The Parable about a Farmer

(Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-18)

1That day Jesus left the house and sat down beside the sea. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the entire crowd stood on the shore. 3Then he began to tell them many things in parables. He said, “Listen! A farmer went out to sow. 4As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and birds came and ate them up. 5Other seeds fell on stony ground, where they did not have a lot of soil. They sprouted at once because the soil wasn’t deep. 6But when the sun came up, they were scorched. Since they did not have any roots, they dried up. 7Other seeds fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes grew higher and choked them out. 8But other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop, some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what was sown.a 9Let the person who has earsb listen!”

The Purpose of the Parables

(Mark 4:10-12; Luke 8:9-10)

10Then the disciples came and asked Jesus,c “Why do you speak to peopled in parables?”

11He answered them, “You have been given knowledge about the secrets of the kingdom frome heaven, but it hasn’t been given to them, 12because to anyone who has something, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who doesn’t have anything, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13That’s why I speak to them in parables, because

‘they look but don’t see,

and they listen but don’t hear or understand.’

14“With them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says:

‘You will listen and listen but never understand.

You will look and look but never comprehend,

15for this people’s heart has become dull,

and their ears are hard of hearing.f

They have shut their eyes

so that they might not see with their eyes,

and hear with their ears,

and understand with their heart and turn,

and I would heal them.’g

16“How blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear! 17I tell all of youh with certainty, many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see but did not see them, and to hear the things you hear but did not hear them.”

Jesus Explains the Parable about the Farmer

(Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8:11-15)

18“Listen, then, to the parable about the farmer. 19When anyone hears the word about the kingdom yet doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20As for what was sown on the stony ground, this is the person who hears the word and accepts it joyfully at once, 21but since he doesn’t have any root in himself, he lasts for only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes along because of the word, he immediately falls away. 22As for what was sown among the thorn bushes, this is the person who hears the word, but the worries of life and the deceitful pleasures of wealth choke the word so that it can’t produce a crop. 23But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word, understands it, and produces a crop that yields 100, 60, or 30 times what was sown.”i

The Parable about the Weeds among the Wheat

24He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom fromj heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25While people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26When the crop came up and bore grain, the weeds appeared, too.

27“The owner’s servants came and asked him, ‘Master, you sowed good seed in your field, didn’t you? Then where did these weeds come from?’

28“He told them, ‘An enemy did this!’

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them out?’

29“He said, ‘No! If you pull out the weeds, you might pull out the wheat with them. 30Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles for burning, but bring the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Parables about a Mustard Seed and Yeast

(Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-21)

31He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom fromk heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field. 32Although it is the smallest ofl all seeds, when it is fully grown it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, and the birds in the sky come and nest in its branches.”

33He told them another parable: “The kingdom fromm heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed withn three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.”

Why Jesus Used Parables

(Mark 4:33-34)

34Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables. He did not tell them anything without usingo a parable. 35This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophetp when he said,

“I will open my mouth to speakq in parables.

I will declare what has been hidden

since the creation of the world.”r

Jesus Explains the Parable about the Weeds

36Then Jesuss left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to him and asked, “Explain to us the parable about the weeds in the field.”

37He answered, “The person who sowed good seed is the Son of Man, 38while the field is the world. The good seed are those who belong tot the kingdom, while the weeds are those who belong tou the evil one. 39The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. 40Just as weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at end of thev age. 41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes others to sin and those who practice lawlessness 42and they will throw them into a blazing furnace. In that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.w 43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Let the person who has earsx listen!”

The Parable about a Hidden Treasure

44“The kingdom fromy heaven is like treasure hidden in a field that a man found and hid. In his excitement he went and sold everything he had and bought that field.”

The Parable about a Valuable Pearl

45“Again, the kingdom fromz heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46When he found a very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.”

The Parable about a Net

47“Again, the kingdom fromaa heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea that gathered all kinds of fish. 48When it was full, the fishermenbb hauled it ashore. Then they sat down, sorted the good fish into containers, and threw the bad ones away. 49That is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, cull out the evil people from among the righteous ones, 50and will throw them into a blazing furnace. In that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”cc

New and Old Treasures

51“Do you understand all these things?”

They told him, “Yes.”

52Then he told them, “That is why every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom fromdd heaven is like the master of a household who brings both new and old things out of his treasure chest.”

Jesus is Rejected at Nazareth

(Mark 6:1-6; Luke 4:16-30)

53When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place. 54He went to his hometown and began teaching the peopleee in their synagogue in such a way that they were amazed and asked, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miracles? 55This is the builder’sff son, isn’t it? His mother is named Mary, isn’t she? His brothers are James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, aren’t they? 56And his sisters are all with us, aren’t they? So where did this man get all these things?” 57And they were offended by him.

But Jesus told them, “A prophet is without honor only in his hometown and in his own home.” 58He did not perform many miracles there because of their unbelief.