Mark 4:10-13
10And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12so that “they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.” 13And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
Jesus teaches using the parable of the sower. His followers were not quite understanding the meaning of the parable, so Jesus explains it to them. Then He follows this up by telling them about a lamp under a bushel basket, the parable of the growing seed, and the parable of the mustard seed.
In this morning’s passage, Jesus gives His explanation of why He is teaching using parables.
On the surface, one could interpret Jesus as saying that the secret of the kingdom of God is purposely kept away from unbelievers so that they are blocked from being forgiven and saved. We know this is not the case, since if it were so, none of us would have been able to become a believer.
Let us look at what Jesus teaches in this chapter.
The parable of the sower is a famous one. It describes how the word of God is spoken to all sorts of people. The result is that some reject it, some receive it initially… but do not stick with it, and some receive it and become fruitful Christians.
The message is to sow the seeds, regardless of the condition of the ground and do not be surprised that some will reject the gospel. When we sow, we should not concern ourselves with the end results. When we are commanded to sow, we sow – And leave the outcome to God.
Verses 21-22 – 21He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket, or under the bed, and not on the lampstand? 22For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.”
This tells us that just as a lamp is meant to provide light and not kept hidden, Jesus’ teachings are also meant to be understood, even though in the beginning it might sound like nonsense.
Verses 23-25 – “23Let anyone with ears to hear listen!” 24And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. 25For to those who have, more will be given; and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”
This tells us that we need to pay attention to Jesus’ words and we will gain more knowledge each time we hear it. But if one stops listening to His words, then we go back to not understanding.
Jesus then tells the parable of the growing seed. Just like when we plant seeds, we don’t know which one will eventually produce something good. We also do not know exactly why or how they grow. Likewise, we cannot know exactly how the gospel will grow or not grow for each person to whom we witness.
Jesus finishes up this series of teachings with the parable of the mustard seed. The message here is that from insignificant beginnings, there can come oversized results for the kingdom of God.
So, what is the secret of the kingdom of God that Jesus has given to believers, including us?
The secret becomes obvious to believers but is puzzling to non-believers. Paul writes at the start of his first letter to the Corinthians – “18For the message about the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. . . 22For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom, 23but we proclaim Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.”
For us who believe, the cross of Christ is the power of God that saves us. But for those who do not believe it sounds like nonsense. Jews were looking for a Messiah that would establish His eternal kingdom, so a Messiah who dies is a stumbling block. For the non-Jews, the idea that someone could come back from the dead, as well as the idea that our sins could be cleansed by someone dying for us seems like foolishness.
Even though the gospel of Jesus Christ is hard to understand for non-believers, it is God’s desire to shine the light on them and not keep them in the darkness. Our job as believers, is to continue to preach and witness for salvation through Jesus. We are not to worry about the outcome, knowing that the darkness may not be lifted immediately, or at all.
We also are not to take credit for people coming to Christ, since that is the power of God that saves. We are the sower but only God can save. And when we are feeling insignificant or wonder if our efforts are too small, remember that even a small mustard seed can grow to house the nests of birds.
Jesus makes it clear that we have been entrusted with the secret of the kingdom of God. We are not to keep it a secret. We are not to keep the light of Christ underneath a bushel basket.
We were all in darkness at one point. There was a time that when people told us about Jesus, we thought it was all nonsense. But people who have been given the secret of the kingdom of God kept sharing with us, even though we rejected it many times. Somewhere down the line, the seed took hold and sprouted.
It is our turn to be a fruitful Christian and start sharing the secret by sowing the seed – Whether we think the soil is good or bad, whether we think the time is inconvenient, sow the seed. That is our mission and our work in appreciation for the salvation that has been given to us.
(the above is a summary of the message shared by Pastor Shun Takano during our worship on June 14, 2026.)
Japanese Congregational Church 