Chapter 4 Jesus teaches by means of *parables 4:1-34

1 2 3 4 5 6 The *parable of the four soils 4:1-9 Jesus explains the *parable 4:10-20 A collection of things that Jesus said 4:21-25 The *parable of the growing seed 4:26-29 The *parable of the tiny seed 4:30-32 Jesus use of *parables 4:33-34

The *parable of the four soils 4:1-9

v1 Again Jesus began to teach at the side of the sea. A very large crowd gathered round him. So he got into a boat and he sat in it on the sea. The whole crowd was at the side of the sea, on the land. v2 He taught them many things in *parables. This was one of them. v3 Listen! A farmer went out to sow some seed. v4 As he scattered the seed, some fell along the path. The birds came and they ate it up. v5 Other seed fell on shallow soil with rock underneath. Immediately the seed sprang up, because the soil was not deep. v6 When the sun came up, it burnt the plants. They dried up because they had no roots. v7 Some seed fell among weeds. The weeds grew up and they stopped the plant from growing. It therefore could not yield any grain. v8 Other seeds fell into good soil. They grew up. They yielded a crop 30, 60 or a hundred times as much as the seed that the farmer had planted. v9 And Jesus said, He who has ears should listen. Verses 3-4 Farmers used to scatter the seed by hand. Afterwards they would plough it in. People who used a path through a field would make the ground hard. Birds would quickly eat seeds that fell on top of the path. Verses 5-6 Seeds could not make strong roots where there was only a thin amount of soil over the rock. They would grow, but the plants would be thin and weak. The hot sun would therefore destroy the weak young plants. Verse 7 Weeds would use up the goodness in the soil. They would stop the light of the sun from reaching the plants. They would take up all the space. So the plants would not be able to grow enough to yield a crop. Verse 8 Enough seed would fall on good ground to yield a harvest. Verse 9 Jesus meant, You have ears to hear with. Listen carefully to what I am saying.

Jesus explains the *parable

4:10-20

v10 When Jesus was alone, the 12 *disciples asked him about the *parables. So did the other *disciples round him. v11 Jesus told them, You have received the secret of Gods *kingdom. But I use *parables to tell everything to those outside. v12 In this way they will see. But they will never know what they are seeing. They will hear, but they will not understand. Otherwise, they might change their ways and God might forgive them. v13 And he said to them, If you do not understand this *parable, you will never understand all the *parables. v14 The farmer sows the word (Gods message). v15 The ones on the path mean people who hear Gods message. But as soon as they hear it, *Satan at once takes away the message from their minds. v16 In the same way, some seed fell on the shallow soil over rocks. That means other people who hear the message. They believe it immediately with joy. v17 But their roots are not very deep. They last for a while. But when trouble or pain happen because of Gods word, they lose their *faith. v18 Other people are like the seeds among weeds. They hear and believe the message. v19 But the worries of this life, the delight in wealth and the desire for other things come. They stop the message, so that their *faith never grows. So it never yields fruit. v20 And there are those seeds that fall on the good soil. Those people hear the message and they believe it. They yield fruit, 30, 60 or even one hundred times as much as the farmer planted. Verses 10-11 Jesus contrasted his *disciples with other people. The truths of the *kingdom are secrets because people cannot discover them for themselves. But some people are willing to believe. And God shows that Jesus is king to those people. The ordinary person would hear the story but he or she would not understand its meaning. Verse 12 Jesus used words from Isaiah (6:9). People were blind because of their prejudices. They were deaf to the truth because they were not willing to change their ways. Those who sincerely want to obey God will think about the meaning of the *parables. They will understand the truths in them. Those who have no real desire to obey God will not understand. The *parable will hide the truth from them. Verse 14 The farmer means first of all Jesus himself. Then the farmer can mean anyone who tells people about the *gospel. Verse 15 The seed of Gods message cannot enter the minds of people who are like the hard path. They have no interest at all in the *gospel. They do not realise how important it is. Verses 16-17 Some people may accept what Jesus taught with joy. But, like a plant without deep roots, their *faith is not very strong. They do not let their *faith make a real difference to the way that they live. Problems and *temptations come. People insult or even attack them. Then their *faith dies like the plant in the hot sun. Verses 18-19 Like tall weeds, there are many things that push out the life of *faith. They may be responsibilities, ambitions, the desire for money. Or they may be any of a wide variety of things that people enjoy doing. Some of these things are not wrong in themselves. But they can provide excuses to neglect the *spiritual life of prayer and *worship. They occupy so much time and attention that there is no space left for God. Verse 20 Some people accept and believe the message. They are serious about their *faith and they produce the fruit of a good life. The *parable might cause people to think about their own soil. Their attitude would show whether their *faith was genuine. The *parable would also encourage the *disciples. There would be a harvest of those who believed Jesus and his *disciples. This was true even if some of their efforts seemed to have no good result. Gods word would not return to him without succeeding (Isaiah 55:11).

A collection of things that Jesus said 4:21-25

Mark groups together some of the things that Jesus said. In Matthew and Luke, they are separate from each other. The lamp 4:21-22

v21 Jesus said to them, You do not bring in a lamp in order to put it under a large bowl or under a bed. You put it on something tall. v22 One day, everyone will see clearly whatever people are hiding now. Every secret must come out into the light. Verse 21 A lamp would be of no use if people hid it under something. It should light up a room so that people can see. Jesus *disciples must not hide their *faith. They must allow other people to see the light of Gods good news. Verse 22 Men may try to cover up their actions, words and thoughts. But they will not be successful. Adam and Eve tried to hide from God, but they failed (Genesis 3:8-9). In the end, God will bring everything into the light of his judgement. The result when people listen 4:23-25

v23 Anyone who has ears must listen, he said. v24 And he said to them, Be careful how you listen. You will get whatever you give. And you will receive even more. v25 Because the person who has will receive more. But some people do not have much of anything. They will lose whatever they do have. Verses 23-24 People must listen so that they can understand. Then they should obey what Jesus taught. Then, they will be able to understand more of the truth. Verse 25 For example, a man may play football or he may run fast. He becomes more skilful if he practises. But he loses his skill if he does not practise. Some people do not try to understand Jesus *parables. In the end, they will lose the power to take any notice of them.

The *parable of the growing seed

This *parable is in Marks *Gospel only.

4:26-29

v26 Jesus said, This is what the *kingdom of God is like. A farmer plants seeds in his field. v27 He goes to sleep at night and he wakes up in the day. The seed begins to grow, but he does not know how. v28 The earth produces fruit without help from anyone. First, there is the stem, then the part that will have seeds in, then all the seeds in that part. v29 When the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts the corn at once. He cuts it because the time of harvest has come. Verses 26-28 A farmer can prepare the ground, but he cannot make the seed grow. He does not even understand how it grows. While he is carrying on his normal life, the seed is growing. *Disciples are like the farmer. They can work to give the seed of Gods message to other people. But it is God who works out his purpose. His purpose is to bring more people into his *kingdom. People think that the *kingdom grows slowly. But *disciples know that God will bring a harvest. Verse 29 There is also a final harvest. It is Gods day of judgement. Christians should wait for that time with patience and hope. They are like the farmer who is waiting for the harvest.