Mark 4:26–41

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