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Questions tagged with:
Mark 4
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- Are the three good soil verbs in Matthew 13 (suniemi), Mark 4 (paradechomai), and Luke 8 (katechousin) synonymous? Jesus says that people who understand the word (gospel) bear fruit, people who embrace the word bear fruit, and people who retain the word bear fruit? So, are these three actions really one and the same?
Answer: No, the words are not synonymous (they don't all mean the same thing), but they are integrally related.
We believe that to understand all that Jesus taught about good soil, we must consider all three of the recorded accounts of times in which He spoke this parable. The Matthew 13 account of the parable certainly reports the truth about what Jesus said on one or more occasions--those who bear fruit as true believers are people who have understood the gospel clearly. The same is true of the Mark 4 account--those who bear fruit as true believers have sincerely embraced the gospel. And the same can be said of the Luke 8 account--true fruit-bearing believers will retain the gospel.
If you read the Matthew 13 account, without considering the Mark and Luke accounts, you might get the idea that a person only has to understand the word to be saved and bear the fruit of a true Christian. But, as we read the other gospel accounts we realize that understanding, as important as it is, is just the foundational step--the word must also be embraced. And if you just read the Mark 4 account, you might think that a person can sincerely embrace the word without understanding it. And worse still, if you just read the Luke 8 account you might think that a person can retain the word without understanding or embracing it.
It's a basic principle of hermeneutics (interpretation of the Bible) that we compare all related Bible passages before finalizing our interpretation as to what a Biblical text means.
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