Mark 4:1-2

‘And again he began to teach by the seaside. And there is gathered to him a huge crowd so that he boarded a boat and sat in the sea. And all the crowd were by the sea on the land. And he taught them many things in parables, and said to them in his teaching.’

‘And again he began to teach by the seaside.’ The ‘again’ refers back to Mark 3:7. The seaside was a favourite venue of Jesus and the use of a boat for this purpose seems to have been a regular feature of His ministry at this time. It acted as both a speaking platform, and as a means of avoiding being hemmed in by the crowds. This was very necessary as clearly the large open space meant that larger crowds could gather.

‘Parables.’ ‘Parable’ has a wide meaning based on the meaning of Hebrew ‘mashal’ (which it translates in LXX) meaning a saying, a word picture, a proverb, a riddle, an ethical maxim, a comparison, and so on. Here it refers to the use of stories and mysterious sayings to make the people think. We are told that He used many such (Mark 4:33).

‘All the crowd were by the sea.’ Note the emphasis on the fact that Jesus is again surrounded by crowds, but this time they are by the seashore. This is mainly a crowd of interested hearers similar to that in Mark 3:7 although no doubt including many of those in Mark 3:32.

‘And said to them in His teaching.’ Note the inference here that He taught much more than we have a record of. These are to be seen as but examples.