Mark 4

Tree of Life Version

Storytelling Opens Hearts

4 Again Yeshua began to teach by the sea. A large crowd gathered around Him, so He got into a boat on the sea and sat down. And the crowd was by the sea on the land. ² He began teaching them many things by parables, and in His teaching, He said to them: ³ “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to spread some seed. ⁴ It happened that as he sowed, some fell beside the road; and the birds came and ate it up.

⁵ “Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it didn’t have much soil. It sprang up immediately, because the soil wasn’t deep. ⁶ But when the sun came up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

⁷ “Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew and choked it, and it yielded no crop.

⁸ “And others fell into the good soil and were producing fruit, springing up and increasing. They yielded a crop, producing thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” ⁹ And He said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

¹⁰ When Yeshua was alone, those around Him with the Twelve started asking Him about the parables. ¹¹ And He told them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God. But for those who are outside, everything is in parables,^[a] so that

¹³ He said to them, “Don’t you grasp this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ These are the ones beside the road where the word is sown. Whenever they hear, satan comes quickly and takes away the word that has been sown in them.

¹⁶ “These are the ones sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy. ¹⁷ And they have no root in themselves but last only a short while. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away.

¹⁸ “And others are the ones sown among the thorns. They have heard the word; ¹⁹ but the worries of the world, the seduction of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²⁰ “And those are the ones sown on the good soil. They hear the word and accept it and produce fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”

Reaping What You Sow

²¹ He also was saying to them, “Is a lamp put under a basket or a bed? No, shouldn’t it be placed on a lampstand? ²² For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, nor anything kept secret except that it would come to light. ²³ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” ²⁴ Then He continued, “Pay attention to what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you; and more will be added to you. ²⁵ For whoever has, to him more will be given. And whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

What Is the Kingdom of God Like?

²⁶ And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like when a man spreads seed on the soil ²⁷ and falls asleep at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts and grows. He himself doesn’t know how. ²⁸ Automatically, the earth brings forth a crop—first the blade, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹ But when the grain is ready, at once he sends in the sickle, for the harvest has come.”

³⁰ Yeshua also said, “How should we picture the kingdom of God? Or by what story shall we present it? ³¹ It is like a mustard seed when it’s planted in the ground. Though the smallest of all seeds in the earth, ³² yet when planted it grows up and becomes the largest of all the herbs. It puts forth big branches, so the birds of the air can nest in its shade.”^[c]

³³ With many such parables He used to tell them the word, as much as they were able to hear. ³⁴ But apart from a parable, He wasn’t speaking to them. Yet when they were alone, to His own disciples He would explain everything.

Power Over Nature

³⁵ Now on that same day in the evening, He says to them, “Let’s cross over to the other side.” ³⁶ After leaving the crowd, they take Him along in the boat, just as He was. And other boats were with Him.

³⁷ A great windstorm arises, and the waves were rushing into the boat. The boat was beginning to fill up. ³⁸ But Yeshua was in the back of the boat, sleeping on a pillow. They wake Him up and say to Him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are perishing?”

³⁹ So He woke up and rebuked the wind. And He said to the sea, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind stopped, and it became totally calm. ⁴⁰ And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Even now you have no faith?”

⁴¹ They were struck with awe and said to one another, “Who is this? Even the wind and the sea obey Him!”