Jesus' Leadership: Mark 4

The Sower
1-20. Jesus was aware of those He needed to explain Himself to and of those who needed to discern the truth on their own. Perhaps because He was seeking those with purse hearts, He simply preached the word, allowing the seed to fall on what soil it may. He did not explain this parable to the crowd, though He did quote Isaiah, and did exhort those "with ears to hear" to perceive the message. By not offering an explanation, and by giving the exhortation to "hear", Jesus is challenging the crowd to think deeply...He is not spoon feeding here.

Likewise we also have a duty to preach the, but we need not always worry about fully explaining (though there is a time for this, e.g. 1 Pt 3:15). The important thing is that we are sowing...who knows what discerning ears might hear? Conversely, Jesus does explain to His inner circle, ensuring that they are on the same page. They will be the ones to go out and preach the Word and build the church - it was imperative for them to understand this parable.

The Kingdom of God is like a...
lamp on a stand vv 26-29, a growing seed vv 30-34, a mustard seed vv 21-25.

Jesus knew His audience well. First, these illustrations would be acutely relevant to those He spoke to. Further, He spoke only "as much as they could understand," not heaping knowledge upon knowledge. I love teaching and can easily go off on a tangent, pouring out all my knowledge that at some point is "more than they could understand." Knowing the audience means cultivating empathy...and this takes time. We honor them and we honor God when we do take the time.

Calming the Storm
35-41. Before they are even in the storm, Mark tells us that they left the crowds for the other side of the lake at Jesus' prompting. He's taking them on a field trip! We can't know that the disciples felt like this, but I assume it would be refreshing to be away from direct ministry for a time, and rather to be exclusively in the presence of Jesus.

In calming the storm, Jesus teaches the disciples to trust Him in areas where He has authority. And this authority was boldly wielded.