# Mark 04 đź“–: Parables and the Storm
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> [!info] Table of Contents
> [[#đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)]]
> [[#đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary]]
> [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]]
> [[#🧠Chapter Summary]]
> [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]]
> [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]]
> [[#đź’¬ Discussion Questions]]
> [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]]
> [[#đź”— Related Passages]]
> [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]]
> [[#đź“‚ Internal Notes]]
## đź“ś Scripture Text (NET)
(The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005)
#### The Parable of the Sower
[[Matthew 13|Matthew 13:1-9]] | [[Luke 08|Luke 8:5-8]]
**Principle**: The seed is always good.
**Principle**: We have to be careful how we receive the Word of God.
[[#Verse 01.]] Again he began to teach by the lake. Such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the lake and sat there while the whole crowd was on the shore by the lake.Â
[[#Verse 02.]] He taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching said to them:Â
[[#Verse 03.]] “Listen! A sower went out to sow.Â
[[#Verse 04.]] And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.Â
[[#Verse 05.]] Other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep.Â
[[#Verse 06.]] When the sun came up it was scorched, and because it did not have sufficient root, it withered.Â
[[#Verse 07.]] Other seed fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked it, and it did not produce grain.Â
[[#Verse 08.]] But other seed fell on good soil and produced grain, sprouting and growing; some yielded thirty times as much, some sixty, and some a hundred times.”Â
[[#Verse 09.]] And he said, “Whoever has ears to hear had better listen!”
#### The Purpose of Parables
**Principle**: Jesus reveals His will to those who really listen.
[[#Verse 10.]]Â When he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.Â
[[#Verse 11.]] He said to them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those outside, everything is in parables,
[[#Verse 12.]] so that **_although they look they may look but not see,_**
**_and although they hear they may hear but not understand,_**
**_so they may not repent and be forgiven_**.” [[Isaiah 60|Isaiah 60:9-10]]
[[#Verse 13.]] He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? Then how will you understand any parable?Â
[[#Verse 14.]]Â The sower sows the word.Â
[[#Verse 15.]] These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: Whenever they hear, immediately Satan comes and snatches the word that was sown in them.Â
[[#Verse 16.]]Â These are the ones sown on rocky ground: As soon as they hear the word, they receive it with joy.Â
[[#Verse 17.]] But they have no root in themselves and do not endure. Then, when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away.Â
[[#Verse 18.]]Â Others are the ones sown among thorns: They are those who hear the word,Â
[[#Verse 19.]] but worldly cares, the seductiveness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it produces nothing.
[[#Verse 20.]] But these are the ones sown on good soil: They hear the word and receive it and bear fruit, one thirty times as much, one sixty, and one a hundred.”
[[#Verse 21.]] He also said to them, “A lamp isn’t brought to be put under a basket or under a bed, is it? Isn’t it to be placed on a lampstand?
#### The Parable of the Lamp
[[Matthew 15]]
**Principle**: Live your relationship with God out loud.
[[#Verse 21]] He also said to them, “A lamp isn’t brought to be put under a basket or under a bed, is it? Isn’t it to be placed on a lampstand?Â
[[#Verse 22.]] For nothing is hidden except to be revealed, and nothing concealed except to be brought to light.Â
[[#Verse 23.]] If anyone has ears to hear, he had better listen!”Â
[[#Verse 24.]] And he said to them, “Take care about what you hear. The measure you use will be the measure you receive, and more will be added to you.Â
[[#Verse 25.]] For whoever has will be given more, but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”
#### The Parable of the Growing Seed
**Principle**: Your faith should grow.
[[#Verse 26.]] He also said, “The kingdom of God is like someone who spreads seed on the ground.Â
[[#Verse 27.]]Â He goes to sleep and gets up, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how.
[[#Verse 28.]] By itself the soil produces a crop, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head.Â
[[#Verse 29.]] And when the grain is ripe, he sends in the sickle because the harvest has come.”
#### The Parable of the Mustard Seed
[[Matthew 13|Matthew 13:31-32]]
[[Luke 13|Luke 13:18-19]]
**Principle**: Faith starts small and grows.
[[#Verse 30.]] He also asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to present it?Â
[[#Verse 31.]] It is like a mustard seed that when sown in the ground, even though it is the smallest of all the seeds in the ground—Â
[[#Verse 32.]] when it is sown, it grows up, becomes the greatest of all garden plants, and grows large branches so that the wild birds can nest in its shade.”
#### The Use of Parables
**Principle**: Jesus uses stories to connect with people and make the Word of God applicable.
[[#Verse 33.]] So with many parables like these, he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear.Â
[[#Verse 34.]]Â He did not speak to them without a parable. But privately he explained everything to his own disciples.
#### Stilling of a Storm
**Principle**: Jesus did not let outer storms affect inner calm.
Miracles at the Sea of Galilee
Jesus Calms the Storm- [[Matthew 08|Matthew 08:23-27]], [[Mark 04|Mark 04:35-41]], [[Luke 08|Luke 08:22-25]]
Jesus Walks on Water- [[Matthew 14|Matthew 14:22-33]], [[Mark 06|Mark 06:45-52]], [[John 06|John 06:16-21]]
The Miraculous Catch of Fish- [[Luke 05|Luke 05:4-11]]
A Second Miraculous Catch- [[John 21|John 21:1-14]]
[[#Verse 35.]] On that day, when evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s go across to the other side of the lake.”Â
[[#Verse 36.]] So after leaving the crowd, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat, and other boats were with him.Â
[[#Verse 37.]] Now a great windstorm developed and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was nearly swamped.Â
[[#Verse 38.]] But he was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. They woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are about to die?”Â
[[#Verse 39.]] So he got up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Be quiet! Calm down!” Then the wind stopped, and it was dead calm.Â
[[#Verse 40.]] And he said to them, “Why are you cowardly? Do you still not have faith?”Â
[[#Verse 41.]] They were overwhelmed by fear and said to one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and sea obey him!”
## đź“– Verse-by-Verse Commentary
###### Overall. Extra.
Miracles at the Sea of Galilee
Jesus Calms the Storm- [[Matthew 08|Matthew 08:23-27]], [[Mark 04|Mark 04:35-41]], [[Luke 08|Luke 08:22-25]]
Jesus Walks on Water- [[Matthew 14|Matthew 14:22-33]], [[Mark 14|Mark 14:45-52]], [[John 06|John 06:16-21]]
The Miraculous Catch of Fish- [[Luke 05|Luke 05:4-11]]
A Second Miraculous Catch- [[John 21|John 21:1-14]]
###### Verse 01.
###### Verse 02.
###### Verse 03.
###### Verse 04.
###### Verse 05.
- rocky ground - appears fertile but actually is shallow layer of topsoil over rocks.
###### Verse 06.
###### Verse 07.
###### Verse 08.
###### Verse 09.
- ears to hear - divides people into those who accept Jesus’ message and those who do not. Hearing to understand, not hearing to criticize.
###### Verse 10.
###### Verse 11.
###### Verse 12.
###### Verse 13.
###### Verse 14.
###### Verse 15.
###### Verse 16.
###### Verse 17.
###### Verse 18.
###### Verse 19.
###### Verse 20.
###### Verse 21.
###### Verse 22.
###### Verse 23.
###### Verse 24.
###### Verse 25.
###### Verse 26.
###### Verse 27.
###### Verse 28.
###### Verse 29.
###### Verse 30.
###### Verse 31.
###### Verse 32.
###### Verse 33.
###### Verse 34.
###### Verse 35.
###### Verse 36.
###### Verse 37.
###### Verse 38.
###### Verse 39.
###### Verse 40.
###### Verse 41.
## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights
1. Farmers in Galilee often scattered seed by hand, so some naturally fell on paths, rocky patches, and among thorns.
2. A yield of thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold (4:8) would have sounded remarkable, since ordinary harvests were much smaller.
3. The "rocky ground" pictures a thin layer of soil over limestone bedrock, common in Galilee.
4. Ancient lamps were small clay oil lamps. Putting one under a basket or a bed (4:21) would defeat its purpose.
5. The mustard seed (4:31) was proverbial among Jews for something very small, yet the plant can grow taller than a person.
6. The parable of the seed growing by itself (4:26-29) is found only in Mark.
7. The Sea of Galilee lies about 700 feet below sea level and is ringed by hills. Cool air rushing down the slopes can stir up sudden, violent storms.
8. In 1986 a first-century fishing boat was found in the mud of the Sea of Galilee. It is about 27 feet long and could have carried around fifteen people.
9. Only Mark mentions that Jesus was asleep on a cushion in the stern (4:38), the kind of detail an eyewitness like Peter would remember.
10. Jesus silenced the sea with the same verb He used to silence a demon, "Be quiet!" (4:39; 1:25).
## 🧠Chapter Summary
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter
Christ is the Lord over wind and sea. The disciples asked, "Who is this?" (4:41), and the answer is the God who stills the storm (Psalm 107:29). He is also the sower whose word bears fruit in good hearts (Matthew 13:37).
## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application
> [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way.
## đź’¬ Discussion Questions
1. Which of the four soils best describes your heart right now (4:14-20)? What helps God's word take deep root in you?
2. The seed grows while the farmer sleeps, and he does not know how (4:26-29). How does that encourage you as you share your faith?
3. Jesus asked His disciples why they were afraid and whether they still had no faith (4:40). What storm are you facing where you need to trust that Jesus is in the boat?
## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember
- đź“– verse 20: The seed on good soil hears the word, accepts it, and produces a great harvest.
- đź“– verse 39: Jesus rebukes the wind and commands the sea to be still, and there is a great calm.
- đź“– verse 41: The terrified disciples ask who this is that even the wind and sea obey Him.
## đź”— Related Passages
- đź”— [[Isaiah 06#Verse 09.|Isaiah 6:9-10]] - Seeing but not perceiving.
- đź”— [[1 Timothy 06#Verse 09.|1 Timothy 6:9-10]] - The snare of desiring riches.
- đź”— [[Matthew 05#Verse 14.|Matthew 5:14-16]] - A lamp on a stand.
- đź”— [[1 Corinthians 03#Verse 06.|1 Corinthians 3:6-7]] - God gives the growth.
- đź”— [[Daniel 04#Verse 12.|Daniel 4:12]] - Birds nesting in a great tree.
- đź”— [[Psalm 107#Verse 28.|Psalm 107:28-29]] - God stills the storm.
- đź”— [[Job 38#Verse 08.|Job 38:8-11]] - God sets the limits of the sea.
## 🙏 Devotional Reflection
đź“ť SOAP: [[Mark 04- SOAP|Peace In Storms]]
## đź“‚ Internal Notes