GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 4:4
Gobbling Hot Dogs
In a hot dog eating contest on July 4, 2023, the winner consumed 62 hot dogs and buns. The video shows the winner stuffing one hot dog after another, bun and all, into his mouth.
In his parable of the farmer recorded by St. Mark, Jesus said, “And it came about, as he sowed, some seed fell along the road, and the birds came and devoured it.” (Mark 4:4) The word Mark and the other Gospel writers used (Matt. 13:4, Luke 8:5) for “devoured” is a compound word that could be rendered “gobbled,” somewhat illustrated by the hot dog-eating champion stuffing one hot dog after another into his mouth.
In this parable, “seed” is a metaphor for “Gospel,” or the message of the Father’s offering of a way into his Kingdom. In this scene, however, the birds “gobble” the message. Jesus later defined “birds” as Satan, who takes away or destroys the Gospel, twisting and distorting it to destruction, “gobbling” it up. Still a warning.
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