Mark 4:21–34

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