“And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,”
He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said — the parable section of Mark 4 is the only extended teaching discourse in this Gospel before the Olivet Discourse of chapter 13. Mark's Gospel is primarily a narrative of action; chapter 4 is its major teaching interlude. The many things by parables communicates that what is recorded is a selection, not a complete transcript. The parable as a teaching form uses the familiar (agriculture, households, nature) to communicate the unfamiliar (the kingdom of God). The parables are not merely illustrative but structurally revelatory: they show the kingdom's nature in the only way the kingdom's nature can be communicated — through story.
Church Fathers on Mark 4:2
Although the Lord appears in the transactions mentioned above to neglect His mother, nevertheless He honours her; since on her account He goes forth about the borders of the sea.
For if we look into the Gospel of Matthew, it appears that this same teaching of the Lord at the sea, was delivered on the same day as the former. For after the conclusion of the first sermon, Matthew immediately subjoins, saying, 'The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea-side.'
But He began to teach at the sea, that the place of His teaching might point out the bitter feelings and instability of His hearers.
Read all 22 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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