Mark:4

---

Seeker Overlay ON

* Again he taught a very great crowd by the seaside . He sat in a boat while the crowd was on the land . * He taught them many things by illustrations and said to them : * »Listen , the sower went out to sow . * »As he sowed some seed fell by the road and the birds came and devoured it . * »Other seed fell on the rocky ground and did not have good soil . Immediately it sprang up , because it had no good soil * it became scorched when the sun came up . Then it withered because it had no root . * »Some seed fell among the thorns . The thorns grew up and choked it so it could yield no fruit . * »Others fell on good ground and yielded fruit . It grew up , increased and produced thirty fold , and sixty fold , and a hundred fold .« * He continued : »He who has ears to hear let him hear .« * When he was alone his followers including the twelve asked about the illustrations . * He told them : »The secret of the kingdom of God is given to you . Illustrations are spoken to outsiders . * »So that seeing they may see and not perceive . And hearing they may hear and not understand . Otherwise they might repent and be forgiven .« * Then he asked : »Do you not understand this illustration ? How will you understand any of the illustrations ? * »The sower sows the word . * »These are they by the wayside where the word is sown . When they have heard ; Satan comes and takes away the word that has been sown in them . * »The same is so of the word sown upon the rocky places . When they have heard the word and receive it with joy , * they have no root in themselves , but endure for a while . They stumble when tribulation or persecution arise . * »There is the word sown among the thorns . These have heard the word , * but the cares of the world , the deceitfulness of riches , and the lusts for other things enter in and choke the word . So it becomes unfruitful . * »Those who represent that sown upon the good soil hear the word and accept it . They bear fruit , thirty fold , and sixty fold , and a hundred fold .« * He asked them : »Is the lamp placed under a bushel , or under a bed , and not on the stand ? * »There is nothing hidden unless it should be made known . Nothing is made secret that should come to light . * »If any man has ears to hear , let him hear .« * Then he said : »Be careful what you listen to . That which is portioned out by you might be portioned to you and more . * »He who has , to him it will be given . He who has not , from him will be taken even that which he has .« * He added : »The kingdom of God is like this . A man plants seed in the earth . * »He sleeps and gets up night and day until the plants grow though he has no idea how . * »The earth gives fruit by itself . First comes the leaf , then the head , then full grain . * »When the grain is ready he immediately sends men to cut it , because the time for cutting has come .« * He said : »What illustration should we use to picture the kingdom of God ? What story will make it clear ? * »It is like a grain of mustard seed . When it is planted in the earth it is smaller than all the seeds on the earth . * »But when it is planted it grows and becomes taller than all the plants . It grows out great branches so that the birds of heaven are able to take rest in its shade .« * He spoke the word to them with many illustrations as long as they were able to listen . * He spoke only with illustrations . However he made all things clear to his disciples in private . * When evening arrived Jesus said : Let us go over to the other side .« * They took him with them on the boat and left the people . Other boats were with him also . * A great windstorm came up and the waves came into the boat . * He was in back of the boat sleeping on a cushion . They woke him . They said : »Master is it nothing to you that we are in danger of destruction ?« * He awoke from sleep and commanded the wind and sea . He commanded the sea to be at peace and rest . And he commanded the wind to go down and there was a great calm . * He said : »Why are you full of fear ? Do you have no faith ?« * Their fear was great . They said to themselves : »Who is this , that even the wind and the sea obey his orders ?«

---