Mark 4
4
The Parable of the Sower
1Again #For ver. 1-12, see Matt. 13:1-15; Luke 8:4-10 he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, #[ch. 3:9; Luke 5:1-3]so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2And #ver. 33he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3“Listen! Behold, #[Isa. 55:10; Amos 9:13]a sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6And #James 1:11 when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, #John 15:6it withered away. 7Other seed fell among #Jer. 4:3thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and #ver. 20; Gen. 26:12a hundredfold.” 9And he said, #See Matt. 11:15“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables
10And #ver. 34when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11And he said to them, #Matt. 19:11; Col. 1:27; [1 Cor. 2:6-10; 1 John 2:20, 27]; See Matt. 11:25 “To you has been given #See Rom. 16:25 the secret of the kingdom of God, but for #1 Cor. 5:12, 13; Col. 4:5; 1 Thess. 4:12; 1 Tim. 3:7those outside everything is in parables, 12#Isa. 6:9, 10 so that
“‘they #
Deut. 29:4; Jer. 5:21; Ezek. 12:2; Rom. 11:8; 2 Cor. 3:14; 4:4; [Isa. 42:19, 20] may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they # See Luke 22:32 should turn and be forgiven.’”
13 # For ver. 13-20, see Matt. 13:18-23; Luke 8:11-15 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14#[Matt. 13:37; John 4:36, 37] The sower sows #ver. 33; ch. 2:2; Luke 1:2; Acts 8:4; James 1:21the word. 15And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it #[ch. 6:20; Isa. 58:2; Ezek. 33:31, 32; John 5:35]with joy. 17And they have no root in themselves, but #Gal. 1:6; [Hos. 6:4; Gal. 5:7] endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately #See Matt. 11:6they fall away.#4:17 Or stumble 18And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19but #See Matt. 6:25 the cares of #2 Tim. 4:10 the world and #1 Tim. 6:9, 10, 17; [ch. 10:23; Matt. 19:23; Acts 5:1-11; Heb. 3:13]the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and #Hos. 14:8; John 15:5, 16; Phil. 1:11; Col. 1:6 bear fruit, #ver. 8thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
A Lamp Under a Basket
21 # For ver. 21-25, see Luke 8:16-18 And he said to them, #Matt. 5:15; Luke 11:33“Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22#Matt. 10:26; Luke 12:2; [1 Tim. 5:25]For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23#ver. 9If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: #Matt. 7:2; Luke 6:38with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25#See Matt. 13:12For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
The Parable of the Seed Growing
26And he said, #[Matt. 13:24-30]“The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; #[Eccles. 11:5, 6]he knows not how. 28The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29But when the grain is ripe, at once #Joel 3:13; Rev. 14:15he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 # For ver. 30-32, see Matt. 13:31, 32; Luke 13:18, 19 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31It is like #Matt. 17:20; Luke 17:6a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
33 #
Matt. 13:34 With many such parables he spoke #See ver. 14 the word to them, #John 16:12; 1 Cor. 3:2; Heb. 5:12as they were able to hear it. 34He did not speak to them #[John 16:25] without a parable, but #ver. 10; [ch. 13:3] privately to his own disciples he #[2 Pet. 1:20]explained everything.
Jesus Calms a Storm
35 # For ver. 35-41, see Matt. 8:18, 23-27; Luke 8:22-25; [John 6:16-21] On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37And a great windstorm arose, and the waves #[Acts 27:14]were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39And he awoke and #Ps. 104:7; [Luke 4:39] rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and #Job 38:11; Ps. 65:7; [ch. 6:51; Matt. 14:32]there was a great calm. 40He said to them, “Why are you #John 14:27so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, #[ch. 1:27] “Who then is this, that even #[Luke 5:9]the wind and the sea obey him?”
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Mark 4
4
A Story about a Farmer
(Matthew 13:1–23; Luke 8:4–15)
1Jesus began to teach again by the Sea of Galilee. A very large crowd gathered around him, so he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was in the water while the entire crowd lined the shore. 2He used stories as illustrations to teach them many things.
While he was teaching them, he said, 3“Listen! A farmer went to plant seed. 4Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them. 5Other seeds were planted on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil. The plants sprouted quickly because the soil wasn’t deep. 6When the sun came up, they were scorched. They didn’t have any roots, so they withered. 7Other seeds were planted among thornbushes. The thornbushes grew up and choked them, and they didn’t produce anything. 8But other seeds were planted on good ground, sprouted, and produced thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.” 9He added, “Let the person who has ears listen!”
10When he was alone with his followers and the twelve apostles, they asked him about the stories.
11Jesus replied to them, “The mystery about God’s kingdom has been given ⌞directly⌟ to you. To those on the outside, it is given in stories:
12‘They see clearly but don’t perceive.
They hear clearly but don’t understand.
They never return to me
and are never forgiven.’ ”
13Jesus asked them, “Don’t you understand this story? How, then, will you understand any of the stories I use as illustrations?
14“The farmer plants the word. 15Some people are like seeds that were planted along the road. Whenever they hear the word, Satan comes at once and takes away the word that was planted in them. 16Other people are like seeds that were planted on rocky ground. Whenever they hear the word, they accept it at once with joy. 17But they don’t develop any roots. They last for a short time. When suffering or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall ⌞from faith⌟. 18Other people are like seeds planted among thornbushes. They hear the word, 19but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of riches, and the desires for other things take over. They choke the word so that it can’t produce anything. 20Others are like seeds planted on good ground. They hear the word, accept it, and produce crops—thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.”
A Story about a Lamp
21Jesus said to them, “Does anyone bring a lamp into a room to put it under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a lamp stand? 22There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. There is nothing kept secret that will not come to light. 23Let the person who has ears listen!”
24He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you’re listening to! ⌞Knowledge⌟ will be measured out to you by the measure ⌞of attention⌟ you give. This is the way knowledge increases. 25Those who understand ⌞these mysteries⌟ will be given ⌞more knowledge⌟. However, some people don’t understand ⌞these mysteries⌟. Even what they understand will be taken away from them.”
A Story about Seeds That Grow
26Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seeds on the ground. 27He sleeps at night and is awake during the day. The seeds sprout and grow, although the man doesn’t know how. 28The ground produces grain by itself. First the green blade appears, then the head, then the head full of grain. 29As soon as the grain is ready, he cuts it with a sickle, because harvest time has come.”
A Story about a Mustard Seed
(Matthew 13:31–32; Luke 13:18–19)
30Jesus asked, “How can we show what God’s kingdom is like? To what can we compare it? 31It’s like a mustard seed planted in the ground. The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds on earth. 32However, when planted, it comes up and becomes taller than all the garden plants. It grows such large branches that birds can nest in its shade.”
33Jesus spoke ⌞God’s⌟ word to them using many illustrations like these. In this way people could understand what he taught. 34He did not speak to them without using an illustration. But when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.
Jesus Calms the Sea
(Matthew 8:23–27; Luke 8:22–25)
35That evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side.”
36Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus along in a boat just as he was. Other boats were with him.
37A violent windstorm came up. The waves were breaking into the boat so that it was quickly filling up. 38But he was sleeping on a cushion in the back of the boat.
So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?”
39Then he got up, ordered the wind to stop, and said to the sea, “Be still, absolutely still!” The wind stopped blowing, and the sea became very calm.
40He asked them, “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith yet?”
41They were overcome with fear and asked each other, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”
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