The central theme of the scriptures is, arguably, the Kingdom of God. Some would say salvation, the redemption of mankind, is the central theme and I would not disagree, but from a big picture standpoint the whole purpose of God’s plan of redemption gets us back to the way things were supposed to be all along: the Kingdom of God. Only God will establish His Kingdom. But the church does have a role so we need to have a right understanding of the Kingdom of God. The parables are the key to understanding the Kingdom and the the Parable of the Soils is the key to understanding all of the parables.

And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?

Mark 4:13

The Parable of the Soils and the Mysteries of the Kingdom

The Parable of the Soils is a such an important passage in the gospels because it is here that Jesus reveals to his followers why he speaks in parables.

He does not make this revelation to the crowds he was teaching but only to a smaller group of the 12 and some other disciples, including three women, specifically mentioned (interesting that Luke, as led by the Holy Spirt, makes it a point to mention these women). Eleven would become Apostles of Christ, an additional Apostle of Christ (Paul) would be added later to replace the traitor Judas, and three women would also be included as the initial cadre that would be empowered by the Holy Spirit to advance the gospel and disciple new believers. But at that particular moment in the ministry of Jesus, they came to Him and asked for an explanation of the parable.

That is the first important lesson from this parable. How do you become one who gets an understanding of the Word of God and the Kingdom? Apparently, all you have to do is come to Jesus and ask him.

Understanding is obtained in a progression that starts with hearing and then knowing and accepting the facts conveyed in scripture. But the goal of a disciple is understanding, which is a matter of the heart and part of the lifelong process of following Jesus as a disciple. Meaning and understanding are unlocked by a nearness to Christ that comes from a hunger in the heart to know Him. As He said:

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Matthew 7:7-8

This passage is often distorted into heavenly approval to seek wealth and prosperity. It actually has nothing to do with worldly possessions. It has everything to do with understanding the Word of God. Who is it you ask? Who opens the door? That’s exactly what the disciples are doing when they ask Jesus to explain the parable.

“To Them it is Not Given”

Why would Jesus withhold the meaning of the parables from people? For a very simple reason: they weren’t there. Only 15 people came to ask Jesus for an explanation of the parable – to seek. They were about to find. I used to go to church every Sunday morning and sit there and listen to the Word (most of the time). Then I’d walk out and it was like I had never been there to hear it in the first place. Hearing but not understanding. Present among the crowd but not seeking. Its one thing to hear the Word; its another to seek understanding according to the Word. But that is what a disciple does.

To seek is to come to the Lord and ask for understanding according to the Word. Then something interesting happens. You find. It is the Lord’s will that you understand the Word but the first priority in that is to come to him and ask. Then deeper understanding comes. You are soon able to dive into details of scripture and see where it goes. You begin to understand the Word as it was intended and it begins to change you. Just like it changed 14 out of the 15 disciples. Judas missed out – don’t be a Judas.

Another point to make is that there were 14 people there hearing the meaning of the parable which I will get into next post. We don’t do this alone. We work together as the church to attain to a proper understanding of the Word. That is a key purpose of the church. Sometimes, we get it wrong or someone has a better understanding of something than we do. Or, some people are gifted in research and can add historical or cultural context that brings meaning into a clearer focus. Some scholars are skilled in translation of ancient texts and can trace the origin and meaning of ancient words (etymology) which can also help understanding and clarity. We need each other in the church for accountability in ensuring we handle the Word of God carefully.

This parable relates understanding the Word of God to the Kingdom of God, and to the salvation of people. It relates how the Word operates spiritually and supernaturally to change us and also how dark forces are also at work, supernaturally, to undermine progress to understanding the Word which leads to salvation. Also, forces of darkness do NOT want followers of Christ to have an accurate understanding of the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. There are many distortions about both.

The good news for people who really want to understand is this: the revelations Jesus gave his disciples then, are the very same revelations we have in the scriptures now. But those revelations about the kingdom must still be unlocked for each of us, for the things of God are spiritually discerned. Again, this is a matter of the heart. Where is your heart at? Do you have a heart open to the Holy Spirit for a right understanding of the Word of God? Stop listening to the distortions of God’s Word brought by people who don’t have understanding. Instead, prayerfully come to Jesus and ask Him for understanding according to the Word of God.

Listen to my cry for help, O LORD. Give me insight by your word.

Psalms 119:169

Without proper understanding of God’s Word, even the church is led astray by false doctrine about the Kingdom of God. Misinformation about the Kingdom and the meaning of God’s Word is running rampant through the church today. What has it led to? Look around you at the culture and how the church engages. The church seems to care very little about preaching the gospel and making disciples. Megachurches are a mile wide and an inch deep – there is no understanding of God’s Word; Christians are biblically illiterate and deceived by woke pastors who are equally biblically illiterate.

The state of Western Christianity today points to the need of the church to do as the disciples did: come to the Lord Jesus and ask Him for understanding of the Word of God and the Kingdom of God. We must stop listening to the depraved cultural distortions of God’s Word and return to the basics. The Parable of the Soils is a great place to start.

The next few posts will delve into this parable of parables. It’s not that hard to understand but we must take an entire passage as a cohesive unit of teaching which provides the key to understanding the kingdom of God and also provides some important intel regarding how the kingdom of darkness operates.