Mark 4
(1) Jesus Teaches the Crowds
Then Jesus started teaching by the sea again, but such a large crowd was forming that He had to get in a boat and speak from there. He was teaching them all kinds of things in the form of analogies. Here are some of the things He was saying,
(3) Seeds Grow Differently in Various Soils
“There was a farmer who went out to scatter some seeds. As he was scattering them, some of the seeds landed next to the road, and birds came and ate them.
“Some seeds landed in a rocky area where there wasn’t much soil. Those sprouted up quickly since the soil wasn’t very deep, but after the sun came up, they got scorched and withered away since they didn’t have any roots.
“Some seeds landed near the thorn bushes, which choked them out and prevented them from producing any fruit.
“And some seeds landed in the good soil. As those sprouted and grew, they produced a crop that was 30, 60, or 100 times in scale. Whoever hears what I’m saying and understands it should take it to heart.”
As soon as He was alone, His followers and the 12 started asking Him about the analogies. Jesus told them,
“The mystery of God’s empire has been given to you, but the people out there hear everything in analogies. They see without perceiving, and they hear without understanding—but if that changed, they could come back and be forgiven.”
(13) God’s Message Affects People Differently
“So you guys didn’t understand the analogy about the seed, did you? If you didn’t get that one, then how will you understand all the other analogies?
“The thing the farmer scatters is the message.
“When the message lands by the road, those people hear it, but Satan comes right away and takes away the message that has been planted in them.
“When the message lands in the rocky patch, those people hear the message and gladly grab onto it. But they don’t have any substantial roots—only temporary ones. So when difficulties come or when people start harassing them about it, they stumble quickly.
“The thorny area represents another group of people. They hear the message, but then modern-day worries, the deception of being rich, and the desire for other things start creeping in. Those things suffocate the message and prevent it from producing a crop.
“And then there’s the good soil. Those people hear the message, take it in, and produce crops that are 30, 60, or 100 times as large.”
(21) It Will All Make Sense One Day
“Lamps aren’t meant to be put under baskets or under beds, are they? They’re meant to be put on a lamp stand, right? Everything that’s hidden will one day be revealed, and all these secrets will come to light. Whoever hears that and understands it should take it to heart.”
(24) If You Listen, You’ll be Impacted
“Be aware of what you listen to. Whatever metric you use to gauge what you hear is the metric that will be used for how much you’ll get out of it—except a little more will be added. If you hang on to something, you’ll be given even more. But if you don’t hang on to it, even what you have will be taken away from you.
(26) It’s Unknown Why Seeds Grow
“God’s empire is like a farmer who scatters seeds on the ground. He goes to bed at night, then wakes up to find that the seeds are sprouting and growing. He doesn’t even know what makes them grow. The ground just naturally produces crops all by itself: first the blade, then the head, then the mature grains. Then when the crop is ready, the farmer gets out the equipment because it’s time to harvest.
(30) God’s Empire Starts Small but Grows Big
“What should we compare God's empire to? What analogy should we use to describe it? It’s like a mustard seed that’s smaller than all the other seeds, but when it’s planted in the ground, it grows up to be bigger than all the other food-producing plants. And its branches grow large enough for birds to nest in its shade.”
(33) Jesus Used Analogies
He used lots of analogies like that when communicating the message, but only what the people had the capacity to hear. He always used analogies whenever He spoke to them, but He explained everything privately to His apprentices.
(35) Jesus Calms the Storm
When evening came that day, He told his apprentices,
“Come on, let’s go to the other side.”
So they sent the crowds away and boarded a few boats and started sailing across with Him. A fierce storm came and waves started crashing into the boat so hard that it started filling up with water. Jesus was in the back of the boat sleeping on a pillow, so they woke Him up and said,
“Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re all about to die??”
So He got up, scolded the wind, and told the sea to quiet down. Then the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. He said,
“Why are you guys scared? You still don’t have faith?”
Then they were gripped by fear and asked each other,
“Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea submit to Him.”
