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“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?
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“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
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As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
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Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
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Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
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Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
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Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
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Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;
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Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
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The Parable of the Growing Seed
He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground.
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Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
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The Parable of the Mustard Seed
Again he said, “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it?
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It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth.
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“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.
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Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.
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Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.” When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
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“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.
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The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.
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But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
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The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
Then Jesus asked, “What is the kingdom of God like? What shall I compare it to?
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It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his garden. It grew and became a tree, and the birds perched in its branches.”
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He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
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Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
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I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.
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If we have sown spiritual seed among you, is it too much if we reap a material harvest from you?