The Sower, Part 1—Satan Comes | Mark 4:1–4, 14–15
Again he began to
teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got
into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on
the land. 2 And he
was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:
3 “Listen! Behold, a
sower went out to sow. 4 And
as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
…
14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the
word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word
that is sown in them.
As we saw in the previous chapter, Jesus began teaching in
parables—the parable of the sower here. Though
the image of a farmer scattering seed was common enough, the parable confuses His
listeners, even His disciples (v. 10). Though
He’ll explain to them privately (vv. 13–20), the explanation of the parable isn’t
for those on the outside (vv. 11–12). As
we see in these verses, even if He had explained everything in detail to
everyone, Satan may come and snatch away some of the Word.
With modern technology, the Word is scattered in so many
ways. The word “broadcast” comes from
the idea of a sower sending out seed, and television and radio ministries from
the beginning have brought Scripture near the masses. God also broadcasts His Word through Bibles
in hotel rooms, printed tracts on the table, websites and social media, and the
voice of the preacher on the street corner.
At no point in the past has the seed been scattered so far.
The devil strives to
keep people from the Word. Jesus wants
people to notice it; He says “Listen!” in verse 3 and, in verse 9, “He who has
ears to hear, let him hear.” Even so,
Satan “has blinded the minds of the unbelievers” (2 Cor 4:4). He even tried to take away God’s Word from Jesus
by twisting it in the wilderness temptation.
He’ll use whatever distraction necessary to ensure you remain on the
road to hell.
He does so because
the Word gives us life. When
everyone else left Jesus, He asked if His disciples would also leave; they
respond, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (Jn
6:68). When we come to know the Christ
of the Word, He breaks the power of Satan over us. He says in John 8:36, “So if the Son sets you
free, you will be free indeed.” Don’t
allow the enemy of your soul keep you from Scripture today—read and know the
Lord there!
