Luke 8:4–21

The Parable of the Soils

Matt. 13:1–23; Mark 4:1–20

^4cAnd when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: ⁵“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. ⁷And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. ⁸But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded ⁵a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, ^d“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

^9eThen His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”

¹⁰And He said, “To you it has been given to know the ⁶mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

^f‘Seeing they may not see,

And hearing they may not understand.’

^11g“Now the parable is this: The seed is the ^hword of God. ¹²Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. ¹³But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of ⁷temptation fall away. ¹⁴Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, ⁱriches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with ^jpatience. ⁸

Parable of the Lamp

Mark 4:21–25

^16k“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the ^llight. ^17mFor nothing is secret that will not be ⁿrevealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸Therefore take heed how you hear. ^oFor whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he ⁹seems to ^phave will be taken from him.”

Christ’s True Brethren

Matt. 12:46–50; Mark 3:31–35

^19qThen His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. ²⁰And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”

²¹But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”