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Mark 4

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Jesus Teaches the Parable of the Sower 1–9

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And again he began to teach by the sea side. And there is gathered unto him a very great multitude, so that he entered into a boat, and sat in the sea; and all the multitude were by the sea on the land. ​
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And he taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in his teaching, ​
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Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow:
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and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it.
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And other fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth; and straightway it sprang up, because it had no deepness of earth:
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and when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
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And other fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
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And others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing; and brought forth, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.
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And he said, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

The Purpose of Parables 10–12

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And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parables.
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And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables: ​
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that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn again, and it should be forgiven them. ​

Interpretation of the Sower Parable 13–20

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And he saith unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how shall ye know all the parables? ​
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The sower soweth the word. ​
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And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; and when they have heard, straightway cometh Satan, and taketh away the word which hath been sown in them.
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And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy;
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and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway they stumble. ​
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And others are they that are sown among the thorns; these are they that have heard the word,
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and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. ​
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And those are they that were sown upon the good ground; such as hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.

Sayings on Hearing and Revelation 21–25

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And he said unto them, Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel, or under the bed, and not to be put on the stand? ​
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For there is nothing hid, save that it should be manifested; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light. ​
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If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear.
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And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you; and more shall be given unto you. ​
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For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. ​

The Parable of the Growing Seed 26–29

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And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth; ​
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and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how.
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The earth beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
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But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come. ​

The Parable of the Mustard Seed 30–34

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And he said, How shall we liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable shall we set it forth?
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It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth,
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yet when it is sown, groweth up, and becometh greater than all the herbs, and putteth out great branches; so that the birds of the heaven can lodge under the shadow thereof. ​
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And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it;
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and without a parable spake he not unto them: but privately to his own disciples he expounded all things. ​

Jesus Calms the Storm 35–41

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And on that day, when even was come, he saith unto them, Let us go over unto the other side. ​
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And leaving the multitude, they take him with them, even as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him.
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And there ariseth a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, insomuch that the boat was now filling.
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And he himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion: and they awake him, and say unto him, Teacher, carest thou not that we perish? ​
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And he awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. ​
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And he said unto them, Why are ye fearful? have ye not yet faith? ​
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And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Mark 4

Verse 1

entered into a ship, and sat in the sea — The 'small ship' kept ready 'because of the multitude, lest they should throng him' (Mark 3:9) now serves as his seat (ploion, a vessel), while 'the whole multitude was by the sea on the land'. Luke 5:3 records the same arrangement from Simon's boat.

Verse 2

by parables — Parabole is a comparison set alongside something else. Matthew says 'without a parable spake he not unto them' (Matt 13:34) and cites Ps 78:2, 'I will open my mouth in parables' (Matt 13:35). 'Doctrine' (didache) is his teaching; the first parable, the sower, begins in v.3.

Verse 11

the mystery of the kingdom of God — Musterion is a secret now disclosed, 'given' to the disciples. 'Them that are without' (exo) are outsiders, the word of 1 Cor 5:12 and Col 4:5. Luke 8:10 has 'mysteries' in the plural. To those outside, 'all these things are done in parables'.

Verse 12

seeing they may see, and not perceive — These are the words of Isa 6:9–10, 'Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.' Matthew applies the same passage: 'in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias' (Matt 13:14). 'Converted' (epistrepho) is to turn back, the verb of repentance.

Verse 13

Know ye not this parable? — The sower is treated as the key to the rest: if this is missed, 'how then will ye know all parables?' The two 'know' verbs differ in the Greek (eido, then ginosko). The explanation that follows in vv.14–20 is given to the disciples, who 'asked of him the parable' (v.10).

Verse 14

The sower soweth the word — Logos, the message. Luke gives the key plainly: 'The seed is the word of God' (Luke 8:11). Matthew names the sower in the parable of the tares, 'the Son of man' (Matt 13:37). Peter speaks of being born again 'of incorruptible, by the word of God' (1 Pet 1:23).

Verse 17

no root in themselves — 'For a time' is proskairos, for the occasion only; 'offended' is skandalizo, to be tripped up. The same 'immediately' that marks the joy of v.16 marks the stumbling here. 'Affliction' (thlipsis) is pressure; Luke says they 'for a while believe' (Luke 8:13).

Verse 19

the cares of this world — There are three choking things: 'cares' (merimna, anxious distraction), 'the deceitfulness of riches' (apate, delusion), and 'lusts' (epithymia). 'World' is aion, this age. The verb 'choke' (sympnigo) is that of v.7. Luke adds 'pleasures of this life' (Luke 8:14); Paul warns of the same snare (1 Tim 6:9–10).

Verse 21

a candle… under a bushel — Luchnos is a small oil lamp, 'candle' in the KJV; the modios is a Roman dry measure, and 'bed' (kline) a couch. The Greek says the lamp 'comes'. Christ gives the saying on its own in Matt 5:15 and Luke 11:33; here it follows the parable meant for the disciples.

Verse 22

nothing hid, which shall not be manifested — 'Manifested' (phaneroo) and 'abroad' (phaneros) share a root: what was kept secret was kept for the purpose that it 'should come abroad'. Luke has it as 'nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest' (Luke 8:17); compare 1 Cor 4:5, on the Lord bringing 'to light the hidden things of darkness'.

Verse 24

with what measure ye mete — Metron, a measure, and metreo, to measure out. Matthew puts the same line on judging: 'with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again' (Matt 7:2). Here it governs hearing: 'Take heed what ye hear', and to the hearer 'shall more be given' (prostithemi, added). Luke has 'how ye hear' (Luke 8:18).

Verse 25

he that hath, to him shall be given — The saying recurs in Matt 13:12 (after the sower), Matt 25:29 (the talents) and Luke 8:18, where the one who has not loses 'that which he seemeth to have'. In this place it follows 'Take heed what ye hear' (v.24): what is received and held is increased; what is not is taken away.

Verse 26

So is the kingdom of God — The man 'cast' (ballo) seed, then does nothing more to it; verses 27–28 show the earth bearing it. Paul states the same division of work: 'I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase' (1 Cor 3:6). 'Seed' here is sporos, the thing sown.

Verse 29

putteth in the sickle — These are the words of Joel 3:13, 'Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe'. 'Brought forth' (paradidomi) is to yield up or deliver. Christ explains the harvest in the wheat and tares as 'the end of this world' (Matt 13:40); the sickle (drepanon) goes in 'immediately' when the grain is ready.

Verse 32

the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it — Kataskenoo is to pitch a tent, to lodge. A great tree sheltering the birds is the picture of Nebuchadnezzar's dominion in Dan 4:10–22, where the tree is the king whose 'dominion' reaches 'to the end of the earth'. 'Herbs' (lachanon) are garden plants.

Verse 34

he expounded all things — Epiluo is to loose further, to solve, as a knot is untied. 'When they were alone' (kat' idian) is privately, the sense of 'alone' at v.10 (a different Greek word, katamonas). The public teaching was all in parables; the explanation was reserved to the disciples, to whom 'it is given to know the mystery' (v.11).

Verse 35

Let us pass over unto the other side — This is the same day as the parables of vv.1–33, at 'even' (opsios, late afternoon or evening). The crossing is at his own word, and the landing is recorded in Mark 5:2, where 'he was come out of the ship' and a man with an unclean spirit met him. 'Other side' is peran, across.

Verse 38

asleep on a pillow — The proskephalaion, a cushion for the head, occurs only here in the New Testament, and the 'hinder part' is the stern (prymna). The sleep shows true human weariness (cf. Heb 4:15). 'Master' is didaskalos, teacher; Matthew has 'Lord, save us: we perish' (Matt 8:25).

Verse 39

Peace, be still — The Greek words mean be silent, be muzzled (siopao, phimoo). The verb phimoo is the 'Hold thy peace' he spoke to the unclean spirit (Mark 1:25), after the same 'rebuked' (epitimao). The scene answers Ps 107:29, 'He maketh the storm a calm, so that the waves thereof are still,' and Ps 89:9.

Verse 40

Why are ye so fearful? — 'Fearful' is deilos, timid, cowardly. Matthew gives it as 'Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?' (Matt 8:26) and Luke as 'Where is your faith?' (Luke 8:25). The rebuke is spoken after the calm, and Mark's wording is the plainest: 'no faith' (pistis).

Verse 41

feared exceedingly — The Greek is literally they feared a great fear (phobeo, phobos, megas), now of him rather than of the storm. 'Obey' is hupakouo, to hear and submit. Job 38:11 gives the sea its limit by the LORD's word; in Jonah 1:15–16, when the sea ceased, the men 'feared the LORD exceedingly'.