The Same Day

The Same Day
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And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. (Mark 4:35)

What does this passage mean when it tells us that Jesus gave a commandment to his disciples on the same day? Which same day? The same day to which this passage is referring is the day that Jesus gave the parable about the four different types of ground.

Each type of ground represents the heart of a believer. The hard ground is the believer who hears the Word being taught but rejects it. Satan comes immediately and steals the Word from his heart. The second type of ground is the stony ground. This is one who hears the Word and receives it quickly, but gives up when trials and persecution come. This one does not have enough soil or depth of heart for the Word to produce a good root. It then becomes offended. The third type of ground is thorny. This ground receives the Word and holds on for a while but when prosperity manifests, things become more important than the Word and the Word is choked out. The last type of ground is good ground. It holds on to the Word and endures all persecution. It begins to increasingly produce more, thirty, sixty and finally one hundred fold.

The key to these verses is hearing the Word of God and understanding it (Matthew 13:9, Mark 4:23). Jesus asked his disciples if they understood his teaching and each one said "yes" (Matthew 13:51).

Here Comes the Test

On the same day that this parable was taught, Jesus was about to demonstrate it to his disciples. The Word had been sown in their hearts and Satan is about to come to steal the seed through persecution.

Jesus planted the seed--"Let us pass over unto the other side." He did not say "Let us go half way, meet a storm and sink". The Word was given. They would make it to the other side.

A storm did arise, but Jesus was asleep on a pillow. The disciples should have taken a hint from Jesus! If the Word is spoken, it will come to pass. W e might as well all go to sleep and rest on God's pillow--on His promise!

The disciples proved that they did not understand the teaching because they panicked and accused Jesus of not caring that they were drowning. Jesus rebuked the storm and then rebuked the disciples! They flunked the test.

How About You?

How many promises can you find in God's Word? How may pillows has G od provided for you to rest upon that you have failed to use? Instead, we panic again and again, cry out to Jesus for help and He stops the storm for us. He wants us to grow up and claim the promises for ourselves. We will make it to the other side.

Bob Yandian