Mark chapter 4

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MARK

Chapter 4

Who then is this

41 verses

Key verse — Mark 4:41

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

The sower

¹And again he began to teach beside the sea. And a great crowd was gathered to him, so that he got into the boat and sat in the sea, and all the crowd was toward the sea on the land.

²And he taught them many things in parables, and said to them in his teaching,

³“Hear. Look, the sower went out to sow.

⁴And it came to pass, as he sowed, that some fell beside the way, and the birds of heaven came and ate it up.

⁵And other fell on the rocky place, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth.

⁶And when the sun rose it was scorched, and because it had no root it dried up.

⁷And other fell into the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it gave no fruit.

⁸And other fell into the good earth and was giving fruit, coming up and increasing, and it bore thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.”

⁹And he said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The mystery of the kingdom

¹⁰And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parable.

¹¹And 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, all things come in parables,

¹²that seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.”

¹³And he says to them, “Do you not know this parable? And how will you know all the parables?

¹⁴The sower sows the word.

¹⁵And these are the ones beside the way, where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.

¹⁶And these in like manner are the ones sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy,

¹⁷and they have no root in themselves, but are temporary; then, when affliction or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they are caused to stumble.

¹⁸And these are the ones sown into the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word,

¹⁹and the cares of this age, and the deceit of riches, and the desires about the rest of things, entering in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²⁰And these are the ones sown on the good earth, who hear the word and receive it, and bear fruit, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.”

The lamp, the measure, the seed

²¹And he said to them, “Does the lamp come that it may be put under the basket or under the bed? Is it not that it may be set on the lampstand?

²²For there is nothing hidden that will not be made manifest, nor has anything become secret but that it should come into the open.

²³If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”

²⁴And he said to them, “Look at what you hear. With what measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and it will be added to you who hear.

²⁵For whoever has, to him it will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

²⁶And he said, “So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should throw the seed on the earth,

²⁷and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow long, how he himself does not know.

²⁸For the earth bears fruit of itself, first a blade, then a head, then full grain in the head.

²⁹But when the fruit yields itself, immediately he sends the sickle, because the harvest has stood ready.”

³⁰And he said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God, or in what parable shall we put it?

³¹It is like a grain of mustard, which, when it is sown on the earth, is smaller than all the seeds that are on the earth;

³²and when it is sown, it comes up and becomes greater than all the garden plants, and makes great branches, so that the birds of heaven are able to nest under its shadow.”

³³And with many such parables he was speaking the word to them, as they were able to hear.

³⁴But without a parable he did not speak to them; and privately, to his disciples, he was explaining all things.

The wind and the sea

³⁵And he says to them on that day, when evening had come, “Let us go across to the other side.”

³⁶And leaving the crowd, they take him along as he was in the boat. And other little boats were with him.

³⁷And there comes a great storm of wind, and the waves were beating into the boat, so that it was already filling.

³⁸And he himself was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. And they wake him fully and say to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?”

³⁹And being fully woken, he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Silence. Be muzzled.” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

⁴⁰And he said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it you do not have faith?”

⁴¹And they feared a great fear, and were saying to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

Notes

v. 12, their sins. The TR reads καὶ ἀφεθῇ αὐτοῖς τὰ ἁμαρτήματα, “and their sins be forgiven them.” The purpose clause is left hard: seeing, they may see and not perceive.

v. 24, to you who hear. καὶ προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν τοῖς ἀκούουσιν. The addition is named for those who hear. Critical texts often drop the last three words.

vv. 38–39, wake fully. διεγείρουσιν / διεγερθείς, from διεγείρω. Not the resurrection verb ἐγείρω. An intensified waking from ordinary sleep. Word study: διεγείρω and ἐγείρω.

v. 40. The TR reads, “Why are you so fearful? How is it you do not have faith?” Not the later smoothed “Have you still no faith?”

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