Mark 3:31-4:9

New Testament for Everyone

Jesus’ family

³¹ Jesus’ mother and brothers appeared. They waited outside the house, and sent in a message, asking for him.

³² “Look!” said the crowd sitting around Jesus. “Your mother, your brothers, and your sisters are outside! They’re searching for you!”

³³ “Who is my mother?” replied Jesus. “Who are my brothers?”

³⁴ He looked around him at the people sitting there in a ring. “Here is my mother!” he said. “Here are my brothers! ³⁵ Anybody who does God’s will is my brother! And my sister! And my mother!”

Parable of the sower

4 Once again Jesus began to teach beside the sea. A huge crowd gathered; so he got into a boat and stationed himself on the sea, with all the crowd on the shore looking out to sea. ² He taught them lots of things in parables. This is how his teaching went.

³ “Listen!” he said. “Once upon a time there was a sower who went out sowing. ⁴ As he was sowing, some seed fell beside the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Other seed fell on the rock, where it didn’t have much soil. There was no depth to the ground, so it shot up at once; ⁶ but when the sun came up it was scorched, and withered away, because it hadn’t got any root. ⁷ Other seed fell in among thorns; the thorns grew up and choked it, and it didn’t give any crop. ⁸ And other seeds fell into good soil, and gave a harvest, which grew up and increased, and bore a yield, in some cases thirtyfold, in some sixtyfold, and in some a hundredfold.”

⁹ And he added, “If you’ve got ears, then listen!”