark 4:26-29
And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a
man should scatter seed on the ground. He
sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed
sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The
earth produces by itself, first the blade,
then the ear, then the full grain in the
ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he
puts in the sickle, because the harvest has
come.”
18. Yr of Obscurity
(Early Judean)
Yr of Popularity
(Early and
Middle Galilean)
Yr of Opposition
(Later Galilean,
Judean, Perean)
19. The Parable of the Growing Seed
1 Corinthians 3:6-7
I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave
the growth. So neither he who plants
nor he who waters is anything, but only
God who gives the growth.
20. Three Mini-Parables
#1 – The Parable of the Lamp
#2 – The Parable of the Growing Seed
#3 – The Parable of the Mustard Seed
21. The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Mark 4:30-34
And he said, “With what can we compare
the kingdom of God, or what parable shall
we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard
seed, which, when sown on the ground, is
the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 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.”
22. The Parable of the Mustard Seed
ESV MacArthur
Study Bible Study Bible
23. Three Mini-Parables
#1 – The Parable of the Lamp
#2 – The Parable of the Growing Seed
#3 – The Parable of the Mustard Seed
24. Three Mini-Parables
Mark 4:33-34
With many such parables he spoke the
word to them, as they were able to hear
it. He did not speak to them without a
parable, but privately to his own
disciples he explained everything.
25. Today’s Takeaway
The Bible is a very powerful book, a
fact we all too often forget!
Bible is a LAMP – light dispels
darkness!
Bible is a SEED – a seed, though small
has the potential within of a bountiful
harvest!
26. Today’s Takeaway
Revelation 7:9-10
After this I looked, and behold, a great
multitude that no one could number, from
every nation, from all tribes and peoples
and languages, standing before the throne
and before the Lamb, clothed in white
robes, with palm branches in their
hands, and crying out with a loud
voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who
sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
27. Today’s Takeaway
If we truly believe this truth about
the Bible – that it is indeed a
powerful book that is able to give
light and life . . . Then here are three
crucial questions for you to answer:
28. Today’s Takeaway
Given the reality of the Bible’s
power to bring light and life …
1. Are you seeking to KNOW it?
2. Are you striving to LIVE it?
3. Are you purposing to GIVE it AWAY?
