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The Parables
The narration of the evangelist Mark begins with a special day in Capernaum, where the narrator depicts the intense and extraordinary activity of Jesus with his disciples, with the crowd, and alone.
The entire text of Mark is organized into two important phases, both of which culminate in a profession of faith. The first part of the narrative ends with the apostle Peter’s profession of faith. This first part, in turn, can be structured into three distinct moments. Each of these moments ends on a controversial note of rejection and aggression. Thus, the first part of the narrative ends in chapter 3, verse 6, indicating that the Pharisees immediately went out with the Herodians and held a council against Jesus to put him to death.
From the beginning, the adversaries realize that Jesus is dangerous and that his proclamation is extraordinary, departing from any traditional scheme. Immediately after, a second part begins, and Mark, as usual at the beginning of each part, provides a summary and a narration of the vocation.
This summary in Chapter 3 is extensive and does not describe a particular episode. Still, as a summary, Mark presents what was typically the behavior of Jesus, what he did in general. Above all, it is observed that an immense multitude from all the surrounding regions came to Jesus to hear him speak, but, above all, because he healed.
From a historical reconstruction standpoint, the healings performed by Jesus are no doubt the reason the crowds gathered. Simply put, the beautiful speeches do not attract the people’s sympathy; it is necessary to posit, as an essential historical fact, that Jesus has done something extraordinary in favor of simple people, and it is precisely this therapeutic intervention of Jesus that attracts people’s attention.
Immediately after the summary, Mark narrates the appointment of the 12 apostles. He uses the verb ‘create’ as a creative intervention. At the beginning of the first part, he mentionsthe call of four disciples: Simon, his brother Andrew, James, and his brother John.
Now he says that Jesus established, in a stable way, a group of 12 people. “Then Jesuswent up to the hill country and called those he wanted; they came to him.” He named 12 = he created 12. Notice the detail: Jesus went up the mountain and called those he wanted. He freely chose them according to a criterion of affection, and they responded; they went with him. From this large group of those who follow him with affection, Jesus chose a small group with a precise and determined number.
The number 12 has symbolic significance; it alludes to the new Israel, as the twelve patriarchs who founded the 12 tribes were the sons of Jacob. Now the new Israel has 12 patriarchs, beginning a new historical phase. Jesus creates this group, and the evangelist specifies two important purposes. He called them first to live with him, and second to send them. ‘Apostle’ means ‘sent’ or ‘delegated.’ Jesus chose them to do the work he had indicated. But before sending them, Jesus’ purpose was to be with them and to choose who would stay with him.
In the Greek original, he uses the verb ‘make’ (ὦσιν = ósin), which is more substantialthan the verb ‘to be.’ Jesus’ objective for the elect is to be with him. Being with the Lord is the summit; it is the goal to which each disciple responds. The important thing is to be with him. From this communion of life, the mission is born.
If only they were with Jesus, he could send them as spokespersons for his word. What characterizes the apostles is that they have been with the Lord. This is the origin of the mission, which has two objectives: first, to preach; second, to cast out demons. Jesus himself began in the synagogue, preaching and releasing a demonized man. The same activity is now delegated to his apostles; their task is to proclaim the Gospel, and that word is compelling; it’s not just about telling a story but about acting on humanity, and, for Mark, the fundamental action is to fight against the spirit of darkness. The apostles’ task is to cast out demons, overcome the enemy, and free the person. The word of the Gospel has a therapeutic, redemptive function; it frees a person from the oppression of evil.
Therefore, he gives them 12 names, according to a traditional list that the other evangelists also preserve. At this point, the narration of the second part of his Gospel begins, with a moment of incomprehension framed by the episode of Jesus’ relatives’ lack of understanding. At the center of the episode is the harsh, slanderous opposition of the scribes who came from Jerusalem.
They were sent by the great authorities of the capital to investigate this strange preacher from Galilee. The issue that draws these scribes’ attention is that Jesus sets free some demonized people. The scribes’ interpretation is strange and provocative; they say Jesus is an ally of the devil, his envoy, a collaborator of Satan, and that, in collusion with the chief of demons, he performs striking signs precisely to dominate and enslave.
It is a tragic posture because it means refusing the light and refusing to see things as they are. It is also a violent opposition that turns day into night, and Jesus calls this attitude “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,” that is, a stubborn, conscious, and firm closure to the revelation brought by Jesus. Faced with work that liberates man and offers salvation and the possibility of life, to say that it comes from the devil is to refuse to see reality, stubbornly closing in on rejection.
This attitude cannot be forgiven because it does not seek forgiveness. The only sin that cannot be forgiven is pride that denies sin, believes it has no sin, and does not recognize in Jesus the one who leads to the mercy of God.
Also around this very negative center is the family of Jesus, their relatives, called brothers and sisters. In that Jewish context, relatives were usually called by that term: cousins, in-laws, uncles, grandchildren, and brothers-in-law. All of these were generally called ‘brothers.’ We could translate them as ‘relatives’ to reduce problems while keeping the original text so we understand the meaning. His relatives from Nazareth have come to Capernaum because they have also heard of these extraordinary feats performed by Jesus and do not understand.
The evangelist notes that even Jesus’s mother is present among the other relatives, but the crowd surrounds Jesus, keeping the relatives from reaching him. The message arrives by word of mouth, and the people closest to the Master tell him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.” Jesus reacts strangely. He asks, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” Then, looking around at those who sat there, he says, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of God is brother and sister and mother to me.” The circular gaze of Jesus is a typical brushstroke of Mark. He describes how, before speaking, Jesus turns his head and looks into the eyes of those who hear him. ‘My mother and my relatives are you,’ he says. ‘You who listen to my words became my family.’ ‘To be my relative, you must do the will of God.’
It is not an act of contempt for his mother, Mary; it is precisely how Jesus speaks to us about the greatness of his mother. She is the one who did God’s will. She is his mother not because of particular merits but because she accepted the Word the Lord revealed to her. And she has done what the Lord asked of her.
Jesus’ human kinship goes beyond family ties. To be part of this new family that Jesus established, it is not necessary to be united to him by ties of blood; it is necessary to be united to him by ties of obedience; be like him and be available to do the will of his Father.
“Again, Jesus began to teach by the lake.” This is how chapter 4 begins. From time to time, Mark begins his narrative by underlining ‘again’ to indicate that he had already done it but repeated it under different circumstances. Living in villages next to the Lake of Galilee, which Mark somewhat emphatically calls the ‘sea,’ Jesus often gathered people on the shore.
The coast was a wide and accessible environment where the crowd could gather, bearing in mind that the villages were very small; they did not have large squares or streets that could accommodate crowds; the fields were cultivated, and therefore the waterfront was an open and accessible environment where it was possible to gather many people. To maintain a certain distance and avoid being locked up, Jesus teaches from a boat, sitting a few meters from the shore, where he can observe the people who have gathered and talk to them calmly.
Thus begins the chapter on the parables. It is one of the rare speeches that Mark collected anthologically; it is a collection of parables. Jesus taught in parables. The Greek word παραβολαῖς = ‘Parabolais’ denotes a narrative thrown to the side that circles around reality. The parable is an animated narration of a life story that helps to understand human life and the history of humanity in general. It seems to have nothing to do with the specific situation and, instead, thanks to the narrator’s skill, the story allows the listener to draw conclusions,form an opinion, make a judgment, and commit themselves.
The parables of Jesus aim to engage listeners and provoke dialogue. They often begin with questions like ‘What do you think?’ or ‘Who among you…?’ This is a way to ask a question and wait for an answer.
The first parable that Mark tells us is that of the sower, or better, of the various fields that receive the seed sown by the sower. This story begins with an emblematic figure: “The sower went out to sow.” Not just anyone, but The Sower. From the beginning, it refers to the one who gives the seed, the one at the origin of the gift of life, and the seed sown as a figure of revelation. “A sower went out to sow.”
This verb could be useless … Do you sow inside the house? Why start the story with that underlined word: “went out”? It is the image of God that comes out of himself to meet the world—throwing the Word that falls a little everywhere. This parable presupposes the way of working of the old Palestinian peasants, who did not plow the land; the plow is a medieval invention. They planted the seed in the field as it was, and then, with some tools, they moved the soil a little to cover the seeds. Therefore, it is inevitable that the seeds fall on the road, in the middle of the stones, or between thorns, but there is also a lot of good land.
And Jesus says, in the parable, that the seed that falls in the good land produces 30, 60, and 100 times as much. We don’t understand much about agriculture and grain yield, but the peasants of his time who listened to this narration certainly understood with their heads that ‘no,’ it is impossible. About 45 kilos of wheat, if they yielded seven times more, it would already be a lot. Today, with a much more sophisticated system, we reach 15… And 20 is never reached. And Jesus proposes 30, 60, 100 times as much.
Here is the central point of the parable. It is a provocation; a particular seed produces a vast and spectacular result beyond any human prediction. Mark has previously narrated the incomprehension of the relatives who wanted to take him home because they considered him out of his mind. He has also described the closed, perverse hostility of some scribes who consider him an ally of the devil, and the disciples’ belief that they are wasting time, ‘we are not getting anywhere… no results to be expected of all these.’
The parable serves as a comforting teaching. The fruit will come, and the results will be exceptional, even if it doesn’t seem so at first. The explanation of the four moral types is probably an addition by the first Christian community, which sought to adapt this story and to urge moral reflection, not to be superficial like the ground, not to be fickle like the stony ground, and not to be suffocated by worries. Let us become good ground to gather the seed of the Word and bear much fruit. The objective is to announce a growing seed, not to indicate a terrain like this, and it cannot be otherwise.
The goal is to encourage listeners to receive the Word. Those who accept the Word and do the will of God are the ones who bear fruit. They can become Jesus’s brother, sister, and mother.