A Story about a Farmer

(Mark 4.1-9; Luke 8.4-8)

13 That same day Jesus left the house and went out beside Lake Galilee, where he sat down to teach.^{[a] 2 (A)} Such large crowds gathered around him that he had to sit in a boat, while the people stood on the shore. ³ Then he taught them many things by using stories. He said:

A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. ⁴ While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds. ⁵ Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn't very deep. ⁶ But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have deep roots. ⁷ Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants produced 100 or 60 or 30 times as much as was scattered. ⁹ If you have ears, pay attention!

Why Jesus Used Stories

(Mark 4.10-12; Luke 8.9,10)

¹⁰ Jesus' disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you use stories to speak to the people?”

¹¹ Jesus answered:

I have explained the secrets about the kingdom of heaven to you, but not to others. ^12 (B) Everyone who has something will be given more. But people who don't have anything will lose even what little they have. ¹³ I use stories when I speak to them because when they look, they cannot see, and when they listen, they cannot hear or understand. ^14 (C) So God's promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said,

^16 (D) But God has blessed you, because your eyes can see and your ears can hear! ¹⁷ Many prophets and good people were eager to see what you see and to hear what you hear. But I tell you they did not see or hear.

Jesus Explains the Story about the Farmer

(Mark 4.13-20; Luke 8.11-15)

¹⁸ Now listen to the meaning of the story about the farmer:

¹⁹ The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message about the kingdom, but don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the message from their hearts. ²⁰ The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it at once. ²¹ But they don't have deep roots, and they don't last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.

²² The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they start worrying about the needs of this life and are fooled by the desire to get rich. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. ²³ The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and understand the message. They produce as much as 100 or 60 or 30 times what was planted.

Weeds among the Wheat

²⁴ Jesus then told them this story:

The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a farmer scattered good seed in a field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and scattered weed seeds in the field and then left.

²⁶ When the plants came up and began to mature, the farmer's servants could see the weeds. ²⁷ The servants came and asked, “Sir, didn't you scatter good seed in your field? Where did these weeds come from?”

²⁸ “An enemy did this,” he replied.

His servants then asked, “Do you want us to go out and pull up the weeds?”

²⁹ “No!” he answered. “You might also pull up the wheat. ³⁰ Leave the weeds alone until harvest time. Then I'll tell my workers to gather the weeds and tie them up and burn them. But I'll order them to store the wheat in my barn.”

Stories about a Mustard Seed and Yeast

(Mark 4.30-32; Luke 13.18-21)

³¹ Jesus told them another story:

The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a farmer plants a mustard seed in a field. ³² Although it is the smallest of all seeds, it grows larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree. Birds even come and nest on its branches.

³³ Jesus also said:

The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a woman mixes a little yeast into three big batches of flour. Finally, all the dough rises.

The Reason for Teaching with Stories

(Mark 4.33,34)

³⁴ Jesus used stories when he spoke to the people. In fact, he did not tell them anything without using stories. ^35 (E) So God's promise came true, just as the prophet^[b] had said,

Jesus Explains the Story about the Weeds

³⁶ After Jesus left the crowd and went inside,^[c] his disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the story about the weeds in the wheat field.”

³⁷ Jesus answered:

The one who scattered the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seeds are the people who belong to the kingdom. The weeds are those who belong to the evil one, ³⁹ and the one who scattered them is the devil. The harvest is the end of time, and angels are the ones who bring in the harvest.

⁴⁰ Weeds are gathered and burned. That's how it will be at the end of time. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everyone who does wrong or causes others to sin. ⁴² Then he will throw them into a flaming furnace, where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain. ^43 (F) But everyone who has done right will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. If you have ears, pay attention!

A Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when someone finds a treasure hidden in a field and buries it again. Such a person is happy and goes and sells everything in order to buy that field.

A Valuable Pearl

⁴⁵ The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a shop owner is looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ After finding a very valuable one, the owner goes and sells everything in order to buy that pearl.

A Fish Net

⁴⁷ The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a net is thrown into a lake and catches all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When the net is full, it is dragged to the shore, and the fishermen sit down to separate the fish. They keep the good ones, but throw the bad ones away. ⁴⁹ That's how it will be at the end of time. Angels will come and separate the evil people from the ones who have done right. ⁵⁰ Then those evil people will be thrown into a flaming furnace, where they will cry and grit their teeth in pain.

New and Old Treasures

⁵¹ Jesus asked his disciples if they understood all these things. They said, “Yes, we do.”

⁵² So he told them, “Every student of the Scriptures who becomes a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like someone who brings out new and old treasures from the storeroom.”

The People of Nazareth Turn against Jesus

(Mark 6.1-6; Luke 4.16-30)

⁵³ When Jesus had finished telling these stories, he left ⁵⁴ and went to his hometown. He taught in their synagogue, and the people were so amazed that they asked, “Where does he get all this wisdom and the power to work these miracles? ⁵⁵ Isn't he the son of the carpenter? Isn't Mary his mother, and aren't James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? ⁵⁶ Don't his sisters still live here in our town? How can he do all this?” ^57 (G) So the people were upset because of what he was doing.

But Jesus said, “Prophets are honored by everyone, except the people of their hometown and their own family.” ⁵⁸ And because the people did not have any faith, Jesus did not work many miracles there.

Women Who Helped Jesus

8 Soon after this, Jesus was going through towns and villages, telling the good news about God's kingdom. His twelve apostles were with him, ^2 (A) and so were some women who had been healed of evil spirits and all sorts of diseases. One of the women was Mary Magdalene,^[a] who once had seven demons in her. ³ Joanna, Susanna, and many others had also used what they owned to help Jesus^[b] and his disciples. Joanna's husband Chuza was one of Herod's officials.^[c]

A Story about a Farmer

(Matthew 13.1-9; Mark 4.1-9)

⁴ When a large crowd from several towns had gathered around Jesus, he told them this story:

⁵ A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. While the farmer was doing this, some of the seeds fell along the road and were stepped on or eaten by birds. ⁶ Other seeds fell on rocky ground and started growing. But the plants did not have enough water and soon dried up. ⁷ Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ The rest of the seeds fell on good ground where they grew and produced a hundred times as many seeds.

When Jesus had finished speaking, he said, “If you have ears, pay attention!”

Why Jesus Used Stories

(Matthew 13.10-17; Mark 4.10-12)

⁹ Jesus' disciples asked him what the story meant. ^10 (B) So he answered:

I have explained the secrets about God's kingdom to you. But for others I use stories, so they will look, but not see, and they will hear, but not understand.

Jesus Explains the Story about a Farmer

(Matthew 13.18-23; Mark 4.13-20)

¹¹ This is what the story means: The seed is God's message, ¹² and the seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message. But the devil comes and snatches the message out of their hearts, so they will not believe and be saved. ¹³ The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it. But they don't have deep roots, and they believe only for a little while. As soon as life gets hard, they give up.

¹⁴ The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they are so eager for riches and pleasures that they never produce anything. ¹⁵ Those seeds that fell on good ground are the people who listen to the message and keep it in good and honest hearts. They last and produce a harvest.

Light

(Mark 4.21-25)

^16 (C) No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl or under a bed. A lamp is always put on a lampstand, so people who come into a house will see the light. ^17 (D) There is nothing hidden that will not be found. There is no secret that will not be well known. ^18 (E) Pay attention to how you listen! Everyone who has something will be given more, but people who have nothing will lose what little they think they have.

Jesus' Mother and Brothers

(Matthew 12.46-50; Mark 3.31-35)

¹⁹ Jesus' mother and brothers went to see him, but because of the crowd they could not get near him. ²⁰ Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside and want to see you.”

²¹ Jesus answered, “My mother and my brothers are those people who hear and obey God's message.”

A Storm

(Matthew 8.23-27; Mark 4.35-41)

²² One day, Jesus and his disciples got into a boat, and he said, “Let's cross the lake.”^[d] They started out, ²³ and while they were sailing across, he went to sleep.

Suddenly a storm struck the lake, and the boat started sinking. They were in danger. ²⁴ So they went to Jesus and woke him up, “Master, Master! We are about to drown!”

Jesus got up and ordered the wind and waves to stop. They obeyed, and everything was calm. ²⁵ Then Jesus asked the disciples, “Don't you have any faith?”

But they were frightened and amazed. They said to each other, “Who is this? He can give orders to the wind and the waves, and they obey him!”

A Man with Demons in Him

(Matthew 8.28-34; Mark 5.1-20)

²⁶ Jesus and his disciples sailed across Lake Galilee and came to shore near the town of Gerasa.^{[e] 27} As Jesus was getting out of the boat, he was met by a man from this town. The man had demons in him. He had gone naked for a long time and no longer lived in a house, but in the graveyard.^[f]

²⁸ The man saw Jesus and screamed. He knelt down in front of him and shouted, “Jesus, Son of God Most High, what do you want with me? I beg you not to torture me!” ²⁹ He said this because Jesus had already told the evil spirit to go out of him.

The man had often been attacked by the demon. And even though he had been bound with chains and leg irons and kept under guard, he smashed whatever bound him. Then the demon would force him out into lonely places.

³⁰ Jesus asked the man, “What is your name?”

He answered, “My name is Lots.” He said this because there were “lots” of demons in him. ³¹ They begged Jesus not to send them to the deep pit,^[g] where they would be punished.

³² A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. So the demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and Jesus let them go. ³³ Then the demons left the man and went into the pigs. The whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

³⁴ When the men taking care of the pigs saw this, they ran to spread the news in the town and on the farms. ³⁵ The people went out to see what had happened, and when they came to Jesus, they also found the man. The demons had gone out of him, and he was sitting there at the feet of Jesus. He had clothes on and was in his right mind. But the people were terrified.

³⁶ Then all who had seen the man healed told about it. ³⁷ Everyone from around Gerasa^[h] begged Jesus to leave, because they were so frightened.

When Jesus got into the boat to start back, ³⁸ the man who had been healed begged to go with him. But Jesus sent him off and said, ³⁹ “Go back home and tell everyone how much God has done for you.” The man then went all over town, telling everything that Jesus had done for him.

A Dying Girl and a Sick Woman

(Matthew 9.18-26; Mark 5.21-43)

⁴⁰ Everyone had been waiting for Jesus, and when he came back, a crowd was there to welcome him. ⁴¹ Just then the man in charge of the synagogue came and knelt down in front of Jesus. His name was Jairus, and he begged Jesus to come to his home ⁴² because his twelve-year-old child was dying. She was his only daughter.

While Jesus was on his way, people were crowding all around him. ⁴³ In the crowd was a woman who had been bleeding for twelve years. She had spent everything she had on doctors,^[i] but none of them could make her well.

⁴⁴ As soon as she came up behind Jesus and barely touched his clothes, her bleeding stopped.

⁴⁵ “Who touched me?” Jesus asked.

While everyone was denying it, Peter said, “Master, people are crowding all around and pushing you from every side.”^[j]

⁴⁶ But Jesus answered, “Someone touched me, because I felt power going out from me.” ⁴⁷ The woman knew that she could not hide, so she came trembling and knelt down in front of Jesus. She told everyone why she had touched him and that she had been healed at once.

⁴⁸ Jesus said to the woman, “You are now well because of your faith. May God give you peace!”

⁴⁹ While Jesus was speaking, someone came from Jairus' home and said, “Your daughter has died! Why bother the teacher anymore?”

⁵⁰ When Jesus heard this, he told Jairus, “Don't worry! Have faith, and your daughter will get well.”

⁵¹ Jesus went into the house, but he did not let anyone else go with him, except Peter, John, James, and the girl's father and mother. ⁵² Everyone was crying and weeping for the girl. But Jesus said, “The child isn't dead. She is just asleep.” ⁵³ The people laughed at him because they knew she was dead.

⁵⁴ Jesus took hold of the girl's hand and said, “Child, get up!” ⁵⁵ She came back to life and got right up. Jesus told them to give her something to eat. ⁵⁶ Her parents were surprised, but Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone what had happened.