The Gospel According to St. Mark

⭑ Catholic Public Domain :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 4 -

(Matthew 13:1–9; Luke 8:4–8)

And again, he began to teach by the sea. And a great crowd was gathered to him, so much so that, climbing into a boat, he was seated on the sea. And the entire crowd was on the land along the sea.

And he taught them many things in parables, and he said to them, in his doctrine:

“Listen. Behold, the sower went out to sow.

And while he was sowing, some fell along the way, and the birds of the air came and ate it.

Yet truly, others fell upon stony ground, where it did not have much soil. And it rose up quickly, because it had no depth of soil.

And when the sun was risen, it was scorched. And because it had no root, it withered away.

And some fell among thorns. And the thorns grew up and suffocated it, and it did not produce fruit.

And some fell on good soil. And it brought forth fruit that grew up, and increased, and yielded: some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred.”

And he said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of Jesus’ Parables

(Isaiah 6:1–13; Matthew 13:10–17; Luke 8:9–10)

And when he was alone, the twelve, who were with him, questioned him about the parable.

And he said to them: “To you, it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. But to those who are outside, everything is presented in parables:

‘so that, seeing, they may see, and not perceive; and hearing, they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they may be converted, and their sins would be forgiven them.’ ”(a)

The Parable of the Sower Explained

(Matthew 13:18–23; Luke 8:11–15)

And he said to them: “Do you not understand this parable? And so, how will you understand all the parables?

He who sows, sows the word.

Now there are those who are along the way, where the word is sown. And when they have heard it, Satan quickly comes and takes away the word, which was sown in their hearts.

And similarly, there are those who were sown upon stony ground. These, when they have heard the word, immediately accept it with gladness.

But they have no root in themselves, and so they are for a limited time. And when next tribulation and persecution arises because of the word, they quickly fall away.

And there are others who are sown among thorns. These are those who hear the word,

but worldly tasks, and the deception of riches, and desires about other things enter in and suffocate the word, and it is effectively without fruit.(b)

And there are those who are sown upon good soil, who hear the word and accept it; and these bear fruit: some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred.”(c)

The Lesson of the Lamp

(Luke 8:16–18)

And he said to them: “Would someone enter with a lamp in order to place it under a basket or under a bed? Would it not be placed upon a lampstand?

For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed. Neither was anything done in secret, except that it may be made public.

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

And he said to them: “Consider what you hear. With whatever measure you have measured out, it shall be measured back to you, and more shall be added to you.

For whoever has, to him it shall be given. And whoever has not, from him even what he has shall be taken away.”

The Seed Growing Secretly

And he said: “The kingdom of God is like this: it is as if a man were to cast seed on the land.

And he sleeps and he arises, night and day. And the seed germinates and grows, though he does not know it.

For the earth bears fruit readily: first the plant, then the ear, next the full grain in the ear.

And when the fruit has been produced, immediately he sends out the sickle, because the harvest has arrived.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

(Matthew 13:31–32; Luke 13:18–19)

And he said: “To what should we compare the kingdom of God? Or to what parable should we compare it?

It is like a grain of mustard seed which, when it has been sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds which are in the earth.

And when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all the plants, and it produces great branches, so much so that the birds of the air are able to live under its shadow.”

And with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as much as they were able to hear.

But he did not speak to them without a parable. Yet separately, he explained all things to his disciples.

Jesus Calms the Storm

(Psalm 107:1–43; Matthew 8:23–27; Luke 8:22–25)

And on that day, when evening had arrived, he said to them, “Let us cross over.”

And dismissing the crowd, they brought him, so that he was in one boat, and other boats were with him.

And a great wind storm occurred, and the waves broke over the boat, so that the boat was being filled.

And he was in the stern of the boat, sleeping on a pillow. And they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, does it not concern you that we are perishing?”

And rising up, he rebuked the wind, and he said to the sea: “Silence. Be stilled.” And the wind ceased. And a great tranquility occurred.

And he said to them: “Why are you afraid? Do you still lack faith?” And they were struck with a great fear. And they said to one another, “Who do you think this is, that both wind and sea obey him?”

Footnotes

(a)4:12 That seeing they may see, etc:in punishment of their wilfully shutting their eyes, (St. Matt. 13. 15,) God justly withdrew those lights and graces, which otherwise he would have given them, for their effectual conversion.(Challoner)

(b)4:19 The word ‘saeculi’ can mean many different things in different contexts; there is no one English word that even comes close to equating to ‘saeculi’. It can refer to the future, to the distant past, or to a generation of people, or to a lineage throughout numerous generations, or to the world. In this context, the word refers not to the future or the past, but to the world, or more specifically in this verse to worldly tasks.(Conte)

(c)4:20 The word ‘unum’ is translated as ‘some’ instead of as ‘one’ in order to avoid confusion with the numbers 30, 60, and 100.(Conte)

(Matthew 13:1–9; Luke 8:4–8)

Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea and sat down. All the multitude were on the land by the sea.

He taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching,

“Listen! Behold, the farmer went out to sow.

As he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds (a) came and devoured it.

Others fell on the rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil.

When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.

Others fell into the good ground and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing. Some produced thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times as much.”

He said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of Jesus’ Parables

(Isaiah 6:1–13; Matthew 13:10–17; Luke 8:9–10)

When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

He said to them, “To you is given the mystery of God’s Kingdom, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables,

that ‘seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest perhaps they should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them.’” (b)

The Parable of the Sower Explained

(Matthew 13:18–23; Luke 8:11–15)

He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables?

The farmer sows the word.

The ones by the road are the ones where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.

These in the same way are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy.

They have no root in themselves, but are short-lived. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they stumble.

Others are those who are sown among the thorns. These are those who have heard the word,

and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

Those which were sown on the good ground are those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times.”

The Lesson of the Lamp

(Luke 8:16–18)

He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket (c) or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a stand?

For there is nothing hidden except that it should be made known, neither was anything made secret but that it should come to light.

If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.”

He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you; and more will be given to you who hear.

For whoever has, to him more will be given; and he who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away from him.”

The Seed Growing Secretly

He said, “God’s Kingdom is as if a man should cast seed on the earth,

and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, though he doesn’t know how.

For the earth bears fruit by itself: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

(Matthew 13:31–32; Luke 13:18–19)

He said, “How will we liken God’s Kingdom? Or with what parable will we illustrate it?

It’s like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth,

yet when it is sown, grows up and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow.”

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.

Without a parable he didn’t speak to them; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

Jesus Calms the Storm

(Psalm 107:1–43; Matthew 8:23–27; Luke 8:22–25)

On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.”

Leaving the multitude, they took him with them, even as he was, in the boat. Other small boats were also with him.

A big wind storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled.

He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and asked him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are dying?”

He awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The wind ceased and there was a great calm.

He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”

They were greatly afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Footnotes

(a)4:4 TR adds “of the air”

(b)4:12 ℘ Isaiah 6:9-10