A Story about a Farmer^(A)

4 Jesus began to teach again by the Sea of Galilee. A very large crowd gathered around him, so he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was in the water while the entire crowd lined the shore. ² He used stories as illustrations to teach them many things.

While he was teaching them, he said, ³ “Listen! A farmer went to plant seed. ⁴ Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds were planted on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil. The plants sprouted quickly because the soil wasn’t deep. ⁶ When the sun came up, they were scorched. They didn’t have any roots, so they withered. ⁷ Other seeds were planted among thornbushes. The thornbushes grew up and choked them, and they didn’t produce anything. ⁸ But other seeds were planted on good ground, sprouted, and produced thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.” ⁹ He added, “Let the person who has ears listen!”

¹⁰ When he was alone with his followers and the twelve apostles, they asked him about the stories.

¹¹ Jesus replied to them, “The mystery about God’s kingdom has been given ⌞directly⌟ to you. To those on the outside, it is given in stories:

¹³ Jesus asked them, “Don’t you understand this story? How, then, will you understand any of the stories I use as illustrations?

¹⁴ “The farmer plants the word. ¹⁵ Some people are like seeds that were planted along the road. Whenever they hear the word, Satan comes at once and takes away the word that was planted in them. ¹⁶ Other people are like seeds that were planted on rocky ground. Whenever they hear the word, they accept it at once with joy. ¹⁷ But they don’t develop any roots. They last for a short time. When suffering or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall ⌞from faith⌟. ¹⁸ Other people are like seeds planted among thornbushes. They hear the word, ¹⁹ but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of riches, and the desires for other things take over. They choke the word so that it can’t produce anything. ²⁰ Others are like seeds planted on good ground. They hear the word, accept it, and produce crops—thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.”

A Story about a Lamp

²¹ Jesus said to them, “Does anyone bring a lamp into a room to put it under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a lamp stand? ²² There is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. There is nothing kept secret that will not come to light. ²³ Let the person who has ears listen!”

²⁴ He went on to say, “Pay attention to what you’re listening to! ⌞Knowledge⌟ will be measured out to you by the measure ⌞of attention⌟ you give. This is the way knowledge increases. ²⁵ Those who understand ⌞these mysteries⌟ will be given ⌞more knowledge⌟. However, some people don’t understand ⌞these mysteries⌟. Even what they understand will be taken away from them.”

A Story about Seeds That Grow

²⁶ Jesus said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seeds on the ground. ²⁷ He sleeps at night and is awake during the day. The seeds sprout and grow, although the man doesn’t know how. ²⁸ The ground produces grain by itself. First the green blade appears, then the head, then the head full of grain. ²⁹ As soon as the grain is ready, he cuts it with a sickle, because harvest time has come.”

A Story about a Mustard Seed^(B)

³⁰ Jesus asked, “How can we show what God’s kingdom is like? To what can we compare it? ³¹ It’s like a mustard seed planted in the ground. The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds on earth. ³² However, when planted, it comes up and becomes taller than all the garden plants. It grows such large branches that birds can nest in its shade.”

³³ Jesus spoke ⌞God’s⌟ word to them using many illustrations like these. In this way people could understand what he taught. ³⁴ He did not speak to them without using an illustration. But when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.

Jesus Calms the Sea^(C)

³⁵ That evening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side.”

³⁶ Leaving the crowd, they took Jesus along in a boat just as he was. Other boats were with him.

³⁷ A violent windstorm came up. The waves were breaking into the boat so that it was quickly filling up. ³⁸ But he was sleeping on a cushion in the back of the boat.

So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

³⁹ Then he got up, ordered the wind to stop, and said to the sea, “Be still, absolutely still!” The wind stopped blowing, and the sea became very calm.

⁴⁰ He asked them, “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith yet?”

⁴¹ They were overcome with fear and asked each other, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”