Mark 4
4
A Story about a Farmer
(Matthew 13.1-9; Luke 8.4-8)
1 #
Lk 5.1-3. The next time Jesus taught beside Lake Galilee, a big crowd gathered. It was so large that he had to sit in a boat out on the lake, while the people stood on the shore. 2He used stories to teach them many things, and this is part of what he taught:
3Now listen! A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. 4While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds. 5Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn't very deep. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have deep roots. 7Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked out the plants. So they did not produce any grain. 8But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants grew and produced 30 or 60 or even 100 times as much as was scattered.
9Then Jesus said, “If you have ears, pay attention.”
Why Jesus Used Stories
(Matthew 13.10-17; Luke 8.9,10)
10When Jesus was alone with the twelve apostles and some others, they asked him about these stories. 11He answered:
I have explained the secret about God's kingdom to you, but for others I can use only stories. 12#Is 6.9,10 (LXX). The reason is,
“These people will look
and look, but never see.
They will listen and listen,
but never understand.
If they did,
they would turn to God
and be forgiven.”
Jesus Explains the Story about the Farmer
(Matthew 13.18-23; Luke 8.11-15)
13Jesus then told them:
If you don't understand this story, you won't understand any others. 14What the farmer is spreading is really the message about the kingdom. 15The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message. But Satan soon comes and snatches it away from them. 16The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it at once. 17But they don't have roots, and they don't last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.
18The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. 19But they start worrying about the needs of this life. They are fooled by the desire to get rich and to have all kinds of other things. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. 20The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and welcome the message. They produce 30 or 60 or even 100 times as much as was planted.
Light
(Luke 8.16-18)
21 #
Mt 5.15; Lk 11.33. Jesus also said:
You don't light a lamp and put it under a clay pot or under a bed. Don't you put a lamp on a lampstand? 22#Mt 10.26; Lk 12.2. There is nothing hidden that will not be made public. There is no secret that will not be well known. 23If you have ears, pay attention!
24 #
Mt 7.2; Lk 6.38. Listen carefully to what you hear! The way you treat others will be the way you will be treated—and even worse. 25#Mt 13.12; 25.29; Lk 19.26. Everyone who has something will be given more. But people who don't have anything will lose what little they have.
Another Story about Seeds
26Again Jesus said:
God's kingdom is like what happens when a farmer scatters seed in a field. 27The farmer sleeps at night and is up and around during the day. Yet the seeds keep sprouting and growing, and he doesn't understand how. 28It is the ground that makes the seeds sprout and grow into plants that produce grain. 29#Jl 3.13. Then when harvest season comes and the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts it with a sickle.#4.29 sickle: A knife with a long curved blade, used to cut grain and other crops.
A Mustard Seed
(Matthew 13.31,32; Luke 13.18,19)
30Finally, Jesus said:
What is God's kingdom like? What story can I use to explain it? 31It is like what happens when a mustard seed is planted in the ground. It is the smallest seed in all the world. 32But once it is planted, it grows larger than any garden plant. It even puts out branches that are big enough for birds to nest in its shade.
The Reason for Teaching with Stories
(Matthew 13.34,35)
33Jesus used many other stories when he spoke to the people, and he taught them as much as they could understand. 34He did not tell them anything without using stories. But when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.
A Storm
(Matthew 8.23-27; Luke 8.22-25)
35That evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let's cross to the east side.” 36So they left the crowd, and his disciples started across the lake with him in the boat. Some other boats followed along. 37Suddenly a storm struck the lake. Waves started splashing into the boat, and it was about to sink.
38Jesus was in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow, and he was asleep. His disciples woke him and said, “Teacher, don't you care that we're about to drown?”
39Jesus got up and ordered the wind and the waves to be quiet. The wind stopped, and everything was calm.
40Jesus asked his disciples, “Why were you afraid? Don't you have any faith?”
41Now they were more afraid than ever and said to each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”
Currently Selected:
Mark 4: CEV
Highlight
Share
Copy
![None](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2F58%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fweb-assets.youversion.com%2Fapp-icons%2Fen.png&w=128&q=75)
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Mark 4
4
The Parable of the Sower
1Again#Mt 13:1–15; Lk 8:4–10 he began to teach#Mt 28:20; Ac 4:2; 2Tm 4:11 by the sea, and a very large crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat on the sea and sat down, while the whole crowd was by the sea on the shore. 2He taught them many things in parables,#Mk 12:1 and in his teaching#Mk 11:18; Ac 2:42; 17:19 he said to them, 3“Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow.#Gl 6:7 4As he sowed, some seed fell along the path,#Mk 8:27 and the birds came and devoured#Gl 5:15 it. 5Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it grew up quickly,#Mk 10:52 since the soil wasn’t deep. 6When the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.#Mk 3:1 7Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce fruit. 8Still other seed fell on good ground and it grew up, producing fruit that increased#1Pt 2:2 thirty, sixty, and a hundred times.”#Jn 15:5; Col 1:6 9Then he said, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”#Is 6:9; Jr 5:21; Ezk 12:2; Mk 8:18; Lk 14:35
Why Jesus Used Parables
10When he was alone, those around him with the Twelve#Mk 11:11 asked him about the parables.#Mk 12:1 11He answered them, “The secret#1Co 2:7 of the kingdom of God#Mk 1:15 has been given to you, but to those outside,#Rm 9:27 everything comes in parables 12so that
they may indeed look,
and yet not perceive;
they may indeed listen,
and yet not understand; #
Mk 7:18
otherwise, they might turn back
and be forgiven.” # 4:12 Other mss read and their sins be forgiven them # 4:12 Is 6:9–10 #
Is 6:9–10
The Parable of the Sower Explained
13Then#Mt 13:18–23; Lk 8:9–15 he said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable?#Mk 12:1 How then will you understand all of the parables? 14The sower sows#Gl 6:7 the word.#Mk 16:20 15Some are like the word sown on the path.#Mk 8:27 When they hear, immediately Satan#Mt 4:10 comes and takes away the word#Lk 6:47 sown in them.#4:15 Other mss read in their hearts 16And others are like seed sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy.#Jn 5:43; 15:11 17But they have no root; they are short-lived. When distress#2Co 1:4 or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away.#Jn 16:1 18Others are like seed sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word, 19but the worries#1Pt 5:7 of this age,#Lk 16:8; Eph 1:21 the deceitfulness#4:19 Or seduction#Mt 13:22 of wealth,#Mt 13:22; Lk 8:14 and the desires#2Pt 1:4; 2:10 for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.#Rm 1:13; Ti 3:14; Jd 12 20And those like seed sown on good ground hear the word,#Lk 6:47 welcome it, and produce fruit#Col 1:10 thirty, sixty, and a hundred times what was sown.”
Using Your Light
21He#Lk 8:16–18 also said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed?#Lk 5:18 Isn’t it to be put on a lampstand?#Rv 1:12 22For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed,#2Co 4:11 and nothing concealed that will not be brought to light. 23If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen.”#Mk 4:9 24And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure#2Co 10:13 you use,#Mt 7:2; Lk 6:38 it will be measured to you — and more will be added#Lk 17:5 to you. 25For whoever has, more will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”#Mt 25:29; Lk 19:26
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 “The kingdom of God #
Mk 1:15
is like this,” he said. “A man scatters seed on the ground. 27He sleeps#Mt 9:24 and rises#Mk 5:41 night#Jn 9:4 and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how. 28The soil produces a crop#Col 1:10 by itself — first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain#Lk 16:7 on the head. 29As soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle,#Jl 3:13; Rv 14:14–19 because the harvest#Rv 14:15 has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30And#Mt 13:31–35; Lk 13:18–21 he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God,#Mk 1:15 or what parable#Mk 12:1 can we use to describe it? 31It’s like a mustard seed#Mt 17:20; Lk 17:6 that, when sown upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground. 32And when sown,#Gl 6:7 it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants,#Lk 11:42 and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky#Mt 24:35; Lk 12:33; Ac 17:24; Eph 6:9; Rv 21:10 can nest in its shade.”
Using Parables
33He was speaking the word#Lk 6:47; Jn 18:32 to them with many parables#Mk 12:1 like these, as they were able to understand.#Jn 16:12 34He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, he explained everything to his own disciples.#Mt 9:10; Mk 10:10; Lk 6:1; Jn 6:3; Ac 6:1
Wind and Waves Obey Jesus
35On#Mt 8:23–27; Lk 8:22–25 that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” 36So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him. 37A great windstorm#Ps 107:25; Jnh 1:5–6 arose, and the waves#Jd 13 were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38He was in the stern, sleeping#Mt 9:24 on the cushion. So they woke him up#Mk 5:41 and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?” #Jn 6:27
39He got up, rebuked#2Tm 4:2 the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence!#Mt 22:12; Mk 3:4 Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid?#Mt 8:26; Rv 21:8 Do you still have no faith?”
41And they were terrified#4:41 Or were filled with awe#Rv 11:11 and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey#Mk 1:27 him!” #Jnh 1:10,16; Mk 6:50–51
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
![None](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimageproxy.youversionapi.com%2F58%2Fhttps%3A%2F%2Fweb-assets.youversion.com%2Fapp-icons%2Fen.png&w=128&q=75)
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers