Again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very large crowd
gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the
sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. And he was
teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said
to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed,
some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil,
and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And
when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it
withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up
and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into
good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and
yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said,
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him
about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the
secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is
in parables, so that
“‘they may indeed see but not perceive,
and may indeed hear but not understand,
lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How
then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word.
And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when
they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is
sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones
who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And
they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when
tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word,
immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among
thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the
world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other
things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But
those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the
word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a
hundredfold.”
And he said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a
basket, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For nothing is hidden
except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come
to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” And he said to
them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it
will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. For
to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has
not, even what he has will be taken away.”
And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter
seed on the ground. He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed
sprouts and grows; he knows not how. The earth produces by itself,
first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But
when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the
harvest has come.”
And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or
what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard
seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the
seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger
than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the
birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”
With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were
able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but
privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go
across to the other side.” And leaving the crowd, they took him
with them in the boat, just as he was. And other boats were with
him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into
the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the
stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him,
“Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” And he awoke and
rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the
wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, “Why are
you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with
great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even
the wind and the sea obey him?”
