1. Mark 4:21 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why does Jesus shift images—from the sower to the lamp?

Mark 4:21 (ESV)

21 And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand?

Because at this point Jesus raises the problem of the obstinacy and the blindness of the crowds. Seeing they do not see. They themselves will therefore remain unfruitful. But that does not mean that Jesus’ work was for nought. Just as the sower gained a harvest from the good soil, so Jesus will become known and will function in the world as the Light of God. Israel uses Jesus like consumers (they seek miracles of healing, but do not acknowledge him as God’s Son). They catch the light and darken it. But this is not the last phase. The Light came to assume its rightful place and that will certainly happen.1