With a new method of operation—Jesus began to preach in the open air as the door of the Jewish synagogue closed against him—there came a new style of public speaking. He taught the crowds in parables, we read (4:2). The parables of Jesus are a favorite seed plot for many a preacher’s sermons; but they are tricky! So often we resort to allegorizing the details or using the stories as pegs on which to hang ethical homilies. These aberrations are not new, and
Mark 4:1–34