Mark 4

Who then is this?

Mark 4

Mark 4:33

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. (use)

Mark 4:25

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. (use)

John 2:19

Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." (use)

Mark 4:2

And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: (use)

Mark 4:9

And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." (use)

Take heart, Christian. We are sent into enemy territory by the One who has all power and authority. He will not let your foot slip. The victory is certain, Satan’s demise is sure, and Jesus is on His throne. We have been entrusted with the gospel; let us therefore faithfully proclaim it—so that others may live.

Struyk, Kevin. 2015. That Others May Live. Tabletalk. (use)

Deuteronomy 29:4

But to this day the LORD has not given you a heart to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear. (use)

The gospel is to be preached to human beings, not as elect or reprobate, but as sinners, all of who need redemption.

Bavinck, B., 2013. Saved by Grace: The Holy Spirit’s Work in Calling and Regeneration (use)

Mark 4:11

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," (use)

‘I believe in the sovereignty of God,’ the Calvinist says and the Sovereign says, ‘Go to every creature’; and the theologian says with such boldness, ‘Ah, but God on the throne, you haven’t chosen them all’ - and God on the throne says, ‘You GO; who are you, man, to reply against God?’ [pg. 75]

MacLeod, D., 2016. A Faith to Live By: Understanding Christian Doctrine, Reprint edition. ed. Christian Focus Adult Catalogue. (use)

Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (use)

Ezekiel 12:2

Son of man, you dwell in the midst of a rebellious house, who have eyes to see, but see not, who have ears to hear, but hear not, for they are a rebellious house. (use)

God is God, he is in control, and his kingdom—his church—ultimately knows no rivals.

Begg, A., 2021. Welcome to Exile. It s Going to Be OK. (use)

Ezekiel 36:26

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. (use)

Mark 4:27

He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. (use)

Mark 4:34

He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything. (use)

Mark 4:38

But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" (use)

Dear God, You allowed about 25k people (~10k of them children) to die of hunger today, just like you did yesterday, the day before that, and so on. I assume tomorrow won't be any different. If you exist, you need to do something, because your followers are building megachurches.

TheJimMajors,. 2022. Dear God. (use)

Jonah 1:15

So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, and the sea ceased from its raging. (use)

My confidence in the future rests in my confidence in the God who controls history.

Sproul, R.C. 2019. Does Prayer Change Things? (use)

Many people visualize a God who sits comfortably on a distant throne, remote, aloof, uninterested, and indifferent to the needs of mortals, until, it may be, they can badger him into taking action on their behalf. Such a view is wholly false. The Bible reveals a God who, long before it even occurs to man to turn to him, while man is still lost in darkness and sunk in sin, takes the initiative, rises from his throne, lays aside his glory, and stoops to seek until he finds him.

Stott, J., 2013. Basic Christianity, First edition. ed. IVP, Nottingham. (use)

Mark 4:41

And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (use)

The awesome God steps down into time and bids us cast our all upon him. And if we will, he will keep us all the way to the end, and through the end, because he’s promised to do so, and the promises he makes he keeps.

Begg, A., 2021. Behold Your God Part Two. (use)

Jeremiah 31:35

Thus says the LORD, who gives the sun for light by day and the fixed order of the moon and the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the LORD of hosts is his name: (use)

John 1:3

All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. (use)

Once we grant that Jesus was divine, it becomes unreasonable to find difficulty in any of this; it is all of a piece and hangs together completely. The Incarnation is in itself an unfathomable mystery, but it makes sense of everything else that the New Testament contains.

Packer, J.I. 2015. The Staggering Mystery of Christmas. Decision Magazine. (use)

This, this is Christ the King Whom shepherds guard and angels sing. Haste, haste to bring Him laud, The Babe, the Son of Mary.

Dix, William Chatterton. 1865. What Child Is This? (use)

Topics and Themes

About Jesus

Parables

Miracles

Mark 4:39

And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. (use)

Key Verse

Mark 4:41

And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (use)