Mark 4–5

The Parable of the Sower

4Again ^qHe began to teach ^rby the sea, and a very large crowd gathered around Him. So He got into a boat on the sea and sat down, while the whole crowd was on the shore facing the sea. ²He taught them many things in parables, ^sand in His teaching ^tHe said to them: ³“Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow. ^u4As he sowed, this occurred: Some seed fell along the path, ^vand the birds came and ate ^wit up. ⁵Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it sprang up right away, ^xsince it didn’t have deep soil. ⁶When the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it didn’t have a root, it withered. ^y7Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce a crop. ⁸Still others fell on good ground and produced a crop that increased ^z30, 60, and 100 times what was sown.” ^a9Then He said, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!” ^b

Why Jesus Used Parables

¹⁰When He was alone with the Twelve, ^cthose who were around Him asked Him about the parables. ^d11He answered them, “The ^•secret ^eof the kingdom of God ^fhas been given to you, but to those outside, ^geverything comes in parables ¹²so that

they may look and look,

yet not perceive;

they may listen and listen,

yet not understand; ^h

otherwise, they might turn back—

and be forgiven.” ^ijk

The Parable of the Sower Explained

¹³Then ^lHe said to them: “Don’t you understand this parable? ^mHow then will you understand any of the parables? ¹⁴The sower sows ⁿthe word. ^o15These ^pare the ones along the path ^qwhere the word is sown: when they hear, immediately Satan ^rcomes and takes away the word ^ssown in them. ^t16And these are ^uthe ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy. ^v17But they have no root in themselves; they are short-lived. When pressure ^wor persecution comes because of the word, they immediately ^•stumble. ^x18Others are sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word, ¹⁹but the worries ^yof this age, ^zthe seduction ^abof wealth, ^cand the desires ^dfor other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ^e20But the ones sown on good ground are those who hear the word, ^fwelcome it, and produce a crop: ^g30, 60, and 100 times what was sown.”

Using Your Light

²¹He ^halso said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed? ⁱIsn’t it to be put on a lampstand? ^j22For nothing is concealed except to be revealed, ^kand nothing hidden except to come to light. ²³If anyone has ears to hear, he should listen!” ^l24Then He said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear. By the measure ^myou use, ^noit will be measured and added ^pto you. ²⁵For to the one who has, it will be given, and from the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” ^q

The Parable of the Growing Seed

²⁶“The kingdom of God ^ris like this,” He said. “A man scatters seed on the ground; ²⁷he sleeps ^sand rises ^t—night ^uand day, and the seed sprouts and grows—he doesn’t know how. ²⁸The soil produces a crop ^vby itself—first the blade, then the head, and then the ripe grain ^won the head. ²⁹But as soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, ^xbecause the harvest ^yhas come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

³⁰And ^zHe said: “How can we illustrate the kingdom of God, ^aor what parable ^bcan we use to describe it? ³¹It’s like a mustard seed ^cthat, when sown in the soil, is smaller than all the seeds on the ground. ³²And when sown, ^dit comes up and grows taller than all the vegetables, ^eand produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky ^fcan nest in its shade.”

Using Parables

³³He would speak the word ^gto them with many parables ^hlike these, as they were able to understand. ⁱ³⁴And He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, He would explain everything to His own disciples. ^j

Wind and Wave Obey the Master

³⁵On ^kthat day, when evening had come, He told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” ³⁶So they left the crowd and took Him along since He was already in the boat. And other boats were with Him. ³⁷A fierce windstorm ^larose, and the waves ^mwere breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. ³⁸But He was in the stern, sleeping ⁿon the cushion. So they woke Him up ^oand said to Him, “Teacher! Don’t You care that we’re going to die?” ^p

³⁹He got up, rebuked ^qthe wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! ^rBe still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ⁴⁰Then He said to them, “Why are you fearful? ^sDo you still have no faith?”

⁴¹And they were terrified ^tand asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey ^uHim!” ^v

Demons Driven Out by the Master

5Then ^wthey came to the other side of the sea, to the region of the Gerasenes. ^x2As soon as He got out of the boat, a man with an unclean ^yspirit ^zcame out of the tombs ^aand met Him. ³He lived in the tombs. ^bNo one was able to restrain him anymore—even with chains ^c— ⁴because he often had been bound with shackles and chains, but had snapped off the chains and smashed ^dthe shackles. No one was strong enough to subdue ^ehim. ⁵And always, night ^fand day, he was crying out among the tombs ^gand in the mountains ^hand cutting himself with stones.

⁶When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and knelt down before Him. ⁷And he cried out with a loud voice, “What do You have to do with me, ⁱJesus, Son ^jof the Most High God? ^kI beg ^lYou before God, don’t torment ^mme!” ⁸For He had told him, “Come out of the man, you unclean ⁿspirit!” ^o

⁹“What is your name?” He asked him.

“My name is Legion,” ^pqhe answered Him, “because we are many.” ¹⁰And he kept begging Him not to send them out of the region.

¹¹Now a large herd of pigs ^rwas there, feeding ^son the hillside. ¹²The demons ^tbegged Him, “Send us to the pigs, so we may enter them.” ¹³And He gave them permission. Then the unclean ^uspirits ^vcame out and entered the pigs, and the herd of about 2,000 rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned there. ¹⁴The men who tended them ^wran off ^xand reported it in the town and the countryside, and people went to see what had happened. ¹⁵They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been demon-possessed ^yby the legion, ^zsitting there, dressed and in his right mind; ^aand they were afraid. ^b16The eyewitnesses described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed ^cman and told about the pigs. ¹⁷Then they began to beg Him to leave their region.

¹⁸As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed kept begging Him to be with Him. ¹⁹But He would not let him; instead, He told him, “Go back home to your own people, and report to them how much the Lord ^dhas done ^efor you and how He has had mercy on you.” ²⁰So he went out and began to proclaim ^fin the Decapolis ^ghow much Jesus had done for him, and they were all amazed. ^h

A Girl Restored and a Woman Healed

²¹When ⁱJesus had crossed over again by boat to the other side, a large crowd ^jgathered around Him while He was by the sea. ²²One of the synagogue leaders, named Jairus, ^kcame, and when he saw Jesus, he fell at His feet ^l23and kept begging Him, “My little daughter is at death’s door. ^mCome and lay Your hands on ⁿher so she can get well ^oand live.”

²⁴So Jesus went with him, and a large crowd was following and pressing against Him. ²⁵A woman suffering from bleeding ^pfor 12 years ²⁶had endured ^qmuch under many doctors. ^rShe had spent everything she had and was not helped at all. On the contrary, she became worse. ²⁷Having heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched ^sHis robe. ^t28For she said, “If I can just touch His robes, I’ll be made well!” ^u29Instantly her flow of blood ceased, and she sensed in her body that she was cured ^vof her affliction.

³⁰At once Jesus realized in Himself that power ^whad gone out from Him. He turned around in the crowd ^xand said, “Who touched My robes?” ^y

³¹His disciples said to Him, “You see the crowd pressing against You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’ ”

³²So He was looking around to see who had done this. ³³Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came with fear and trembling, fell down ^zbefore Him, and told Him the whole truth. ^a34“Daughter,” He said to her, “your faith ^bhas made you well. ^cdGo in peace and be free ^effrom your affliction.” ^g

³⁵While He was still speaking, people came from the synagogue leader’s house and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher ^hanymore?”

³⁶But when Jesus overheard what was said, He told the synagogue leader, “Don’t be afraid. ⁱOnly believe.” ³⁷He did not let anyone accompany Him except Peter, ^jJames, ^kand John, ^lJames’s brother. ³⁸They came to the leader’s house, and He saw a commotion—people weeping and wailing loudly. ³⁹He went in and said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? ^mThe child ⁿis not dead but asleep.” ^o

⁴⁰They started laughing at Him, but He put them all outside. He took the child’s father, ^pmother, and those who were with Him, and entered the place where the child was. ⁴¹Then He took the child ^qby the hand and said to her, “Talitha koum!” ^r(which is translated, “Little girl, I say to you, get up!” ^s). ⁴²Immediately the girl got up ^tand began to walk. ^u(She was 12 years old.) At this they were utterly astounded. ^v43Then He gave them strict orders that no one should know about this ^wand said that she should be given something to eat.