1 And aagain He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat init on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.
2 Then He taught them many things by parables, aand said to them in His teaching:
4And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds1of the air came and devoured it.
5Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.
6But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.
7And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no1crop.
8But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
9 And He said1 to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Purpose of Parables
10aBut when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable.
11 And He said to them, “To you it has been given to aknow the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to bthose who are outside, all things come in parables,
12so that a‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, And hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, Andtheirsins be forgiven them.’ ”
The Parable of the Sower Explained
13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?
15And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.
16These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
17and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble.
18Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word,
19and the acares of this world, bthe deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
20But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word,1accept it, and bear afruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
Light Under a Basket
21aAlso He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand?
22aFor there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.
Sat in the sea (kaqhsqai en th qalassh). In the boat, of course, which was in the sea. He first sat by the beach (Matthew 13:1) and then a very great multitude (oxlov pleistov) made him enter a boat in which he sat and taught. It was a common experience now to teach the crowds on the beach (Mark 2:1, Mark 2:13; Mark 3:7-9).
There is gathered (sunagetai). Graphic pictorial present again. See the crowds pressing Jesus into the sea.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing Mark 4:1:
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