Book of Mark – The Lamp Under a Basket

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.” 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.”

Mark 4:21-25 ESV

Book of Mark – The Meaning of Parables of The Sower

The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

Mark 4:14-20 ESV

Which soil are you? :)

Book of Mark – The Secret of the Kingdom

And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 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.’”
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

Mark 4:10-13 ESV

Book of Mark – Parable of the Sower

…and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Mark 4:2b-9 ESV

Book of Mark – The Teachings in Parables

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was teaching them many things in parables…

Mark 4: 1-2a ESV

We’re reaching chapter 4! Stay tuned for the famous Parables of the sower :)

Book of Mark – The True Family

And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Mark 3: 31-35 ESV

Again and again we can see a pattern in the people around Jesus at that time. There are 2 groups of people, one group is the one who understand or believe in Jesus and they’re inside trying to get close to Jesus. While the other group is the one who do not understand or do not believe in Jesus, they’re always outside this group. In this part of the passage, ironically it’s Jesus’ family who’re outside, they’re not part of the people who sits around Jesus to hear what he’s teaching about.

On top of that we can see from the previous passage that Jesus family (Mary and Jesus’ brothers) didn’t think that Jesus is sane. Therefore it’s obvious that they’re not really here to come and listen to Jesus’ teaching, instead they’re coming to seize him. In contrast the people inside Jesus’s inner circle, are the one who believes and trust in His teaching and willing to do the will of God. That’s why what Jesus said made sense, Jesus’ true family are the people who does the will of God!

Book of Mark – The Unforgivable Sin

“Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Mark 3:28-30 ESV

By saying that Jesus has unclean spirit and that Jesus is driving satan with the power of the demon the Pharisees are in a danger position for they won’t be able to get forgiveness from God. Not trusting Jesus as God’s way of forgiveness puts them in a position where they won’t be forgiven, therefore they are guilty of eternal sin. :(