Third Millennium Study Bible
Notes on Mark 4:21-34

Whoever has will be given more - Mark 4:21-25

Mark 4:21-25, constitute the conclusion to the explanations of parables given to the disciples (Mark 4:10-20). Referring to Mark 4:21-23, Cooper states:

Jesus' words here declare that a person is responsible for the light or knowledge he or she has received. One does not take a lamp and hide it. Therefore, a person does not take the truth and deliberately obscure it. If that is true of humans, it is even more so with God. But whatever is hidden will be revealed. In fact, the disciples found things they did not understand revealed [more] fully with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Stock notes that Mark uses a definite article before the word "lamp," so it should be translated "the lamp rather than "a lamp." The literal phrasing of the verse is, "The lamp does not come." If this is true, Jesus is the lamp, the light of the world (Stock, Mark, p. 150). Jesus is the light that is hidden from some eyes because they refuse to see, but he will be revealed in glory to all: to the disciples in their lifetimes and to the Pharisees at the final judgment.

Copper continues with his interpretation of Mark 4:24-25 saying:

Notice the phrase, Consider carefully what you hear. "Hear" in the Bible also carries the meaning of "act upon." Jesus was telling us to pay attention to what we hear and beware how we act upon it. These verses came after Jesus' confrontation with the religious leaders when they accused him of acting by Satan's power.

Maybe you have heard the story about two men, one a baker and the other a butcher. Rather than charging each other, they would trade their goods to each other. But the butcher became angry because the pound of flour he was given for his pound of meat always came up short of a pound. He confronted the baker. The baker told him, "I don't have a measurement on my scale, but a balance, so I always used your pound of meat on one side of the balance." His point was clear. The butcher had been trying to cheat him by giving him less meat, but he did not want the same standard of measurement used against him!

What measure were the religious leaders using? If they were using the Law, then the Law would become their judge, because the Law pointed to Jesus Christ. If we use the truth we have received to condemn others instead of attracting others to Jesus, this measure will be used upon us. To those who use the truth they have been given appropriately, more will be given. As with the good soil, their crop will increase to a hundredfold. But to those who oppose the truth - and the Pharisees must be counted in this condemnation - whatever they have will be taken away. Their love of the Law will disintegrate, and they will be left in darkness.

The principle of "given more" (Mark 4:25) is perfectly illustrated in the parables of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30) and/or the ten minas (Luke 19:11-27).

A man scatters seed on the ground - Mark 4:26-29

Jesus continues with his descriptions - parables - of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is like a seed that is planted and grows over time; "first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head." Only after it is ripe does the harvest come. The Kingdom of God has been initiated (in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ), it continues (in the Church, the body of Christ) and the consummation (the Second Coming) is getting closer each and every day. The Church presently lives in the "now, but not yet" of the Kingdom.

It is like a mustard seed - Mark 4:30-34

The secret revealed in the parable of the mustard seed was the ambiguity of the kingdoms manifestation in Jesus' earthly ministry. What was small and apparently insignificant would become the greatest thing of all. With remarkable insight Hendriksen comments saying, "In the parable of The Sower (Mark 4 3-9, 13-20) the emphasis was on human responsibility; in that of The Seed Growing in Secret (Mark 4:26-29), on divine sovereignty. When these two co-operate - man working out his own salvation because God is working within him (Phil. 2:12, 13) -, abundant growth results, as shown in the parable of The Mustard Seed."

For the significance of the "birds of the air" (Mark 4:32) see Daniel 4:21, where the nearly identical image describes the worldwide dominion of Nebuchadnezzar. For Mark 4:33-34 see But to those on the outside everything is said in parables - Mark 4:10-13

Related Resources

• The Parables of Jesus
• The Kingdom of God: Is God's Kingdom Now or Later?
• Yet at present - Hebrews 2:8