New Testament in a Year
A Story About Planting Seed(A)
4 Again Jesus began teaching by the lake [C the Sea of Galilee]. A great crowd gathered around him, so he sat down in a boat near the shore. All the people stayed on the shore close to the water. 2 Jesus taught them many things, using ·stories [parables; see 3:23]. He said, 3 “Listen! A ·farmer [sower] went out to ·plant [sow] his seed. 4 While he was ·planting [sowing], some seed fell ·by the road [along the path], and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some seed fell on rocky ground where there wasn’t much dirt. That seed ·grew [sprang up] very fast, because the ground was not deep. 6 But when the sun rose, the plants ·dried up [were scorched and withered] because they did not have deep roots. 7 Some other seed fell among thorny weeds, which grew and choked the good plants. So those plants did not produce ·a crop [grain]. 8 Some other seed fell on good ground and began to grow. It got taller and produced ·a crop [grain]. Some plants made thirty times more, some made sixty times more, and some made a hundred times more.”
9 Then Jesus said, ·“Let those with ears use them and listen!” [L “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”]
Jesus Tells Why He Used Stories(B)
10 Later, when Jesus was alone, the twelve apostles and others around him asked him about the ·stories [parables; see 3:23].
11 Jesus said, “·You can know [To you has been given] the secret about the kingdom of God. But to ·other people [outsiders] I tell everything by using ·stories [parables] 12 so that:
‘They will look and look, but they will not ·learn [perceive].
They will listen and listen, but they will not understand.
·If they did learn and understand [L Otherwise],
they ·would [might] ·come back [return] to me and be forgiven [Is. 6:9–10; cf. Is. 43:8; Jer. 5:21; Ezek. 12:2].’”
Jesus Explains the Seed Story(C)
13 Then Jesus said to ·his followers [L them], “Don’t you understand this ·story [parable]? If you don’t, how will you understand any ·story [parable; see 3:23]? 14 ·The farmer plants God’s message in people [L The sower sows the word]. 15 Sometimes the ·teaching [word; message] falls ·on the road [along the path]. This is like the people who hear the ·teaching of God [word; message], but Satan quickly comes and takes away the ·teaching [word; message] that was ·planted [sown] in them. 16 Others are like the seed ·planted [sown] on rocky ground. They hear the ·teaching [word; message] and quickly accept it with joy. 17 ·But since they don’t allow the teaching to go deep into their lives [L But since they have no root in themselves], they keep it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the ·teaching they accepted [word; message], they quickly ·give up [fall away; stumble]. 18 Others are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. They hear the ·teaching [word; message], 19 but the worries of this ·life [world; age], the ·temptation [deceitfulness; seduction] of wealth, and ·many other evil desires [desires for other things] ·keep the teaching from growing and producing fruit in their lives [L come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful]. 20 Others are like the seed ·planted [sown] in the good ground. They hear the ·teaching [word; message] and accept it. Then they grow and produce ·fruit [a crop]—sometimes thirty times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes a hundred times more.”
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