1 And hee began againe to teache by the sea side, and there gathered vnto him a great multitude, so that hee entred into a shippe, and sate in the sea, and all the people was by the sea side on the land. 2 And he taught them many things in parables, and said vnto them in his doctrine, 3 Hearken: Beholde, there went out a sower to sowe. 4 And it came to passe as he sowed, that some fell by the way side, and the foules of the heauen came, and deuoured it vp. 5 And some fell on stonie grounde, where it had not much earth, and by and by sprang vp, because it had not depth of earth. 6 But assoone as ye Sunne was vp, it was burnt vp, and because it had not roote, it withered away. 7 And some fell among the thornes, and the thornes grewe vp, and choked it, so that it gaue no fruite. 8 Some againe fell in good grounde, and did yeelde fruite that sprong vp, and grewe, and it brought foorth, some thirtie folde, some sixtie folde, and some an hundreth folde. 9 Then he said vnto them, He that hath eares to heare, let him heare. 10 And whe he was alone, they that were about him with the twelue, asked him of ye parable. 11 And he saide vnto them, To you it is giuen to knowe the mysterie of the kingdome of God: but vnto them that are without, all thinges bee done in parables, 12 That they seeing, may see, and not discerne: and they hearing, may heare, and not vnderstand, least at any time they should turne, and their sinnes should be forgiuen them. 13 Againe he said vnto them, Perceiue ye not this parable? howe then should ye vnderstand all other parables? 14 The sower soweth the worde. 15 And these are they that receiue the seede by the wayes side, in whome the worde is sowen: but when they haue heard it, Satan commeth immediatly, and taketh away the worde that was sowen in their heartes. 16 And likewise they that receiue the seede in stony ground, are they, which whe they haue heard the word, straightwayes receiue it with gladnesse. 17 Yet haue they no roote in themselues, and endure but a time: for when trouble and persecution ariseth for the worde, immediatly they be offended. 18 Also they that receiue the seede among the thornes, are such as heare the word: 19 But the cares of this world, and the deceitfulnes of riches, and the lustes of other things enter in, and choke the word, and it is vnfruitfull. 20 But they that haue receiued seede in good ground, are they that heare the worde, and receiue it, and bring foorth fruite: one corne thirtie, another sixtie, and some an hundreth. 21 Also he saide vnto them, Commeth the candle in, to be put vnder a bushell, or vnder the bed, and not to be put on a candlesticke? 22 For there is nothing hid, that shall not be opened: neither is there a secret, but that it shall come to light. 23 If any man haue eares to heare, let him heare. 24 And he said vnto them, Take heede what ye heare. With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured vnto you: and vnto you that heare, shall more be giuen. 25 For vnto him that hath, shall it be giuen, and from him that hath not, shall be taken away, euen that he hath. 26 Also he said, So is the kingdome of God, as if a man should cast seede in the ground, 27 And shoulde sleepe, and rise vp night and day, and the seede should spring and growe vp, he not knowing howe. 28 For the earth bringeth foorth fruite of it selfe, first the blade, then the eares, after that full corne in the eares. 29 And assoone as the fruite sheweth it selfe, anon hee putteth in the sickle, because the haruest is come. 30 He saide moreouer, Whereunto shall wee liken the kingdome of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? 31 It is like a graine of mustarde seede, which when it is sowen in the earth, is the least of all seedes that be in the earth: 32 But after that it is sowen, it groweth vp, and is greatest of all herbes, and beareth great branches, so that the foules of heauen may builde vnder the shadow of it. 33 And with many such parables he preached the word vnto them, as they were able to heare it. 34 And without parables spake hee nothing vnto them: but he expounded all thinges to his disciples apart. 35 Nowe the same day when euen was come, he saide vnto them, Let vs passe ouer vnto the other side. 36 And they left the multitude, and tooke him as he was in the shippe, and there were also with him other little shippes. 37 And there arose a great storme of winde, and the waues dashed into the shippe, so that it was now full. 38 And he was in the sterne asleepe on a pillow: and they awoke him, and saide to him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? 39 And hee rose vp, and rebuked the winde, and saide vnto the sea, Peace, and be still. So the winde ceased, and it was a great calme. 40 Then he saide vnto them, Why are ye so fearefull? how is it that ye haue no faith? 41 And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, Who is this, that both the winde and sea obey him?
The Parable of the Sower
(Matthew 13.1-9Luke 8.4-8)1 Again Jesus began to teach beside Lake Galilee. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was out in the water, and the crowd stood on the shore at the water's edge. 2 He used parables to teach them many things, saying to them:
3 “Listen! Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. 4 As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. 6 Then, when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. 7 Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants, and they didn't bear grain. 8 But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants sprouted, grew, and bore grain: some had thirty grains, others sixty, and others one hundred.”
9 And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”
The Purpose of the Parables
(Matthew 13.10-17Luke 8.9Luke 10)10 When Jesus was alone, some of those who had heard him came to him with the twelve disciples and asked him to explain the parables. 11 “You have been given the secret of the Kingdom of God,” Jesus answered. “But the others, who are on the outside, hear all things by means of parables, 12 so that,
‘They may look and look,
yet not see;
they may listen and listen,
yet not understand.
For if they did, they would turn to God,
and he would forgive them.’”
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower
(Matthew 13.18-23Luke 8.11-15)13 Then Jesus asked them, “Don't you understand this parable? How, then, will you ever understand any parable? 14 The sower sows God's message. 15 Some people are like the seeds that fall along the path; as soon as they hear the message, Satan comes and takes it away. 16 Other people are like the seeds that fall on rocky ground. As soon as they hear the message, they receive it gladly. 17 But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once. 18 Other people are like the seeds sown among the thorn bushes. These are the ones who hear the message, 19 but the worries about this life, the love for riches, and all other kinds of desires crowd in and choke the message, and they don't bear fruit. 20 But other people are like seeds sown in good soil. They hear the message, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirty, some sixty, and some one hundred.”
A Lamp under a Bowl
(Luke 8.16-18)21 Jesus continued, “Does anyone ever bring in a lamp and put it under a bowl or under the bed? Isn't it put on the lampstand? 22 Whatever is hidden away will be brought out into the open, and whatever is covered up will be uncovered. 23 Listen, then, if you have ears!”
24 He also said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear! The same rules you use to judge others will be used by God to judge you—but with even greater severity. 25 Those who have something will be given more, and those who have nothing will have taken away from them even the little they have.”
The Parable of the Growing Seed
26 Jesus went on to say, “The Kingdom of God is like this. A man scatters seed in his field. 27 He sleeps at night, is up and about during the day, and all the while the seeds are sprouting and growing. Yet he does not know how it happens. 28 The soil itself makes the plants grow and bear fruit; first the tender stalk appears, then the head, and finally the head full of grain. 29 When the grain is ripe, the man starts cutting it with his sickle, because harvest time has come.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
(Matthew 13.31Matthew 32Matthew 34Luke 13.18Luke 19)30 “What shall we say the Kingdom of God is like?” asked Jesus. “What parable shall we use to explain it? 31 It is like this. A man takes a mustard seed, the smallest seed in the world, and plants it in the ground. 32 After a while it grows up and becomes the biggest of all plants. It puts out such large branches that the birds come and make their nests in its shade.”
33 Jesus preached his message to the people, using many other parables like these; he told them as much as they could understand. 34 He would not speak to them without using parables, but when he was alone with his disciples, he would explain everything to them.
Jesus Calms a Storm
(Matthew 8.23-27Luke 8.22-25)35 On the evening of that same day Jesus said to his disciples, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” 36 So they left the crowd; the disciples got into the boat in which Jesus was already sitting, and they took him with them. Other boats were there too. 37 Suddenly a strong wind blew up, and the waves began to spill over into the boat, so that it was about to fill with water. 38 Jesus was in the back of the boat, sleeping with his head on a pillow. The disciples woke him up and said, “Teacher, don't you care that we are about to die?”
39 Jesus stood up and commanded the wind, “Be quiet!” and he said to the waves, “Be still!” The wind died down, and there was a great calm. 40 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Why are you frightened? Do you still have no faith?”
41 But they were terribly afraid and began to say to one another, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”