Marky mark.

So, i just came back from a class studying how to interpret parables.
So lets look at one, shall we?
Mark 4

1Again(A) he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him,(B) so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2And(C) he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3"Listen!(D) A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6And(E) when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root,(F) it withered away. 7Other seed fell among(G) thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and(H) a hundredfold." 9And he said, (I) "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
The Purpose of the Parables
10And(J) when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11And he said to them, (K) "To you has been given(L) the secret of the kingdom of God, but for(M) those outside everything is in parables, 12(N) so that

"they(O) may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they(P) should turn and be forgiven."

13(Q) And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14(R) The sower sows(S) the word. 15And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it(T) with joy. 17And they have no root in themselves, but(U) endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately(V) they fall away.[a] 18And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19but(W) the cares of(X) the world and(Y) the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and(Z) bear fruit,(AA) thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."


So, thats the chunk. This is considered a true parable, since it has a beginning, plot, and conclusion.
So, these are the types of questions we asked...
Observation (what do we see with in the text)
Q What is the Point of reference? (whats Jesus using to make his point applicable)
A The sower (4:3)
The seed (4:4)
The 4 types of soil (4:4-8)

Q Who is the audience?
A The very large crowd (4:1)
The disciples (4:10)

Q Who is the parable for?
A All people (4:9)
The disciples (4:10)

Interpretation (figuring out the text)
QWhat is the expected response of the OH? (original hearers, aka, the crowd and disciples)
A. The crowd is to reflect on what type of soil they are in relation to the parable, and how they receive the word.

Q What is the response tot he teaching of the Kingdom of God?
A It is demonstrating that the word must be sowed to all types of soil evenly, regardless if it is a good place to sow. The sower and the seed are consistant, it is the receivers of the word that choose whether they will receive it or have hardened hearts.

Application (to the 21st century)
Q How does the parable influence my view on where i am supposed to sow the word?
A That the word must be sowed to both hard and good soil, since the sower and the seed are consistant, but i cannot determine the response, if the seed will grow or not. I am just to sow evenly throughout, sow to all.

I really liked looking at this parable, i think that we within a christian body tend to just want to sow to the good soil, to ourselves, to our christian friends who are wanting the seed, and not realise that we need to be consistant. What happens to the seed is not determined by the sower, just the ground. But have faith Gods a farmer and is already tilling.