Don’t Be Surprised By The Gospel’s Rejection
ALWAYS BE SURPRISED BY GRACE
In Mark 4:1-20, the pace of the story slows down and we take our seats along the sea as Jesus teaches from his floating pulpit. And as he teaches, it’s all in parables. Jesus tells stories drawn from the everyday stuff of life that reveal the true nature of the kingdom he’s come to bring and the proper response to it. In the well-known parable of the sower, Jesus explains that though everyone hears him, not everyone truly “hears” him. The four soils represent four responses to the gospel message. Three of these are ultimately a rejection of that message. While one of them is the genuine reception of the gospel by grace through faith, that evidences itself through good fruit. Jesus explains this parable to us so that we would not be surprised or shaken by various types of rejection of the gospel, but would always be surprised by and celebrate grace where it’s found in and around us.