Mark 4
1 And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.
From the ship, Christ had an amphitheater from nature.
2 And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,
Parables are a way of teaching throughout His Word. It gives us principles in ways we sometimes don't understand. They're analogy's to make what's being said simple for us to grasp. So many tell me they don't understand The King James Bible so they go to the watered down books that loose the whole meaning of what's being said. If they would relax the mind from the world, they would better grasp what's said. His Word is written in such a way a child can get it, but as adults, we have corrupted our way of thinking in such a way, the simplicity of His Word is lost. Empty the mind of the world and His Word will flow.
3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
Here we start with a gardening analogy. When you sow a seed, you cast the seed into the soil.
4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
It didn't go to waste. Understand the seed is The Word in this analogy.
5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
It's roots spread across the rocks quickly, but because of no ground, it can't take hold and won't last long enough without nourishment to grow correctly.
6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
If it's not something someone wants to hear, what you say won't go anywhere.
8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
When The Word is received by those who are wise enough to listen, it will flourish.
9 And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
For those that don't seek The Truth, the mystery will always be just that. A mystery!
12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
Once you TRULY open your heart and ask Christ in, you will be given sight, understanding and wisdom ONLY He can give. You must do the work to seek it out though. 2 Tim. 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Matthew 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: Mark 4:13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? If you can't grasp that parable we just went over how will you understand the others to come.
14 The sower soweth the word.
A reminder, the seed is the Word of God.
15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
It's our choice to accept it and allow our Father to give us more understanding when we seek Him in His Word, or let satan fool us into his traps of doubt.
16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
These people that are like the "stony ground" will never accept His Word for it to take hold. It can't germinate without good soil = open mind to The Truth. They won't take the power that has been given to them that can overcome tribulations in life.
17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
When life gets tough, they become poor me babes, instead of holding to their faith. God will give us power to move mountains, but we must be willing to pick up the shovel.
18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
A new type.
19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
The things of the world will push out the things of God if YOU let it. I've seen many do this all the while still calling themselves a Christian. We can easily fall back. It's a matter of faith and focus. Give your worries and tribulations over to God and study EVERYDAY. Staying in His Word EVERYDAY will keep your eyes on Him.
20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
Refusing The Truth will only bring you to the things of the world. One is life and the other is death. One is strength, the other weakness. The Truth will multiply the wise. Is your ground able to receive? It depends on your ability to let go of the world.
21 And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
Christians are that candle. You light up the darkness of this world when planting The Word, His light and it can be seen even at a distance.
22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.
We are not responsible for how someone reacts to The Seed we plant. Speak The Truth in love and let them be held accountable for their selves. Don't ever feel any guilt when showing them God Word or guilt when they refuse it. Continue to have The Light shine in your life.
23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
If = condition, you hear whats being said, open His Word, study it, spread it throughout and live it to the best of your ability.
24 And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.
We ALL answer for what we ignore of The Truth. Don't waste Gods Word!
25 For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.
The Holy Spirit will give you as much knowledge as you can handle when you do the work in studying His Word, but for those that had some of it, without continuing in it will lose what they had. There are even many "churches" that have left The Truth of God's Word for another so called bible and have went the way of traditions of humans. These are worse than those that have never started. Revelation 3:15-16 15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. 16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
We plant the seed and then pray. God will do the rest if = condition, they want it watered in their mind. The Holy Spirit will then help it grow.
28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
As The Word grows that soul that absorbs it will produce.
29 But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
What can we compare the kingdom of God to?
31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
This is the smallest seed that is planted by humans.
32 But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
A mustard plant can get over 15 feet tall, becoming the largest of all the herb plants, yet comes from the smallest seed. Just one Word of God can become the biggest thing in someones life, because it brings life.
33 And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.
34 But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.
Christ taught in parables, but with His disciples, He explained the meanings. If we study, The Holy Spirit explains those parables to us.
35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.
36 And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
Christ and His disciples enter a ship set forth to the other side and others board boats to follow them.
37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
Water is pouring in.
38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
They forgot what Christ said because of their fear. He said, "Let us pass over unto the other side." Ref. verse 35
39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
Matthew 14:30
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he
cried, saying, Lord, save me.
That flesh got in his mind and he took his eyes
off The Lord. When we do that, we sink right back into our old ways and darkness will overtake you. Matthew 14:31 And immediately Jesus stretched forth
his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore
didst thou doubt? When we are ready to look back towards Him, He will
be there.
40 And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?
If you know Christ, you should also know your purpose and your future. With faith, you shouldn't be in fear of anything.
41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?
How anyone could ask such a question after seeing Christ healing people is, I assume, doubtful of what their eyes see at that moment in time.