Mark 4:1-34
The Parable of the Sower
aAnd He began to teach again bby the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that cHe got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2 And He was teaching them many things in aparables, and was saying to them in His teaching, 3 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and it happened that as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 And other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. 6 And after the sun rose, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8 And other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they were yielding a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” 9 And He was saying, “aHe who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 And when He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to athose who are outside, everything comes bin parables, 12 so that awhile seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, lest they return and be forgiven.”
The Parable of the Sower Explained
13 aAnd He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown: when they hear, immediately aSatan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16 And in a similar way, these are the ones being sown on the rocky places: those who, when hearing the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and they have no root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 And others are those being sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of athe world, and the bdeceitfulness of riches, and the desires for anything else enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 And those are the ones which were sown on the good soil: they who hear the word and accept it and aare bearing fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
21 And He was saying to them, “aIs a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be put on the lampstand? 22 aFor nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. 23 aIf anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And He was saying to them, “Beware what you listen to. aBy your standard of measure it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you. 25 aFor whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”
The Parable of the Seed
26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; 27 and he sleeps and rises, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. 28 The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. 29 But when the grain is ripe, he immediately aputs in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 aAnd He was saying, “How shall we bcompare the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smallest of all the seeds that are upon the soil, 32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes largest of all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that athe birds of the air can nest under its shade.”
33 And with many such parables He was speaking the word to them, as they were able to hear it; 34 and He was not speaking to them awithout a parable; but He was bexplaining everything privately to His own disciples.
Luke 8:4-18
The Parable of the Sower
4 aNow when a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: 5 “The sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up. 6 And other seed fell on rock and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And other seed fell among the thorns, and when the thorns grew up with it, they choked it out. 8 And other seed fell into the good soil; and growing up, it produced a crop one hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “aHe who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
The Parable of the Sower Explained
9 aAnd His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. 10 And He said, “aTo you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that bseeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
11 “Now the parable is this: athe seed is the word of God. 12 And those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 And those on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy, and these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of life, and do not bear ripe fruit. 15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.
A Lampstand and the Light
16 “Now ano one after lighting a lamp covers it with a container or puts it under a bed, but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. 17 aFor nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 So beware how you listen, afor whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”
Luke 13:18-20
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven
18 Therefore, aHe was saying, “bWhat is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I compare it? 19 It is like a mustard seed, which a man took and threw into his own garden, and it grew and became a tree, and athe birds of the air nested in its branches.”
20 And again He said, “aTo what shall I compare the kingdom of God?
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