Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
This automated analysis scores the text on the likely presence of emotional, language, and social tones. There are no right or wrong scores; this is just an indication of tones readers or listeners may pick up from the text.
A score of 0.5 or higher indicates the tone is likely present.
Emotion Tone
Anger
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Fear
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Joy
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Sadness
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Language Tone
Analytical
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Social Tone
Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Agreeableness
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Emotional Range
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Tone of specific sentences
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Context
Context
Mark 4:1
Jesus again beside the sea
This is the third time we see Jesus beside the sea in Mark’s gospel
Each time he has been there it has been a calling story
So we would expect to see a calling story here again
At first glance this does not seem to be a calling story
With the large crowd it looks like it might be a healing story or a teaching story.
Mark tells us that he is teaching v. 1
He then tells us that he is teaching them using parables in v. 2
However if we go down and look at v.9 we will see that this is not only a teaching story but also a calling story
Here Jesus is not calling specific individuals to be his disciples as he had in the last two calling stories, but this time he is calling the masses to himself.
Parables
We saw law last week how Jesus talked with the Scribes using parables.
We see a shift in the way Jesus teaches - he is now using parables
all of chapter 4 is Jesus teaching using parables
We see this shift that Jesus begins to talk in parables after his life is threatened in 3:6
Jesus begins to talk in parables after his life is threatened.
Jesus speaks plainly - the responds is plain
Jesus says he is the Son of Man (a divine title) and the Pharisees say he’s a blasphemer
Jesus then speaks cryptically - the responds his hidden -
Jesus asks “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill? and the Pharisee’s plot to kill Jesus but they do it in secret.
Jesus speaks with parables - The response is now one of needing clarity - needing to ask questions - and leaving the people either justified or judged.
Jesus speaks cryptically - The threat is hidden
Withered hand -Jesus poses a cryptic question - They respond by plotting together how to kill him.
Now Jesus is talking in parables
Jesus speaks with parables -
Jesus gives us the purpose of him speaking in parables in 4:10-13
Purpose of the parables
Judgement
Parables are nothing new in the bible.
The OT is packed full of parables.
And when we look at the OT we begin to see how Parables are used… Mark Horn notes,
The evidence from the Old Testament indicates that parables are reserved for times of judgment.
The singer of Psalm 78 says that he will speak a parable or dark saying (Ps.
78:2) and then he goes on to speak of Israel’s sins and the judgments that fell on her because of them.
Nathan tells David a parable because of David’s sin and God’s looming judgment on him (2 Sam.
12:1).
Gideon’s son Jotham told a parable to the men of Shechem because they had chosen the mass-murderer Abimelech to be their king, and he was prophesying that they would come under judgment for killing all of his brothers (Judg.
9:1–21).
Ezekiel tells parables of judgment against Israel (Ezek.
17, 24).
Corresponding to this, Jesus tells his disciples that He is speaking in parables because Israel is again in a time of judgment.
He appeals to the prophecy of Isaiah and the impending judgment in his time to explain the situation:
By quoting Isaiah Jesus tells us the purpose of his parables is to bring judgement on the people.
By quoting Isaiah Jesus tells us the purpose of his parables is to bring judgement on the people.
Yet we see in verse 11 that Jesus has given his people the answer to the parable.
He has given them the secret of the kingdom...
But for everyone else outside everything is in parables.
When we think about Jesus being the secret of the kingdom, in that the kingdom is coming in a way that no one was expecting.
Part of the reason no one was expecting the kingdom to come through a carpenter like Jesus is because the OT itself is a parable
The OT is a parables
a Parable is a story that contains both realism and symbolism
Jesus’ parables stories that contain real elements
farmer, soil, seeds, crops, parties, kings, servants, families etc.
Some are not only real but are true
Our parable is true, there really are farmers who sow seeds, and those seeds fall in different places thus having different results
Jesus’ stories also contain symbolism and this is the point of parables
To see that the seed and the soil represent something symbolically
Parable of the seed and the soil
Jesus says,
The seed = the word of God
The soil = those who hear the word of God
also Israel, but we don’t have time this morning to flesh that out
The birds = Satan
The sun = tribulation or persecution
The thorns = Cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things
So as you can see there is rich symbolism here in this parable
So how is the entire OT a parable?
The OT is the story of God’s people - realism
History happend in time and space
History is true and accurate
Real priests, kings and prophets
The OT is the story of Jesus - symbolism
Yet when Jesus interprets the OT he says that they wrote about Him
:
Moses, the author of the first five books of the bible actually wrote about Jesus
Now, if you were to go back and read the first five books would you find Jesus’ name?
no.
But you would find Jesus on just about every page
From the word God used to speak all things into existence
to the tree of life
to the better sacrifice of Abel
To Noah and his ark
To Abraham being asleep and YHWH passing through the dead animals as a fire pot
To Isaac being being Abrahams only begotten son
To ram caught in a tree that was the substitute for Isaac
To Jacob and Joseph
And we are not even out of Genesis yet
Let alone the
Sacrificial system
the tabernacle
the Exodus
The rock in the wilderness that sprang water
The Manna from heaven
The scapegoat
The cleansing rituals
again in
Here Jesus says that not only Moses but all the prophets spoke of Jesus.
What Jesus is doing here is saying that the entire OT is about him
From David and Goliath to The weeping prophet Jeremiah
From the Jonah and Big Fish to
For Example, what does this story sound like?
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