- Mark
- <
- 4
- >

4
The Parable of the Sower
1 And again He began to teach beside the sea. And a large crowd was gathered to Him, so that He got aboard into the boat, and sat on the sea; and all the crowd was upon the land by the sea. 2 And He was teaching them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:
3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell alongside the road; and the birds came and devoured it. 5 And some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun rose it was scorched, and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 But other seed fell on good ground, and it was yielding fruit coming up and growing, and it was producing—some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
9 And He said, “He that has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Purpose of Parables
10 But when He was by himself, those around Him together with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11 And He said to them, “Unto you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things are spoken in parables, 12 so that
‘Seeing they may see and not perceive,
and hearing they may hear and not understand;
Lest they should turn,
and their sins be forgiven them.’ ”
The Parable of the Sower Explained
13 And He said to them, “Do you not know this parable? How then will you know all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones beside the road where the word is sown, and whenever they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which was sown in their hearts. 16 And these are the ones sown on stony ground; which, whenever they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy; 17 and they have no root in themselves, but are short-lived. Afterward, when trials or persecution arise because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And these are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, 19 and the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 And these are the ones sown on good ground, such as who hear the word and welcome it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
Light Under a Basket
21 And He said to them, “A lamp is not brought so that it may be put under a measuring basket or under a bed, is it? Is it not brought so that it may be put on a lampstand? 22 For there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest, nor was it hidden but that it might come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
24 Then He said to them, “Watch what you hear. By what measure you measure, it will be measured out to you; and more will be added to you who hear. 25 For whoever has, more will be given to him; and he who does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 And He said, “Thus is the kingdom of God as if a man should cast seed on the ground, 27 and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and should grow, he himself does not know how. 28 For the earth produces crops by itself: first a shoot, then a head of grain, then full wheat in the head of grain. 29 But whenever the crop permits, immediately he sends forth the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 Then He said, “To what shall we compare the kingdom of God? Or by what sort of parable shall we illustrate it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which whenever it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth; 32 but whenever it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all the garden vegetables, and produces great branches, so that the birds of heaven are able to nest under its shade.”
33 And by many such parables He would speak the word to them, just as they were able to hear it. 34 And apart from a parable He did not speak to them, however, privately to His disciples, he would explain all things.
Jesus Calms a Storm
35 On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took Him along as He was in the boat. And other little boats were also with Him. 37 And there was a severe windstorm, and the waves dashed up into the boat, so that it was already filling up. 38 But He was in the stern, sleeping upon the cushion. And they woke Him up and said to Him, “Teacher! Does it not matter to You that we are perishing?”
39 And having awakened He rebuked the wind, and He said to the sea, “Peace, be still.” And the wind abated and there was a great calm. 40 But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you do not have faith?” 41 And they feared exceedingly, and were saying to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”

- Mark
- <
- 4
- >

© 2014 Dr. Paul W. Esposito