Mark 4

The Parable of the Sower

Where did Jesus again begin to teach? (verse 1)

Who gathered around Jesus? (verse 1)

What did Jesus sit? (Verse 1)

Where was the whole crowd? (verse 1)

How was Jesus teaching the crowd? (Verse 2)

What is the first Parable? (verse 3-9)

Who went out to sow? (verse 3)

When did some seed fall along the path? (verse 4)

Who sowed? (Verse 4)

What happened to the seed that fell along the path? (verse 4)

Who devoured it? (Verse 4)

What kind of ground did other seed fall onto? (verse 5)

What was scarce in the rocky ground? (verse 5)

What did the seed do? (verse 5)

Why did the seed do this? (verse 5)

When was the plant scorched? (verse 6)

Why was the plant scorched? (verse 6)

What happened to the plant? (verse 6)

What did other seed fall among? (verse 7)

What did the thorns do? (verse 7)

What did the thorns do to the seed? (Verse 7)

Did the seed yield any grain? (verse 7)

Where did other seeds fall into? (verse 8)

What did these seeds produce? (verse 8)

What did they do?

What did the other seeds that fell into good soil yield? (verse 8)

What did Jesus say at the end? (verse 9)

The Purpose of the Parables

Who asked Jesus about the parables? (verse 10)

When did they ask Jesus? (verse 10)

What did Jesus say to them? (verse 11)

What did Jesus say has been given? (verse 11)

What does Jesus contrast this with? (verse 11)

What is the reason for this? (verse 12)

Verse 12:

“‘they may indeed see but not ____________,
    and may indeed hear but not ____________,
lest they should ________ and be forgiven.’”

What two questions did Jesus ask them? (verse 13)

What does the sower sow? (verse 14)

In verse 15, who comes and takes away the word the tis sown in them? (verse 15)

When does he do this? (Verse 15)

Where are those who when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them? (verse 15)

Who are those who hear the word and immediately receive it with joy? (verse 16)

What do they not have? (verse 17)

Do they endure? (verse 17)

When do they immediately fall away? (verse 17)

What is the meaning behind the seed sown among thorns? (verse 18)

Do they hear the word? (verse 18)

What are the things that choke the word? (verse 19)

Does the word prove fruitful? (verse 19)

What is the meaning behind the seed sown on the good soil? (verse 20)

Do they hear the word? (verse 20)

Do they accept it? (verse 20)

Do they bear fruit? (Verse 20)

A Lamp Under a Basket

Who did Jesus speak to? (Verse 21, 10)

 “Is a __________ brought in to be put under a basket, or under a bed, and not on a ______? 

(verse 21)

Is anything hidden? (verse 22)

Is anything secret? (verse 22)

"If anyone has ______ to hear, let him hear.”  (verse 23)

"And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you ________: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you." (verse 24)

For to the one who has, _________ will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has _____ be taken away.” (verse 25)

The Parable of the Seed Growing

Who is speaking in verse 26? (Mark 3:7)

“The __________ of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the __________." (verse 26)

What does the man who scatters seed on the ground do? (verse 27)

What does the seed do? (Verse 27)

Does the man know how the seed does this? (verse 27)

What does the earth do? (verse 28)

What does it produce first? (verse 28)

What does it produce next? (verse 28)

What does it finally produce? (verse 28)

When does the man put in the sickle? (Verse 29)

Why does the man put in the sickle? (Verse 29)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

“With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall ______ use for it? (verse 30)

How is the kingdom of God compared to in verse 31-32?

When is the mustard see the smallest of all the seeds on the earth? (Verse 31)

"____ 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.”(verse 32)

How dd Jesus speak the word to them? (Verse 33)

When did Jesus speak the word to them? (Verse 33)

Did Jesus speak to them without a parable? (Verse 34)

To who did Jesus explain everything? (Verse 34)

How did Jesus explain to his own disciples? (verse 34)

Jesus Calms a Storm

When did Jesus say, "Let us go across to the other side."? (Verse 35)

Who did they leave? (Verse 36)

How did they take Jesus? (verse 36, 1)

What was with him? (Verse 36)

What arose? (Verse 37)

What was breaking into the boat? (Verse 37)

What was happening to the boat? (verse 37)

Where was Jesus? (verse 38)

Was Jesus asleep? (Verse 38)

Where was Jesus asleep? (Verse 38)

Did they wake up Jesus? (Verse 38)

How did they address Jesus? (Verse 38)

What did they ask Jesus? (Verse 38)

What did Jesus do when he awoke? (Verse 39)

What ceased? (verse 39)

What was there? (verse 39)

What did Jesus ask His disciples? (verse 40)

What were His disciples filled with? (Verse 41)

Thoughts:

“Peace! Be still!” - Jesus

 And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

“Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

from

http://www.michaelgrahamministries.org/mark/mark15.html

Consider carefully what you hear

'Consider carefully what you hear,' he continued. '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.' (Mar 4:24–5)

The way of salvation

Every word of Jesus is important to us. Peter said: 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (Joh 6:68).' Jesus came from the Father to declare to mankind the way of salvation, so we should pay careful attention to everything he said.

Old Covenant symbolism

The covenant God made with his people through Moses was rich in symbolism. God said that of all the animals living on land, only those that chewed the cud were to be considered clean and could be eaten (Lev 11:3). What was the meaning of the regulation? Chewing the cud symbolized thoughtful consideration of his Word.

Have you watched animals chewing the cud? After grazing they sit down quietly, regurgitate what they've eaten and chew it over again before swallowing it. The second chewing aids digestion and assimilation of the nutrients. It makes them look as though they are deep in thought or meditating on something.

Compare that to the way a pig eats (an unclean animal) and you will see the point being made. God wants us to think about his Word, to chew it over, and to consider it carefully in our hearts.

With the measure you use

'With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.' (Mar 4:24)

The more effort we put into seeking to understand spiritual truth, the more spiritual truth will be revealed to us. God rewards those who earnestly seek him (Mat 7:7–8; Heb 11:6). And we don't have to be Bible teachers to understand spiritual truth. The psalmist declared:

I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. (Psa 119:99)

The Hebrew word translated insight means insight, understanding, comprehension. The psalmist had more insight into and understanding of God's Word than all his teachers because he meditated on (spent time thinking about) it. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer, and it's the Holy Spirit who gives us understanding of the truth.

Jesus said:

'…when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth.' (Joh 16:13)

The Greek word translated guide means lead, guide, explain. The Holy Spirit wants to lead us into, and explain to us, all truth. We, for our part, need to apply ourselves to the Scriptures—to think deeply about them—so he can do that for us.

Whoever does not have

'Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.' (Mar 4:25)

It's possible for everyone who has understanding of the Word to gain even more, providing they apply themselves to it. In fact the potential for every believer is to have an abundance of understanding (Mat 13:11–2).

But what did Jesus mean when he said that whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him? He was repeating a truth he'd taught in the Parable of the Sower earlier in the chapter.

In that parable he said that 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 (Mar 4:15). That happens because they haven't understood it (Mat 13:19).

Jesus was talking about those who have not been chosen for salvation, so they cannot understand the word when they hear it (1Co 2:14). Satan then comes and takes what they had (the word they heard) from them. God's Word can only be understood by those he has chosen to save because they, alone, have his Spirit to give them understanding.

Do not lose what you have

But even though unbelievers cannot lose what they've never had (understanding of the truth), believers can lose what they have had (understanding of the truth).

Pro 19:27 says:

Stop listening to instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge.

It's a solemn fact that if we stop reading and studying the Word of God our knowledge of the truth, and its influence on our lives, begins to fade; that is what happens to backsliders. God wants us to be continually growing in the knowledge and understanding of the truth

…until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ. (Eph 4:13)

Spiritual maturity—understanding the truth and allowing the Holy Spirit to transform us into the likeness of Christ through it (2Co 3:18)—is God's will for every believer.

Laziness in spiritual matters

In the Parable of the Talents, Jesus said that the servant who had not used the sum of money he'd been given was wicked and lazy and would be thrown outside into the darkness where there would be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Even what he had would be taken from him (Mat 25:14–30).

What ever else we've received from the Lord to use in his service, we've each been given the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth.

The problem the servant in the parable had was his laziness: he didn't use what his master had given him. Are we being lazy in spiritual matters? Are we applying ourselves to the Scriptures so the Holy Spirit can lead us into all truth? Only we can answer those questions, in our hearts, before the Lord.

Michael Graham
September 2003
Revised September 2017

Application

Lord, prepare our hearts to be fruitful

Allowing your word to manifest and bring all to light

And let our ears hear and our hearts understand

Lord, save us because without you we are perishing

We turn and ask for forgiveness 

Mark 4English Standard Version (ESV)

The Parable of the Sower

4 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.[a] 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. Mark 4:17 Or stumble