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Sower and the Seed
Seed among the thorns
And other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop, Mark 4:7.
INTERPRETATION:
And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity, Lk. 8:14
EXPOSITION: Mark adds appropriately that the seed among the thorns produced no crop. This is important given the fact that this group of believers are highly visible in society as successful and prosperous individuals. We know this from the comparison of this group of seeds "growing up" with the thorns. This differs them from the first two groups of believers.
This group of believers is characterized perfectly as those who go on their way. They are driven by selfish ambition, power, fame, and fortune. These are those who judge their so-called spirituality by their level of achievement, popularity, and power. Surely God has blessed them because of their faithfulness.
To the world, they are successful, but to God they are carnal believers caught up in Satan's cosmos of success and prosperity. These are simply unable to grow up to mature believers because their thorny endeavors compete for their time and energy.
A believer with many worldly endeavors has no time to pursue a spiritual life. His many endeavors are liken to weeds. *Weeds present difficulties, as they compete with cereal crops for water, light, and mineral nutrients. They are disseminated by wind, water, and birds. If weeds are not checked with good weed control measures, they will overcome the plant.
One such weed we read about in the Bible is the tare. It is also *referred to as darnel, a noxious weed of the ryegrass, genus lolium. Darnel often is infected with a poisonous fungus besides containing a poisonous narcotic in its seeds; both substances are dangerous to grazing animals. Modern winnowing techniques now separate the seed from rye seed, but in earlier times contaminated rye flour was a health hazard.
Weeds, thorns, and tares are metaphors for the pursuit of pleasure, power, and wealth. They rob the believer of the spiritual life. They choked the believer off from God's grace and smother him in ignorance of the spiritual life. They, like the emotional believer, pick and choose those scriptures which appeal to their interests, and not the interests of God.
*references from Britannica Online
creation date 6/15/96 Copyright ©1996 Robert W. Case Jr.,
Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright ©1960, 1962,, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by Permission.
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