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Yeshua is the Most Important Man Who Ever Lived. The Most Important Man brought the world the Most Important Message, a message that must be believed for human beings, who are alienated from God, to be reconciled to their Creator and live forever. Everything Messiah did, everything He said, every interaction with others that has been recorded for us in the divinely inspired book of Mark, is extremely important. We want to understand as much as we can about the Most Important Man and His Most Important Message.

Messiah was doing miracles of healing, proving He is the healer of sick, dying humanity. He was casting out demons, demonstrating is the Seed of the Woman who would crush the head of the satanic serpent and repair the horrific damage that originated in Eden. He was also teaching the Jewish people many great truths.

Rabbi Yeshua was a master teacher and used various methods to teach. One method was teaching in parables. Messiah used parables when speaking to a mixed group made up of those who were willing to receive the truths He taught and those who weren’t willing.

The parable of the four seeds: This teaches us that God wants human beings to know the truth that can save them from the real and ruinous forces of Satan; sin and the sin nature; death and Hell, but not all will respond to the truth when they hear it. And not all of those who do respond will endure to the end and become what God wants them to become.

Again Yeshua began to teach by the lake. He was in the north, in Galilee, on the western side of the Kinneret. And He was hugely popular among many of the ordinary Jewish people. The crowd that gathered around Him was so large that He got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in His teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Then Yeshua said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” When He was alone, the Twelve and the others around Him asked Him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”

These parables teach us how the kingdom of God operates. The kingdom of God is real. God the Father is the High King, and King Messiah is the Son of the High King. The High King and King Yeshua are ruling the universe and are active on Earth – although not entirely ruling this planet, since Satan is the god of this world and he and his fallen angels control much of what happens here in their dark kingdom.

The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. These parables help us understand what God is doing in this world, and why He is doing what He is doing. If you want to understand how God is working in this world, and why He is doing what He is doing and what His goals are, so that you can align your ways with His ways and your thoughts with His thoughts so that your life will be truly successful – commit yourself to God the Father, the High King and to His Son, King Yeshua, and to the truth that Yeshua taught us. The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you.

By teaching in parables, Messiah was able to teach those committed to Him and committed to learning the truth from Him and at the same time not throw pearls before swine – those not committed to Him and not committed to receive the truth from Him. He did this so that those who were loyal to Him and sought the truth would be given more, but those not loyal to Him and weren’t interested in learning the truth from Him would not be given more truth.

He did this for two reasons: One: because giving truth to someone who is committed to not receive the truth harms the rejector of truth. The person who rejects the truth digs himself deeper in the deadly hole of error, and that is not a good thing. Two: because a commitment to unbelief; a commitment to reject truth is a sin that must be punished – which is what the quote from Isaiah means – that they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven! You don’t want to be punished with additional spiritual blindness because you are committed to rejecting the truth! You want to lose everything? You want to die in a state of unforgiveness? Continue ignoring God the Father, Messiah the Son and the truths they have communicated to humanity.

Now for the interpretation of the parable of the fours seeds that should be understood and acted on by all true Christians and Messianic Jews. How does the kingdom of God work? What is God doing in this dark world? Then Yeshua said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Satan and the demons are real. They hate human beings. They try to prevent people from hearing and acting on the Good News about salvation. In various ways they try to prevent people from hearing the Good News; and if they do hear it, they will ignore it, reject it, or be distracted by something else so that they do not act on the truth.

Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Others will initially welcome the Good News with enthusiasm, but fall away when trouble or persecution comes – and it will come. Therefore Christians and Messianic Jews must expect trouble and persecution and mentally and spiritually gear ourselves up to endure it when it comes.

Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others will accept the message but get seduced by a worldly lifestyle. The result is that their lives do not produce anything useful.

Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop – some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.” But those who hear the Good News and respond and stay focused on serving God will produce an abundant harvest – 30, 60 or even 100 times greater than what was sown. Their lives will produce amazing results.

Who is Yeshua? Someone who wants human beings to hear the truth, act on the Good News, remain faithful to the truth despite trouble, persecution, and the allures of the world and endure to the end. If they do, they will have a productive life and be saved and live forever.

Messiah does not want us to be among those who reject the Good News; or those who act on the Good News, only to fall away because of persecution or trouble; or be among those who act on the truth but get distracted by other things so that their lives are not successful.

Yeshua is Someone who wants us to be part of the spiritually productive group, and if we aren’t, He wants us to make the changes necessary so that we become part of that blessed remnant.

And Yeshua is Someone who wants us to be sowers of Gospel seed to those around us. He wants us to proclaim the Good News that can save people – to the Jewish people first and to the peoples of the nations.

The parable of the lamp: He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.” Humanity is in deep spiritual darkness. We are confused about the most basic things – the reality of the Three-In-One God; the demonic kingdom in which we live; the fallen nature we have. We are confused about the Day of Judgment and the future that awaits the wicked in Gehenna. Humanity is confused about the Bible being the divinely inspired Word of God; about the only way of salvation – by transferring our loyalties to the Father, Son and Spirit. God is light. He is pure truth, pure goodness, pure love. Because He loves us, in many ways He is shining light in the darkness, helping us understand these realities and giving us truth that can save us. When His light shines on us and we discover the truth that sets us free from the control of the darkness, the Lord wants us to help Him reveal the truth to everyone around us. He doesn’t want us to be ashamed of the truth or be cowards by remaining silent.

Who is Yeshua? Someone who does not want us to hide our light. Someone who wants us to be bold, courageous tellers of the truth.

“If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear. Consider carefully what you hear,” He continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you – and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” If you act on the truth when it is revealed to you, the God who is truth and who loves the truth will bless you and you will be given more truth. But if you don’t listen to the truth; if you listen to those who are twisting the truth; if you listen to false teachers, false religions and erroneous ideologies then the little truth that you may know will be taken from you and you will end up with nothing. You will become like chaff – lightweight, insubstantial and lacking worth; chaff which is blown away by the breeze.

Who is Yeshua? Someone who wants us to be faithful to the truth – by recognizing it, acting on it and declaring it to others, which will lead us to greater and greater understanding. Yeshua is Someone who does not want us to reject the truth or listen to those who twist the truth, which leads to diminished understanding and loss of life.

The parable of the seed: He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain – first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

God and Christians and Messianic Jews are to work together in the great mission to redeem human beings. God has His job to do and we have our job to do. Our responsibility is to tell people the truth; to proclaim the Good News. When we fulfill our duty, the Lord will also be at work, taking the truth that we have communicated and helping it make an impact in the lives of those He is drawing to Himself. He will bring more truth into peoples’ lives. He will bring others to declare the truth to them. He will create circumstances that will help them be receptive to the truth.

Just as the man who plants seed but doesn’t understand all the complicated biological and chemical and physical processes that are involved in the development of seed to mature plant, as we speak the truth, we won’t always know how people we are speaking to are responding or how God is working in them. Therefore we are not to be discouraged if we don’t see immediate results. We are to sow seed anyway. We are to proclaim the truth anyway and understand that God will be at work, causing the truth we proclaim to grow in peoples’ lives.

Who is Yeshua? Someone who knows that the Good News is powerful and will be nurtured by God in people, and over time will produce the desired results in chosen human beings. He is Someone who wants us to keep on preaching the truth, and not get discouraged and give up, because we know that God is at work.

The parable of the mustard seed: Again He said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on Earth. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.” The way God is working in this dark world is similar to a mustard seed, which starts very small but ends in a big way. God’s kingdom will start very small – with a carpenter turned Rabbi who, rejected by the majority of His people and while dying on the cross, was abandoned by most of His disciples; yet from those humble beginnings, God’s dominion over human beings will grow until Messiah reigns over all of humanity, the world and the universe – forever.

Who is Yeshua? Someone who does not want you to feel small or that your life is insignificant. He is Someone who doesn’t want you to feel that His Community is not as impressive as governments or other big institutions in the world and therefore not important. Yeshua wants you to be encouraged because you understand that humble beginnings which are birthed by God and remain loyal to God will have an amazingly successful and important endings.

With many similar parables Yeshua spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when He was alone with His own disciples, He explained everything. Yeshua is Someone who wants you to be one of His disciples, so you will be able to understand everything you need to understand.

Mark transitions from Yeshua’s parables to a powerful incident which reveals that Yeshua is Someone who is very, very special. That day when evening came (the same day Yeshua had been in a boat on the western side of the Kinneret teaching the crowds by means of parables), He said to His disciples, “Let us go over to the other side” (the eastern shore of the Kinneret, five or six miles away). Leaving the crowd behind, they took Him along, just as He was, in the boat. There were also other boats with Him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Yeshua was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion (it was a long day and He had been teaching, which can be very tiring. He must have been very tired to sleep through this raging storm). The disciples woke Him and said to Him, “Rabbi, don’t you care if we drown?” The disciples were afraid they were in imminent danger of drowning and their Rabbi didn’t care. But He did care. He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to His disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!”

Who is Yeshua? Someone who is able to speak to the wind and the waves, and these powerful forces of nature obey – because He is greater than the forces of nature.

Who is Yeshua? The Same One whom Psalm 89 describes: You God rule the swelling of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them. Neither Buddha nor Mohammed, nor the greatest scientist, philosopher nor politician ever calmed a storm – but Yeshua did, because He is God.

Who is Yeshua? Someone who cares for us. Even though His disciples thought He didn’t care about their dire situation, He did care. Remember this the next time you are in a raging storm and feel in danger of dying. Yeshua does know and does care and has the power to still your storm.

Who is Yeshua? Someone who had faith. He trusted in God and God’s will. He had confidence in God and God’s plan – which is why He was not afraid that He or His disciples would die in this storm. He knew He was the Messiah and God had a great plan for His life. He knew He would die in Jerusalem to atone for the sins of the world and not drown in a boating accident in the Kinneret. He knew that God had a plan for His life and the lives of His specially chosen disciples, and they wouldn’t die a moment too soon, or in the wrong place, or in the wrong way.

Yeshua believed that, and He expected the disciples to have that same kind of faith, and He expects us to have that same kind of faith. And, if the disciples had that kind of faith, they would not have been afraid, and neither will we – no matter how much the winds and waves are threatening us to drown us. We can have peace in the middle of the storms of life – just like Yeshua did.

Who Is Yeshua?

A great Rabbi, a master teacher who taught using parables, enabling those committed to the truth to understand but those not committed to the truth to remain in ignorance.

Yeshua is Someone who wants His followers to understand how the kingdom of God operates; what God is doing in this world, and why He is doing what He is doing, so that we can line up our ways and thoughts with His so that our lives will be successful.

Yeshua is Someone who wants human beings to hear the truth, act on the Good News, remain faithful to the truth and endure to the end. If they do, they will have amazingly productive lives and be saved and live forever.

Yeshua is Someone who wants us to be part of the spiritually productive group, and if we aren’t, He wants us to make the changes necessary to become part of that blessed remnant.

Yeshua is Someone who wants us to be sowers of Gospel seed to those around us.

Yeshua is Someone who does not want us to hide our light. He wants us to be bold, courageous tellers of the truth.

Yeshua is Someone who wants us to be faithful to the truth – by recognizing it, acting on it and declaring it to others, which will lead us to greater understanding.

Yeshua is Someone who knows that the Good News when proclaimed is powerful and God-nurtured, and over time will produce the desired results in chosen human beings.

Yeshua is Someone who wants you to understand that your life and Messiah’s Community are not insignificant because humble beginnings that are birthed by God and stay loyal to God will have an amazingly successful endings.

Yeshua is Someone who is able to speak to the wind and the waves, and these powerful forces of nature obey Him – because He is greater than the forces of nature.

Yeshua is Someone who is aware of us and cares for us when we are in a dangerous storm and has the power to still our storm.

Yeshua is Someone who had faith in God and God’s will and God’s plan for Himself and for His followers – which is why He was not afraid that He or His disciples would die in this storm and He expects us to have that same kind of faith so that we have peace in the middle of the storms of life.

May God enable Yeshua be all these things to us and may we respond faithfully to all that He is and become all that we should be. Amayn? Amayn!