Commentary
Old Testament : Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Joshua
Judges
Ruth
1 Samuel
2 Samuel
1 Kings
2 Kings
1 Chronicles
2 Chronicles
Ezra
Nehemiah
Esther
Job
Psalms
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
The Song of Songs
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Lamentations
Ezekiel
Daniel
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
![](images/minus.gif)
Text -- Mark 4:1-24 (NET)
![](images/arrow_open.gif)
Strongs On/Off
Context
The Parable of the Sower
4:1 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 .
4:2 He taught them many things in parables , and in his teaching said to them :
4:3 “Listen ! A sower went out to sow .
4:4 And as he sowed , some seed fell along the path , and the birds came and devoured it .
4:5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where it did not have much soil . It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep .
4:6 When the sun came up it was scorched , and because it did not have sufficient root , it withered .
4:7 Other seed fell among the thorns , and they grew up and choked it , and it did not produce grain .
4:8 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 .”
4:9 And he said , “Whoever has ears to hear had better listen !”
The Purpose of Parables
4:10 When he was alone , those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables .
4:11 He said to them , “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you . But to those outside , everything is in parables ,
4:12 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 .”
4:13 He said to them , “Don’t you understand this parable ? Then how will you understand any parable ?
4:14 The sower sows the word .
4:15 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 .
4:16 These are the ones sown on rocky ground : As soon as they hear the word , they receive it with joy .
4:17 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 .
4:18 Others are the ones sown among thorns : They are those who hear the word ,
4:19 but worldly cares , the seductiveness of wealth , and the desire for other things come in and choke the word , and it produces nothing .
4:20 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 .”
The Parable of the Lamp
4:21 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 ?
4:22 For nothing is hidden except to be revealed , and nothing concealed except to be brought to light .
4:23 If anyone has ears to hear , he had better listen !”
4:24 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 .
![](images/advanced.gif)
![](images/advanced.gif)
![](images/advanced.gif)
Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics
![](images/arrow_open.gif)
Names, People and Places:
Dictionary Themes and Topics:
Jesus, The Christ |
JESUS CHRIST, 4C1 |
Sermon |
MARK, THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO, 1 |
Minister |
Word of God |
Sower |
Apostasy |
Instability |
Backsliders |
Perseverance |
Character |
PARABLE |
Blindness |
Lust |
Measure |
Influence |
Temptation |
Zeal |
Wicked |
more
![](images/cmt_minus_head.gif)
expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes: Mar 4:1 Grk “and all the crowd.” The clause in this phrase, although coordinate in terms of grammar, is logically subordinate to the previous clau...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Mar 4:2 Though parables can contain a variety of figures of speech (cf. 2:19-22; 3:23-25; 4:3-9, 26-32; 7:15-17; 13:28), many times they are simply stories th...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Mar 4:3 A sower went out to sow. The background for this well-known parable, drawn from a typical scene in the Palestinian countryside, is a field through whi...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Mar 4:4 Mark’s version of the parable, like Luke’s (cf. Luke 8:4-8), uses the collective singular to refer to the seed throughout, so singular pro...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Mar 4:8 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in the final stage of the parable.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Mar 4:9 The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let hi...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Mar 4:11 This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Mar 4:12 A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Mar 4:13 Grk “And.” Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the n...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Mar 4:15 The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Mar 4:20 Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast present in this context.
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Mar 4:21 Or “a bowl”; this refers to any container for dry material of about eight liters (two gallons) capacity. It could be translated “bas...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)
NET Notes: Mar 4:23 The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let hi...
![](images/cmt_minus.gif)