The You're going to do you.

Do you do you do you do you do

do you do Welcome to Truth for Life where today we are beginning a study in Mark's Gospel

entitled Stories of the Kingdom. We'll be looking at what Jesus revealed

about God's Eternal King and Kingdom, but to start we want to find out why Jesus

chose to speak in parables that were difficult to understand even for his disciples.

Alistair Begg is teaching from the opening verses in Mark Chapter 4. 4. Well, the pressure of the crowds is growing and at the same time the climate is that of unbelief.

Jesus was at least misunderstood by his immediate family.

Mark tells us that they actually thought

that he was out of his mind and he was at the same time

misinterpreted by those who were the religious establishment.

The family were saying he has a demon, the religious authorities that had come down from Jerusalem were saying he is actually doing all these exorcisms by the power of Satan himself.

But despite the fact of misunderstanding and

misappropriation of the truth, the crowds of people were growing and growing. And indeed it was essentially the hot ticket in the town.

Mark describes the circumstance there at the end of verse one with all the people

along the shore at the water's edge. eager to see what's going on, eager not to miss a moment.

And that's exactly what Mark tells us is taking place.

Well we might say that's understandable. After all, Jesus was doing these miracles, he was

casting out demons, he was making these remarkable statements, and so that simply explains why

the crowds would be gathering. On one level it does, but it misses another level entirely.

And that level is the level, if you like, of background, which we as dwellers in the 21st century do not come to the

scriptures with. In other words we come out of the context of our own lives and our own

...