Markos 4

1 And again Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach began to say shiurim (Torah talks) beside the lake. And a huge multitude gathered together to him so that he got into a sirah (boat) on the lake and sat down. The whole multitude was by the lake on the shore.2 And Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach was giving them torah with many meshalim (parables) and in the shiurim he said, he was saying to them:3 Listen. Hinei! The Sower went out to sow (seeds).4 And it came about that when he went to sow, that some [seeds] fell beside the road. And the birds came and devoured it.5 And other [seeds] fell upon the rocky places where it did not have much soil, and ofen ort (immediately) it sprang up because it did not have depth of soil.6 And when the shemesh rose, it was scorched and, because it did not have a shoresh (root), it withered.7 And other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them, and it did not yield pri.8 And other seed fell into the adamah tovah (good ground) and it was giving pri (fruit), rising up and growing, thirty, sixty, and one hundredfold.9 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was saying, He who has ears to hear, let him hear.10 And when he was alone, the Shneym Asar were asking him for a hezber (explanation) of the meshalim (parables).11 And he was saying to them, To you the raz (secret) of the Malchut Hashem has been given. But to the outsiders, everything remains in meshalim,12 In order that YIRU they may see and not have daas VSHIMU they may hear and not have binah, lest they should turn and they should receive refuah and selicha. (YESHAYAH 6:9-10, TARGUM HASHIVIM)13 And Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach says to them, Do you not have daas of the meaning of this mashal? Then how will you have binah of all the meshalim?14 The one sowing sows the dvar Hashem.15 And these are the ones beside the road where the dvar Hashem is sown. And when they hear it, ofen ort Hasatan comes and takes the dvar that has been sown in them.16 And these are the ones sown upon the rocky places: when they hear the dvar, ofen ort with simcha they receive it.17 Yet they do not have a shoresh (root) in themselves but are transitory; then when ES TZARAH comes or redifah (persecution) on account of the dvar, ofen ort they fall away, they become shmad. [YIRMEYAH 30:7; Mattityahu 24:21-22]18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. These are the ones having heard the dvar,19 and the worries of the Olam Hazeh and the seduction of ashires (riches) and the desires for other things come in and choke the dvar Hashem and it does not bear pri.20 And these are the ones sown upon adamah tovah: they hear the dvar Hashem and are mekabel (receive) the dvar Hashem and bear pri, thirty, sixty and one hundredfold.21 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was saying to them, Surely a menorah is not brought out in order that it may be put under a measuring bucket or under the couch? Rather, is it not brought out that it may be placed on the shulchan?22 For there is not [anything] nistar except that it may be made nikar nor has it become concealed but that it may come into [the] open. [YIRMEYAH 16:17]23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.24 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was saying to them, Pay attention! By what measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.25 For whoever has, it will be given to him, and whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.26 And he was saying, Thus is the Malchut Hashem: like a man who casts seed upon the soil,27 And goes to sleep blailah (at night) and arises byom (at day), and the seed sprouts up and grows in such a way that he does not have daas of how it does so.28 On its own, the soil bears pri: first the blade, then a head of grain, then full wheat in the head.29 But when the crop is ripe, ofen ort (immediately) he puts forth the MAGGAL, KI VASHAL KATZIR (sickle, for the harvest is ripe. [YOEL 3:13]30 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was saying, To what should we compare the Malchut Hashem or by what mashal (parable) may we present it?31 The Malchut Hashem is like a mustard seed, which, when it is sown on the soil, is smaller [than] all the seeds on the earth:32 But when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater [than] all the plants of the garden and puts forth large branches, so that the OPH HASHOMAYIM can nest under its shade.33 And with many such meshalim, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshich was speaking to them the dvar Hashem as they were able to hear.34 But apart from meshalim, Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was not speaking to them. Only privately, in a yechidus, was Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach explaining everything to his own talmidim.35 And on that day, when erev had come, Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach says to them, Let us go over to the other side of the lake.36 And leaving the multitude, they took Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach, just as he was, in the sirah (boat), and other sirot (boats) were with him.37 And there arose a fierce gale of wind and the waves were beating against the sirah (boat), so that it was already filling up.38 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach was in the stern on the cushion sleeping, and they woke him up, and they say to him, Rebbe, does it not matter to you that we are perishing?39 And having been awakened, Rebbe Melech HaMoshiach rebuked the wind, and he spoke to the lake, Sha! Be still! And there was a great calm.40 And Rebbe, Melech HaMoshiach said to them, Why do you have morech lev (cowardliness)? Do you still not have emunah?41 And they were afraid with a terrible pachad (terror), and they were saying to one another, Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him?

MARK 4

A Story about a Farmer

(Matthew 13.1-9; Luke 8.4-8)

1  t The next time Jesus taught beside Lake Galilee, a big crowd gathered. It was so large that he had to sit in a boat out on the lake, while the people stood on the shore.

2 He used stories to teach them many things, and this is part of what he taught:
3 Now listen! A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. 4 While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds. 5 Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn't very deep. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have deep roots. 7 Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked out the plants. So they did not produce any grain.

8 But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants grew and produced 30 or 60 or even 100 times as much as was scattered.

9 Then Jesus said, “If you have ears, pay attention.”

Why Jesus Used Stories

(Matthew 13.10-17; Luke 8.9,10)

11 He answered:
I have explained the secret about God's kingdom to you, but for others I can use only stories.

12 t The reason is,
“These people will look
and look, but never see.
They will listen and listen,
but never understand.
If they did,
they would turn to God
and be forgiven.”

Jesus Explains the Story //about the Farmer

(Matthew 13.18-23; Luke 8.11-15)

13 Jesus then told them:
If you don't understand this story, you won't understand any others. 14 What the farmer is spreading is really the message about the kingdom. 15 The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message. But Satan soon comes and snatches it away from them. 16 The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it at once.

17 But they don't have roots, and they don't last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.
18 The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. 19 But they start worrying about the needs of this life. They are fooled by the desire to get rich and to have all kinds of other things. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything.

20 The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and welcome the message. They produce 30 or 60 or even 100 times as much as was planted.

Light

(Luke 8.16-18)

21  t Jesus also said:
You don't light a lamp and put it under a clay pot or under a bed. Don't you put a lamp on a lampstand? 22 t There is nothing hidden that will not be made public. There is no secret that will not be well known.

23 If you have ears, pay attention!
24  t Listen carefully to what you hear! The way you treat others will be the way you will be treated—and even worse.

25 t Everyone who has something will be given more. But people who don't have anything will lose what little they have.

Another Story about Seeds

26 Again Jesus said:
God's kingdom is like what happens when a farmer scatters seed in a field. 27 The farmer sleeps at night and is up and around during the day. Yet the seeds keep sprouting and growing, and he doesn't understand how. 28 It is the ground that makes the seeds sprout and grow into plants that produce grain.

29 t Then when harvest season comes and the grain is ripe, the farmer cuts it with a sickle.t

A Mustard Seed

(Matthew 13.31,32; Luke 13.18,19)

30 Finally, Jesus said:
What is God's kingdom like? What story can I use to explain it? 31 It is like what happens when a mustard seed is planted in the ground. It is the smallest seed in all the world.

32 But once it is planted, it grows larger than any garden plant. It even puts out branches that are big enough for birds to nest in its shade.

The Reason for Teaching //with Stories

(Matthew 13.34,35)

34 He did not tell them anything without using stories. But when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.

A Storm

(Matthew 8.23-27; Luke 8.22-25)

37 Suddenly a storm struck the lake. Waves started splashing into the boat, and it was about to sink.

38 Jesus was in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow, and he was asleep. His disciples woke him and said, “Teacher, don't you care that we're about to drown?”

39 Jesus got up and ordered the wind and the waves to be quiet. The wind stopped, and everything was calm.

40 Jesus asked his disciples, “Why were you afraid? Don't you have any faith?”
41 Now they were more afraid than ever and said to each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”