SFJ Bible Reading Plan

Mark 7

Traditions and Commandments

7:1 Now when the Pharisees gathered to him, with some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem, 2 they saw that some of his disciples ate with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they wash their hands properly,¹ holding to the tradition of the elders, 4 and when they come from the marketplace, they do not eat unless they wash.² And there are many other traditions that they observe, such as the washing of cups and pots and copper vessels and dining couches.³) 5 And the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?” 6 And he said to them, “Well did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written,

  “‘This people honors me with their lips,
    but their heart is far from me;
7   in vain do they worship me,
    teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

8 You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”

9 And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 11 But you say, ‘If a man tells his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban”’ (that is, given to God)⁴—12 then you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or mother, 13 thus making void the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And many such things you do.”

What Defiles a Person

14 And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him.”⁵ 17 And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. 18 And he said to them, “Then are you also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, 19 since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?”⁶ (Thus he declared all foods clean.) 20 And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

The Syrophoenician Woman’s Faith

24 And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon.⁷ And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. 25 But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. 26 Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone.

Jesus Heals a Deaf Man

31 Then he returned from the region of Tyre and went through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. 32 And they brought to him a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, and they begged him to lay his hand on him. 33 And taking him aside from the crowd privately, he put his fingers into his ears, and after spitting touched his tongue. 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.” 35 And his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. 36 And Jesus⁸ charged them to tell no one. But the more he charged them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. 37 And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, “He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

Footnotes

[1] 7:3 Greek unless they wash the hands with a fist, probably indicating a kind of ceremonial washing

[2] 7:4 Greek unless they baptize; some manuscripts unless they purify themselves

[3] 7:4 Some manuscripts omit and dining couches

[4] 7:11 Or an offering

[5] 7:15 Some manuscripts add verse 16: If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear

[6] 7:19 Greek goes out into the latrine

[7] 7:24 Some manuscripts omit and Sidon

[8] 7:36 Greek he

(ESV)

Mark 6

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

6:1 He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief.

And he went about among the villages teaching.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Apostles

7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts—9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics.¹ 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist

14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’² name had become known. Some³ said, “John the Baptist⁴ has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s⁵ head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

30 The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. 31 And he said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. 32 And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. 33 Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. 35 And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. 36 Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” 37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii⁶ worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” 38 And he said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

Jesus Walks on the Water

45 Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 47 And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night⁷ he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, 50 for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him 55 and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Footnotes

[1] 6:9 Greek chiton, a long garment worn under the cloak next to the skin

[2] 6:14 Greek his

[3] 6:14 Some manuscripts He

[4] 6:14 Greek baptizer; also verse 24

[5] 6:27 Greek his

[6] 6:37 A denarius was a day’s wage for a laborer

[7] 6:48 That is, between 3 a.m. and 6 a.m.

(ESV)

Going Deeper

Mark 1-5 (11-18-17)

As we dive into Mark’s Gospel, I want to give us a little context:

1. Who is Mark?

Mark was not an eyewitness of Jesus’ life but was a secretary/translator for Peter, who was one of Christ’s disciples. Mark took Peter’s eye witness testimony and pieced it together into the narrative that is the Gospel of Mark that we know today. This helps make sense of the fact that Peter is present in every part of Mark’s Gospel.

2. What are the Gospels?

The word gospel means “news,” and it specifically means good news of an event.

The gospel is the good news of the grace and power of God to redeem undeserving sinners to eternal life through Jesus’ perfect, sinless life; substitutional, sacrificial death; and victorious resurrection from the grave. These sinners are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus alone from the eternal wrath they deserved, and they are reconciled into an eternally secure relationship with God (The Word of Truth Catechism).

The four written Gospels are found in the New Testament, and they testify of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. They are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

3. What is unique about Mark’s Gospel?

A few things that make Mark’s Gospel unique:

• It is written in the present tense. A fast-paced, action-packed narrative helps Mark be read with urgency and importance as to who Jesus is.
• Mark’s Gospel recounts less of Jesus’ teaching and more of Jesus doing. I pray that this is a reminder to us not to just hear but to witness and respond likewise with action instead of just contemplation.
• This Gospel is a mosaic of events that tell us about Jesus’ ministry on earth. Even though the overall format of Mark’s Gospel is narrative or story, it does not possess a continuous story line, but it is a collection of discrete units. The result is a collage or mosaic of the life of Jesus. As you study with us in the next few weeks, put yourself in the position of Mark and Peter’s traveling companion, as they assemble this documentary on the life of Christ based on Peter’s testimony.
• Finally, Mark’s telling of Jesus’ ministry is given to us in two distinct acts:

Act 1 (chapters 1-8) is all about Jesus’ identity and authority as King over all things: the King of glory, the King of kings!

Act 2 (chapters 9-16) is all about Jesus’ sacrifice and death on the cross and the purpose for it. We see the sacrificial Lamb, the servant leader, and our substitutionary atonement.

With that, let’s dig into Chapter 1.

Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel …

Mark is said to have been the first Gospel that was written.

So it is fitting that it begins with the sentence, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

In other words, this written account is the first to be written so that the GOOD NEWS of Jesus’ life and ministry can be shared for all peoples to be able to study and know.

Mark 1:1 The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

The central figure of the gospel is Jesus Christ. He is the good news.

He is the central figure of all of life, our world, and all that exists.

Jesus Christ is the most significant man to have ever lived in the history of the world.

In fact, human history is divided around his life. We have B.C., which is “Before Christ,” and A.D., which is “Anno Domini,” a Latin phrase meaning “the year of our Lord.” Our history literally hinges on this man.

The Scriptures tell us the name we will sing and celebrate of for all of eternity is Jesus Christ. The Scriptures tell us that the world was created at the word of Jesus.

Jesus lived a relatively simple life. He never traveled more than 200 miles from his home. He never wrote a book.

He never married. He never had children, never ran for political office, never oversaw a large company, never made a lot of money. The first 30 years of His life were spent in great simplicity while working a blue-collar job as a carpenter with His dad.

The part of Jesus’ life that this book covers is the last three years of His life. He spent them doing ministry, preaching, teaching, and performing miracles while mentoring a small group of average Joes.

Jesus Christ was then falsely arrested, publicly tortured, and murdered at the age of 33!

This is “The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”

We are given two titles after Jesus’ name: Christ and Son of God.

Let’s look further at these important titles to better understand who Jesus is

Christ

The Greek word is Christos. meaning an “anointed royal figure.”

Christ is also translated in the Hebrew as “the Messiah.”

The Messiah was the one foretold in Jewish history who would come reconcile God’s people to God: the Redeemer.

So Jesus Christ is an anointed royal figure–a KING!

He is not just “a” KING; He is “the” KING. He is the one mankind has been waiting for.

He is the one who would redeem God’s people from the slavery of sin and death and deliver us to eternal victory in life with God.

The second title used here is Son of God

Mark ups the stakes all the way by using this title: SON OF GOD.

In other words, Jesus is divinity; He is God.

A minute ago, I just said He was not just “a” king but “the” King.

Like I might say Michael Jordan is not just “a” basketball player but the greatest basketball player ever.

But SON OF GOD takes His kingship to another level. He is not just a king, and not just the greatest king to ever wear a crown…

He is the King of the kings,

The Lord of lords, the Creator and Ruler of the Heavens and the Earth.

He is The SON OF GOD, upon which NOTHING holds a higher rank! NOTHING.

My prayer this morning is that you come to know the Christ–Jesus. That He would be your King, your Redeemer, the one to bring you form death to life everlasting. But I also pray that He would become your EVERYTHING, and that you come to enjoy Him and know His power and majesty at such an intimate level that NOTHING compares to knowing Him.

The beginning of the gospel about Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

In the first 12 words of the Gospel of Mark, we are told:

This is a story…

About a man named Jesus…

Who is the Christ… the anointed royal one… the Messiah…

Who has been foretold since the most ancient roots of Israel that He would come and reconcile God’s people once and for all to God Himself.

And if that were not enough…

That this Christ, this Messiah, this royal Redeemer is not an angel and not a just a man, but He is the Son of God in human flesh.    He is the divine Redeemer King

To cement and validate this epic introduction, Mark refers back to Isaiah’s famous prophetic passage about the man who would announce the Messiahs’ arrival:

Mark 1:2-3 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way,

the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight’”

Then in verse 4, Mark goes on to say that John the Baptist is the announcer, the preparer, the messenger, the voice!

Mark 1:4-6 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair and wore a leather belt around his waist and ate locusts and wild honey.

The wild hippie man would announce the arrival of the Messiah, the Redeemer, the LORD.

John definitely understood the power–the magnitude–of the one he was setting the table for. Mark 1:7 says, “And [John the Baptist] preached, saying, ‘After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie.’”

Not even worthy to untie His filthy sandals.

That is like me walking up to you and saying, “I am so below you that I am not worthy to wipe snot from your nose with my bare hand.”

Now this is either a recognition of how low you are or how HIGH the person you speak of is.

In this case it was both. John understood how low he was in the towering shadow of the Son of GOD!

The name of God in the Old Testament is “I AM.”

This statement from John was him saying, “My name is I AM NOT; Jesus is I AM.”

We can learn so much and gain even more from the perspective John had of himself compared to Christ.

See, our sinful tendency is to make much of ourselves, which makes it hard for us to embrace the fact that Jesus is so far greater. But let me tell you, when you gain a new perspective like John had of who you are in comparison to who Christ is, you begin to know freedom. Freedom from:

• The seduction of fame
• The tyranny of comparison
• The delusion of greatness
• The never-ending scramble to get to the top of the ladder
• Ego
• Jealousy
• Backbiting
• And the massive swollen-head syndrome that some of you suffer from

You are free to let Jesus be God and to enjoy the privileged opportunity to make much of His name.

Back to Mark’s introduction of Jesus to us:

He has made it clear that Jesus is royalty like no other the world has ever known and the one who has been prophesied about and expected like no other. He is the KING.

Our first sight of Jesus in Mark’s telling is not His birth or childhood experiences like other Gospels. Instead, Mark skips right to Jesus’ baptism. This is Jesus’ commissioning for ministry. In His baptism, we get to see an even fuller picture of who the Son of God is.

Mark 1:10-11 And when he came up out of the water, immediately he saw the heavens being torn open and the Spirit descending on him like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

In these two verses, we get to see the Trinity at work.

The Triune Godhead: a tri-unity or three in oneness.

The Scriptures teach us that there is one God who eternally and equally exists in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Each Person is fully God, and the three make up our ONE GOD.

Here we see Jesus, God the Son, being baptized;

God the Father saying, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased;”

And God the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove.

Now look at what follows the Trinity’s work in Jesus being commissioned to ministry:

Mark 1:12-13 The Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. And he was in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by Satan. And he was with the wild animals, and the angels were ministering to him.

The first sight of Jesus in Mark is at His baptism, where the Trinity commissions Jesus to ministry.

But where does it go next? To the desert, where Jesus will be tempted by Satan just like Adam and Eve were in the Garden.

The first Adam failed and gave into sin, just as all of us have done since.

Mankind is self-centered and against God in our sin.

The temptation of Jesus is just like the one given to Adam, and yet Jesus stayed faithful to God

This is a view into the restoration of God’s people that Jesus would bring. He would be the redeemer of our lives by His faithful work and substitutional atonement on the cross. May we not just know about the good news of Jesus but walk in His power every day, as we look to serve our God and not our flesh.

By His grace and for His glory,

-Shepherd

Soldiers for Jesus MC

Mark 5

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon

5:1 They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.¹ 2 And when Jesus² had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit. 3 He lived among the tombs. And no one could bind him anymore, not even with a chain, 4 for he had often been bound with shackles and chains, but he wrenched the chains apart, and he broke the shackles in pieces. No one had the strength to subdue him. 5 Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones. 6 And when he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and fell down before him. 7 And crying out with a loud voice, he said, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I adjure you by God, do not torment me.” 8 For he was saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” He replied, “My name is Legion, for we are many.” 10 And he begged him earnestly not to send them out of the country. 11 Now a great herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, 12 and they begged him, saying, “Send us to the pigs; let us enter them.” 13 So he gave them permission. And the unclean spirits came out and entered the pigs; and the herd, numbering about two thousand, rushed down the steep bank into the sea and drowned in the sea.

14 The herdsmen fled and told it in the city and in the country. And people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they came to Jesus and saw the demon-possessed³ man, the one who had had the legion, sitting there, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 16 And those who had seen it described to them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and to the pigs. 17 And they began to beg Jesus⁴ to depart from their region. 18 As he was getting into the boat, the man who had been possessed with demons begged him that he might be with him. 19 And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus’s Daughter

21 And when Jesus had crossed again in the boat to the other side, a great crowd gathered about him, and he was beside the sea. 22 Then came one of the rulers of the synagogue, Jairus by name, and seeing him, he fell at his feet 23 and implored him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be made well and live.” 24 And he went with him.

And a great crowd followed him and thronged about him. 25 And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, 26 and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. 27 She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. 28 For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” 29 And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease. 30 And Jesus, perceiving in himself that power had gone out from him, immediately turned about in the crowd and said, “Who touched my garments?” 31 And his disciples said to him, “You see the crowd pressing around you, and yet you say, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 And he looked around to see who had done it. 33 But the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came in fear and trembling and fell down before him and told him the whole truth. 34 And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”

35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler’s house some who said, “Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?” 36 But overhearing⁵ what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, “Do not fear, only believe.” 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus⁶ saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping.” 40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child’s father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.” 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Footnotes

[1] 5:1 Some manuscripts Gergesenes; some Gadarenes

[2] 5:2 Greek he; also verse 9

[3] 5:15 Greek daimonizomai (demonized); also verses 16, 18; elsewhere rendered oppressed by demons

[4] 5:17 Greek him

[5] 5:36 Or ignoring; some manuscripts hearing

[6] 5:38 Greek he

(ESV)

Mark 4

The Parable of the Sower

4:1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” 9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that

  “‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
    and may indeed hear but not understand,
  lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”

13 And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. 16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.¹ 18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

A Lamp Under a Basket

21 And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? 22 For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

The Parable of the Seed Growing

26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. 27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. 28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. 29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. 34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

Jesus Calms a Storm

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with him. 37 And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Footnotes

[1] 4:17 Or stumble

(ESV)