John the Baptist, the "voice crying in the wilderness," was prophesied to come and prepare the way of the Messiah.  He came, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  He prepared the way by preparing people's hearts, signaling something important was about to happen, by speaking of a greater successor, and  introducing a new kind of baptism, a baptism of the Holy Spirit.

The parable of the soils is not about which soils are the Christians, but is about the dynamic nature of hearing the Word.  What matters is hearing the Word in a way that bears fruit.

The two stories of Jesus healing Jairus' daughter and the woman with a bleeding disorder teaches us that Jesus can heal hopeless conditions, but He does not always heal people. Jesus' healing miracles are a glimpse into His future kingdom. Jairus and the woman had weak faith but the object of their faith was worthy.  Can the object of your faith bear the weight of eternity?

When Jesus fed the 5000, He was introducing the idea of a new king with new values and a plan to work through people to bring about a quiet revolution one person at a time.

The Pharisees accused Jesus and His disciples of not following the traditions of the elders.  Jesus turned the tables on them and accused them rightly of elevating the traditions over and above the Word of God.  God is far more concerned about the inner state of our hearts than of our external procedures.

The disciples may have finally realized Jesus was the Messiah, but their understanding of what the Messiah came to do had to be transformed.  Jesus was not at that time coming as a conquering king, but as a suffering servant.