Mark 4

²Jesus taught the crowd many things using stories — parables — that helped them understand deep truths in a simple way.

³Jesus said: 'Listen carefully! A farmer went out to scatter seeds in his field.'

⁴As the farmer scattered seeds, some fell on the hard path. Birds swooped down and ate every one up — gone before they could grow.

⁵Some seeds fell on rocky ground where there wasn't much soil. They sprouted quickly — but there was no depth of earth for the roots to go down.

⁶But when the hot sun came up, those seedlings were scorched. Without deep roots, they shrivelled and died.

⁷Other seeds fell into a patch of thorns. The thorns grew up fast and crowded the young plants — squeezing them out until they couldn't produce any fruit.

⁸But some seeds fell into good, rich soil — and they grew and grew! Some plants produced thirty seeds, some sixty, and some a whole hundred!

⁹Then Jesus said: 'If you have ears to hear — really listen!'

¹⁰Later, when the crowd was gone, the twelve disciples and a few others who were close to Jesus asked Him: 'What did that story mean?'

¹¹Jesus answered: 'To you — the ones who follow Me — I am giving the secret of how God's kingdom works. But for people who haven't opened their hearts, everything stays hidden in stories.'

¹²He explained that some people look but never really see, and listen but never truly understand — because their hearts stay shut to God.

¹³Jesus said to them: 'Don't you understand this story? If you can't understand this one, how will you understand any of the others?'

¹⁴Jesus explained simply: 'The farmer is scattering God's Word.'

¹⁵Jesus said: 'Some people are like the hard path. God's Word is spoken to them — but the enemy comes right away and snatches it from their heart before it can take root.'

¹⁶Jesus continued: 'Others are like the rocky ground. When they hear God's Word, they get excited straight away and welcome it with joy!'

¹⁷But they have no roots deep inside. So as soon as trouble or pressure comes — because they believe in God — they quickly give up and fall away.

¹⁸Jesus went on: 'Then there are those who are like seeds sown among thorns. They hear God's Word—'

¹⁹Jesus said: '— but the worries of life, the love of money, and wanting more and more stuff all crowd in. They choke God's Word like thorns, and it makes no fruit at all.'

²⁰Jesus said: 'But the good soil people — they hear God's Word, welcome it into their hearts, and they grow and produce fruit: thirty times over, sixty times, even a hundred times!'

²¹Jesus asked: 'Would anyone light a candle and then hide it under a bowl or shove it under a bed? Of course not — you put it on a stand so it lights up the whole room!'

²²Jesus said: 'Everything that is hidden will one day come into the light. Every secret will eventually be revealed.'

²³Jesus said again: 'If you have ears — really use them and listen!'

²⁴Jesus warned: 'Be careful what you let into your ears and heart. The more attention you give to God's truth, the more He will give back to you.'

²⁵Jesus said: 'The one who has understanding will receive even more. But the one who doesn't use what he has — even that will slip away.'

²⁶Jesus told another story: 'God's kingdom is like a man who scatters seeds into the earth—'

²⁷The farmer sleeps at night and gets up in the morning, and all the while the seed is quietly sprouting and growing — and the farmer doesn't even know how it happens!

²⁸The soil does the work all by itself — first a tiny shoot appears, then a head of grain, and then the full ripe grain fills the head.

²⁹But when the grain is fully ripe, the farmer gets his sickle ready and harvests it — because the harvest time has come!

³⁰Jesus asked out loud: 'What can I compare God's kingdom to? What story will help you understand it?'

³¹Jesus said: 'God's kingdom is like a mustard seed — when it is planted, it is the tiniest of all the seeds in the ground.'

³²But once it's planted, it shoots up into the biggest plant of all — with great branches so wide that birds come and build their nests in the shade!

³³Jesus told the crowds many more stories like these — always teaching in a way that people could understand and receive.

³⁴He never spoke to the crowds without using a parable. But when He was alone with His disciples, He explained everything clearly.

³⁵That same evening, Jesus said to His disciples: 'Come on — let's cross over to the other side of the lake.'

³⁶They said goodbye to the crowd and set off with Jesus just as He was — still in the boat. Other small boats went along too.

³⁷Suddenly a huge storm blew up on the lake. Enormous waves crashed into the boat again and again — until it was filling up with water!

³⁸But Jesus was in the back of the boat, fast asleep on a cushion! The disciples shook Him awake and cried: 'Teacher! Don't You care that we're going to drown?'

³⁹Jesus stood up and spoke to the wind and waves: 'Peace! Be still!' At once the wind stopped and the sea was perfectly calm.

⁴⁰Jesus turned to His disciples and asked: 'Why were you so afraid? How is it that you still have no faith?'

⁴¹They were filled with awe — even more amazed than they had been afraid! They whispered to each other: 'Who is this Man? Even the wind and the waves obey Him!'