Mark Chapter 4

Mark Chapter 4, from the Gospel of Mark, is as follows below.

Several parts of this chapter are particularly interesting to a young reader: the calming of the storm at the end, the parable of the mustard seed, the invisible hand of not knowing how the seeds become plants (a parable that appears only in the Gospel of Mark), and the references to corn.

Superb learning points in this chapter for a young reader include:

• "parable" (phonetic, 7 times)
• "metaphor"(phonetic, 1 time)
• "measure" (silent "a", then phonetic, 2 times)

Chapter 4

Jesus returned to teaching again on the seashore, but the crowd was so overwhelming that he turned a boat into a makeshift pulpit while the people pressed to the shoreline.

He taught them many things, using parables. During one of His lessons, He said, "Listen. A farmer went out to sow a crop. As he sowed, some seed was scattered on the path, and birds came and ate it up. Some fell on stony ground, which lacked deep soil. It grew quickly, but once the sun was out, it was scorched and withered away, as its roots were too shallow. Some was scattered among weeds, which choked it, and it didn't produce fruit. But some seed fell upon good soil and produced a great deal of fruit, thirty, sixty, even one-hundred times the original investment." Then Jesus said to them, "let any man who has ears hear."

Privately a few along with the twelve Apostles asked Jesus about the parable. He said to them, "You have been granted insight into the secrets of the Kingdom of God, but to others these things are done in parables, that they may see but not perceive and hear but not understand; otherwise they might convert, and then their sins would be forgiven." Then He asked them, "Don't you understand this parable? If not, how will you understand any other parables? The farmer plants the Truth. As for the people who are on the roadside, where the seeds are scattered, Satan comes as soon as they have heard the truth, and takes it from their hearts. Likewise with those planted on the stony ground: when they hear the Truth, they receive It with joy, but they have little deep-down understanding of It, so they endure in the Truth only briefly. Afterward, when they must face oppression or persecution for the sake of the Truth, all at once they have doubts about It. Then there are those planted among the thorns. They hear the word, but because of worldly concerns, the deceit of wealth, and other desires, the Truth is suffocated and cannot bear fruit. Finally are those planted in good ground. They hear the Truth, accept It, and produce good fruit in their turn, sometimes thirty, sixty, or even one hundred times more."

Then he asked them, "Do we light candles only to hide them under a bushel basket or a bed, rather than to place them on candlesticks? Nothing is hidden which will not be brought to light. Likewise any secret kept will soon become known. If a man is willing to listen, let him hear the Truth."

Then he said to them, "Be careful of what you listen to. Whichever measure you apply, you shall be measured accordingly, and those of you who listen will be given more. He who has will be given, while he who doesn't will see that little which he has taken from him. The kingdom of God is the same way. If someone sows seed on the ground, and goes to sleep and waits several days, plants will spring from the seeds, though he doesn't know how. Because it is the earth that brings forth the fruit: first a blade, then an ear of corn, then the corn itself. And when the fruit has been produced, he brings out the sickle and harvests his produce."

Then he said, "What will we say God's kingdom is like? What sort of metaphor will we use? It's like a single mustard seed, which is smaller than all other seeds on earth when placed in the ground, but once planted, it grows larger than all the other herbs and grows large branches, so the birds can shelter under its shadow."

He used many parables like this one to preach God's word in a way that they could understand. But He never used parables when speaking to His own men. He explained everything to His own students. Later that day, around sunset, He said to them: "Let's cross over to the opposite shore." They dismissed the crowd, and then cast off in the boat where Jesus had been preaching, with Jesus still on board. Some other boats also went with them.

Suddenly a fierce storm came, with strong winds. Waves started to break over the boat, so that it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping on a cushion in the stern of the boat. They woke him saying, "Master, don't you care that we'll capsize and drown?" He got up and chided the wind, and said to the sea: "Silence, be still!" The wind then stopped, and there was complete calm. He asked them, "Why are you so afraid? Why haven't you any faith?" Filled with awe, they asked each other: "What kind of Man is He, such that even the wind and sea obey Him?"