The Gospel According to St. Mark

⭑ Unlocked Literal Bible :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 4 -

(Matthew 13:1–9; Luke 8:4–8)

Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a large crowd gathered around him, so he stepped into a boat in the sea, and sat down. The whole crowd was beside the sea on the shore.

And he taught them many things in parables, and he said to them in his teaching,

“Listen, the farmer went out to sow his seed.

As he sowed, some seed fell on the road, and the birds came and devoured them.

Other seed fell on the rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. Immediately they sprang up, because they did not have deep soil.

But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and because they had no root, they dried up.

Other seed fell among the thorn plants. The thorn plants grew up and choked them, and they did not produce any grain.

Other seed fell into good soil and it produced grain while growing up and increasing, and some brought forth thirty times as much, and some sixty, and some a hundred.”

And he said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Jesus’ Parables

(Isaiah 6:1–13; Matthew 13:10–17; Luke 8:9–10)

When Jesus was alone, those who were close to him and with the twelve asked him about the parables.

He said to them, “To you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to those outside everything is in parables,

so that when they look, yes they look, but do not see, and so that when they hear, yes they hear, but do not understand, or else they would turn and God would forgive them.”

The Parable of the Sower Explained

(Matthew 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 other parables?

The farmer who sows his seed is the one who sows the word.

Some are the ones that fall beside the road, where the word was sown. And when they hear it, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.

And some are the ones that are sown on rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.

And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a short time. Then tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, and immediately they stumble.

And others are the ones sown among the thorns. They hear the word,

but the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires of other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Then there are those who are the ones sown in the good soil. They hear the word and receive it and produce fruit: some thirty, and some sixty, and some a hundred.”

The Lesson of the Lamp

(Luke 8:16–18)

Jesus said to them, “Do you bring a lamp inside the house to put it under a basket, or under the bed? You bring it in and you put it on a lampstand.

For nothing is hidden that will not be known, and nothing is secret that will not come out into the open.

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!”

He said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear, for with the measure with which you measure, you will be measured, and it will be added to you.

Because whoever has, to him will be given more, and whoever has not, from him will be taken away even what he has.”

The Seed Growing Secretly

And he said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who sows his seed on the ground.

He sleeps at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.

The earth bears grain by itself: first the blade, then the ear, then the mature grain in the ear.

And when the grain is ripe he immediately sends out the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

(Matthew 13:31–32; Luke 13:18–19)

And he said, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to explain it?

It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth.

Yet, when it is sown, it grows and becomes greater than all the garden plants, and it forms large branches, so that the birds of heaven can make their nests in its shade.”

With many parables like this he spoke the word to them, as much as they were able to understand,

and he did not speak to them without a parable. But when he was alone, he explained everything to his own disciples.

Jesus Calms the Storm

(Psalm 107:1–43; Matthew 8:23–27; Luke 8:22–25)

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.”

So they left the crowd, taking Jesus with them, since he was already in the boat. Other boats were also with him.

And a violent windstorm arose and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was already full.

But Jesus himself was in the stern, asleep on a cushion. They woke him up, saying, “Teacher, do you not care that we are about to die?”

And, woken up, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace, be still.” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

And he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still not have faith?”

They were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, because even the wind and the sea obey him?”

(Matthew 13:1–9; Luke 8:4–8)

Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea and sat down. All the multitude were on the land by the sea.

He taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching,

“Listen! Behold, the farmer went out to sow.

As he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds (a) came and devoured it.

Others fell on the rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil.

When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

Others fell into the good ground and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing. Some produced thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times as much.”

He said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of Jesus’ Parables

(Isaiah 6:1–13; Matthew 13:10–17; Luke 8:9–10)

When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

He said to them, “To you is given the mystery of God’s Kingdom, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables,

that ‘seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest perhaps they should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them.’” (b)

The Parable of the Sower Explained

(Matthew 13:18–23; Luke 8:11–15)

He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables?

The farmer sows the word.

The ones by the road are the ones where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

These in the same way are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy.

They have no root in themselves, but are short-lived. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they stumble.

Others are those who are sown among the thorns. These are those who have heard the word,

and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Those which were sown on the good ground are those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times.”

The Lesson of the Lamp

(Luke 8:16–18)

He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket (c) or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a stand?

For there is nothing hidden except that it should be made known, neither was anything made secret but that it should come to light.

If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.”

He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you; and more will be given to you who hear.

For whoever has, to him more will be given; and he who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away from him.”

The Seed Growing Secretly

He said, “God’s Kingdom is as if a man should cast seed on the earth,

and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, though he doesn’t know how.

For the earth bears fruit by itself: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

(Matthew 13:31–32; Luke 13:18–19)

He said, “How will we liken God’s Kingdom? Or with what parable will we illustrate it?

It’s like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth,

yet when it is sown, grows up and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow.”

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.

Without a parable he didn’t speak to them; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

Jesus Calms the Storm

(Psalm 107:1–43; Matthew 8:23–27; Luke 8:22–25)

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.”

Leaving the multitude, they took him with them, even as he was, in the boat. Other small boats were also with him.

A big wind storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled.

He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and asked him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are dying?”

He awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was a great calm.

He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”

They were greatly afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Footnotes

(a)4:4 TR adds “of the air”

(b)4:12 ℘ Isaiah 6:9-10