Mark includes three additional, shorter parables in the parable medley of chapter 4 (4:21–34); the first is about an oil lamp on a stand (4:21–25). The NIV makes the lamp the object of the verse, but the Greek makes it the subject; that is, “Does the lamp come in order to be placed under the bowl or bed?” In the Old Testament, a lamp can be a metaphor for God (2 Sam. 22:29) or the Messiah (2 Kings 8:19; Ps. 132:17). The unusual wording of verse 21 implies that Jesus is the lamp of God who has come to bring light and revelation (e.g., John 1:5; 8:12). True, the lamp may appear hidden or insignificant, in the same way that Jesus, the gospel, and the kingdom of God at first seem hidden or inconsequential (4:22). Nevertheless, God brings to light what is hidden, and he does so once again by t…
Three Short Parables
Mark 4:21-25, Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34
Mark 4:21-25, Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34
One Volume
by Gary M. Burge
by Gary M. Burge
Baker Publishing Group, The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary, by Gary M. Burge