4:3-8
"Listen!
A farmer went out to sow his seed. As
he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it
up. Some fell on rocky places, where it
did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because
they had no root. Other seed fell among
thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop,
multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times."
4:9
"He
who has ears to hear, let him hear."
4:11-12
"The
secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside
everything is said in parables
12so that,
" 'they
may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever
hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be
forgiven!'"
4:13-20
"Don't
you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?
The farmer sows the word. Some
people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it,
Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with
joy. But since they have no root, they
last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they
quickly fall away. Still others, like
seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but
the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things
come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good
soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred
times what was sown."
4:21-23
"He
said to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed?
Instead, don't you put it on its stand? For
whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be
brought out into the open. If anyone
has ears to hear, let him hear."
4:24-25
"Consider
carefully what you hear,"
"With the measure you use, it will
be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not
have, even what he has will be taken from him."
4:26-29
"He
also said, "This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the
ground. Night and day, whether he
sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the
full kernel in the head. As soon as the
grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
4:30-32
"What
shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31It
is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. 32Yet
when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big
branches that the birds of the air can perch in its shade."
4:35
"Let
us go over to the other side."
4:39
"Quiet!
Be still!"
4:40
"Why
are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?"
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