The Parable of the Sower

4 Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land.^{(A) 2} He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:^{(B) 3} “Listen! A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell on a path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. ⁶ And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. ⁸ Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”^{(C) 9} And he said, “If you have ears to hear, then hear!”^(D)

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰ When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. ¹¹ And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret^[a] of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything comes in parables,^{(E) 12} in order that

¹³ And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? ¹⁴ The sower sows the word. ¹⁵ These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.^{(G) 16} And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. ¹⁷ But they have no root and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.^{[b] 18} And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹ but the cares of the age and the lure of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. ²⁰ And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.”

A Lamp under a Bushel Basket

²¹ He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under the bushel basket or under the bed and not on the lampstand? ²² For there is nothing hidden, except to be disclosed; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.^{(H) 23} If you have ears to hear, then hear!”^{(I) 24} And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and it will be added to you.^{(J) 25} For to those who have, more will be given, and from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.”^(K)

The Parable of the Growing Seed

²⁶ He also said, “The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground^{(L) 27} and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how. ²⁸ The earth produces of itself first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. ²⁹ But when the grain is ripe, at once he goes in with his sickle because the harvest has come.”^(M)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

³⁰ He also said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it?^{(N) 31} It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, ³² yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

Psalm 105

God’s Faithfulness to Israel

³⁶ While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.”

The Unbelief of the People

After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them.^{(A) 37} Although he had performed so many signs in their presence, they did not believe in him. ³⁸ This was to fulfill the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

³⁹ And so they could not believe, because Isaiah also said,

⁴¹ Isaiah said this because^[a] he saw his glory and spoke about him.^{(D) 42} Nevertheless many, even of the authorities, believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue,^{(E) 43} for they loved human glory more than the glory that comes from God.