Week 28 The Word Falls Among the Thorns
Passage
18“And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word,
19but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Mark 4:18–19 (NASB95)
"Sprouting among the thorns" by Lady-bug is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.
Background
Quote-Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge University (Magdalene College, 1954–1963). He is best known as the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, but he is also noted for his other works of fiction, such as The Screwtape Letters and The Space Trilogy, and for his non-fiction Christian apologetics, including Mere Christianity, Miracles, and The Problem of Pain.
Lewis was close friends with J. R. R. Tolkien, author of The Lord of the Rings. According to Lewis's 1955 memoir Surprised by Joy, he was baptised in the Church of Ireland, but fell away from his faith during adolescence. Lewis returned to Anglicanism at the age of 32, owing to the influence of Tolkien and other friends, and he became an "ordinary layman of the Church of England". Lewis's faith profoundly affected his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim.
Passage-First The book of Mark is a Gospel that contains Narrative History, Sermons, Parables, and some Prophetic Oracles. This Gospel has somewhat of an emphasis in miracles (27 total) which is significantly more than any of the other Gospels. The key word in Mark is "Immediately" which is used 34 times causing the reader to move from one account to the next rapidly. Mark is the shortest of the synoptic gospels and was written about 64 A.D.
It was written by John Mark who was one of the missionaries who accompanied Paul and Barnabas on their mission trips. It is possible that Mark wrote this Gospel at the urging of Peter (his companion in Rome) since he had firsthand knowledge of the things that Mark wrote about.The purpose of the Gospel of Mark is to show that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God who was sent to suffer and to serve in order to rescue and restore mankind.
Lesson Notes
Opening Statement
Choices. We get them every day. Thousands of choices, perhaps millions over a lifetime. What to watch, what to say, what to do; will I have eggs or cereal for breakfast? What do I wear, when do I get up, do I go to church or not, and what will I do with the words I hear there? Maybe something can distract me so I can say I didn’t have time…
Ask: What is a worry?
Point: A thing to come in the future that we are uncertain of that might impact us in a negative way.
See the Definition of Worry
Ask: Why do we worry?
Point: Because if the thing we are spending our time worrying about happens we aren’t certain if we have the talents, abilities, or resources to take care of the thing we worry about.
Ask: What does it mean if a Christian worries?
Point: It means we do not fully trust God with that thing we worry about.
First Reading Jeremiah 29:11–13 (NASB95)
Ask: What is constant burden of worry a good indicator of in our lives?
Point: We are on a path of Man and not God’s path.
Second Reading Matthew 11:28–30 (NASB95)
Ask: How are the pursuit of riches and material goods like worry?
Point: They are a good indicator we are on a path of Man and not God’s path for our lives.
Third Reading Matthew 6:19–24 (NASB95)
Ask: How do you know if the word that falls upon you is choked by these thorns or not?
Point: Fourth Reading Matthew 7:13–20 (NASB95)
See the Greek Definitions for “fruit” and its root word.
Ask: What is a fruit that either you produce or someone else produces?
Point: The root of the Greek word is “plucked” meaning that thing you take away from someone else is the fruit they have produced. From you, it is what you allow others to take away from their contact with you.
Ask: How do worry, the pursuit of riches, and things choke the word of God in our lives?
Point: We have a very limited amount of time on earth to do things and the seasons move as the seasons move.
Fifth Reading Psalm 90:12 (NASB95)
Ask: How then do we set our foot on His path to make sure worry does not choke out His word so we might bear fruit for His purposes?
Point: Sixth Reading James 4:13–17 (NASB95)
Closing Statement
Walk His path, not our own. Bear fruit for His purpose, not our own. Plan for His events, not worry about Satan’s distractions. The seeds of the Word of the Lord fall on our lives every minute of every day. Sometimes we recognize the messengers, sometimes we recognize the seeds, and sometimes we are blind to the event entirely. The kind of ground that seed falls upon, whether it is watered or not, and whether weeds are allowed to grow around it or not is up to us. Will we leave people with wheat useful for baking bread or chaff to be blown away in the wind? The choice is ours. Choose wisely.
Questions for the Week
Question 1 What fruit do you produce for others to take away from contact with you?
Question 2 Review the lesson from Week 28, your notes on the lesson, and contemplate your thoughts about it all. Then, read James Chapter 5 and write down your thoughts concerning the week’s lesson in light of how James closes his book in the Bible.
Scripture
First Reading
11‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.
12‘Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
13‘You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
Jeremiah 29:11–13 (NASB95)
Second Reading
28“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
29“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30“For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Matthew 11:28–30 (NASB95)
Third Reading
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22“The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
23“But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24“No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Matthew 6:19–24 (NASB95)
Fourth Reading
13“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it.
14“For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
15“Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16“You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they?
17“So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
18“A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit.
19“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20“So then, you will know them by their fruits.
Matthew 7:13–20 (NASB95)
Fifth Reading
12So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12 (NASB95)
Sixth Reading
13Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”
14Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
15Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
16But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
17Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.
James 4:13–17 (NASB95)
Definitions
worry
[ wore, wuhr-ee ]
verb (used without object), wor·ried, wor·ry·ing.
to torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts, fret.
to move with effort:an old car worrying uphill.
verb (used with object), wor·ried, wor·ry·ing.
to torment with cares, anxieties, etc.; trouble; plague.
to seize, especially by the throat, with the teeth and shake or mangle, as one animal does another.
noun, plural wor·ries.
a worried condition or feeling; uneasiness or anxiety.
a cause of uneasiness or anxiety; trouble.
the act of worrying.
Fox Hunting. the action of the hounds in tearing to pieces the carcass of a fox.
Greek Strong’s Number: 2590
Greek Word: καρπός
Transliteration: karpos
Phonetic Pronunciation: kar-pos’
Root: probably from the base of <G726>
Cross Reference: TDNT - 3:614,416
Part of Speech: n m
Vine’s Words: Fruit, Fruitful, Unfruitful
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
fruit 66
[Total Count: 66]
probably from the base of <G726> (harpazo); fruit (as plucked), literal or figurative:- fruit.
James Strong, “Καρπός,” Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
Greek Strong’s Number: 726
Greek Word: ἁρπάζω
Transliteration: harpazō
Phonetic Pronunciation: har-pad’-zo
Root: from a derivative of <G138>
Cross Reference: TDNT - 1:472,80
Part of Speech: v
Vine’s Words: Catch, Force, Pluck, Snatch, Spoil, Spoiling
Usage Notes:
English Words used in KJV:
catch up 4
take by force 3
catch away 2
pluck 2
catch 1
pull 1
[Total Count: 13]
from a derivative of <G138> (haireomai); to seize (in various applications):- catch (away, up), pluck, pull, take (by force).
James Strong, “Ἁρπάζω,” Strong’s Talking Greek and Hebrew Dictionary (WORDsearch, 2020).
James Chapter 5
1Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.
2Your riches have rotted and your garments have become moth-eaten.
3Your gold and your silver have rusted; and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire. It is in the last days that you have stored up your treasure!
4Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields, and which has been withheld by you, cries out against you; and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth.
5You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure; you have fattened your hearts in a day of slaughter.
6You have condemned and put to death the righteous man; he does not resist you.
7Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains.
8You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.
9Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.
10As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.
11We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord’s dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful.
12But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath; but your yes is to be yes, and your no, no, so that you may not fall under judgment.
13Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.
14Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;
15and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him.
16Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.
17Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months.
18Then he prayed again, and the sky poured rain and the earth produced its fruit.
19My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back,
20let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
James 5:1–20 (NASB95)