Mark 4
1 Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea, and sat down. All the multitude were on the land by the sea.
2 He taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching,
3 “Listen! Behold, the farmer went out to sow.
4 As he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and devoured it.
5 Others fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil.
6 When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
8 Others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing; and brought forth thirty times, and sixty times, and one hundred times.”
9 He said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.
11 He said to them, “To you is given the mystery of God’s Kingdom, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables,
12 that ‘seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest perhaps they should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them.’”
13 He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables?
14 The farmer sows the word.
15 These are the ones by the road where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes, and takes away the word which has been sown in them.
16 These in the same way are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy.
17 They have no root in themselves, but endure for a while. Then, when oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they stumble.
18 Others are those who are sown among the thorns. These are those who have heard the word,
19 and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
20 Those which were sown on the good ground are those who hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, thirty times, sixty times, and one hundred times.”
21 He said to them, “Is the lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a stand?
22 For there is nothing hidden, except that it should be revealed; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light.
23 If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.”
24 He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With whatever measure you measure, it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you who hear.
25 For whoever has, to him will more be given, and whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has.”
26 He said, “God’s Kingdom is as if a man should cast seed on the earth,
27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he doesn’t know how.
28 For the earth bears fruit by itself: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.
29 But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
30 He said, “How will we liken God’s Kingdom? Or with what parable will we illustrate it?
31 It’s like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown on the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are on the earth,
32 yet when it is sown, grows up, and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the sky can lodge under its shadow.”
33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.
34 Without a parable he didn’t speak to them; but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.
35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let’s go over to the other side.”
36 Leaving the multitude, they took him with them, even as he was, in the boat. Other boats were also with him.
37 A big wind storm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so much that the boat was already filled.
38 He himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him up, and told him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are dying?”
39 He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”
41 They were greatly afraid, and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”
Mark 4 Commentary
Chapter Overview
Mark 4 gathers several teachings about God’s kingdom and ends with a dramatic sign of Jesus’ authority over creation. Jesus speaks from a boat to a crowd on shore, explains the parable of the farmer and four soils, describes a lamp meant to be seen, and compares the kingdom to growing seed and a mustard seed.
The repeated command is to hear. The same word is sown widely, yet it produces different results according to the condition of the hearer. Some reject it immediately, some respond quickly but lack endurance, some allow competing desires to choke it, and some receive it deeply enough to bear abundant fruit.
These parables explain why reactions to Jesus differ so sharply in Mark 3. The kingdom is truly present in His ministry, but it does not arrive through spectacle or coercion. It works through the proclaimed word, grows in ways people cannot fully observe, and begins with an appearance of smallness before displaying surprising reach.
The storm scene turns teaching into a test. The disciples have heard Jesus describe the power of God’s kingdom, but fear overwhelms them when the boat begins filling with water. By calming the sea with a command, Jesus shows that the One who teaches about the kingdom also possesses the divine authority that guarantees its final victory.
Key Themes
Jesus begins the parable with “Listen!” and closes it with “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.” Hearing in Scripture is more than receiving sound. It includes attention, understanding, trust, and obedience. The central issue is not whether the seed is powerful but whether the heart welcomes and retains the word.
The farmer scatters seed generously across every kind of ground. The picture reflects the broad announcement of the gospel. Jesus does not restrict the message to people who already appear promising. The word is offered openly, while the parable honestly acknowledges that its reception will not be uniform.
The roadside soil represents a hardened response. The seed never penetrates, and Satan immediately takes away the word. Persistent resistance can make truth seem increasingly remote. This warning calls hearers to respond while the word is before them rather than assuming that another opportunity will always produce a softer heart.
The rocky soil receives the word with joy but has no root. The response is real enough to be visible, yet it is governed by immediacy rather than depth. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, enthusiasm collapses. Jesus therefore distinguishes an emotional beginning from persevering discipleship.
The thorny soil describes a divided life. The cares of this age, the deceitfulness of riches, and desires for other things enter and choke the word. None of these pressures must openly deny Christ to become spiritually destructive. They simply crowd the heart until God’s word no longer shapes priorities or produces fruit.
The good soil hears, accepts, and bears fruit. Fruit is the visible outcome of a received word: changed character, faithful obedience, endurance, love, witness, and service. The varied yields—thirty, sixty, and one hundredfold—show that faithful lives will not look identical, yet every healthy reception of the word becomes productive.
Jesus’ quotation from Isaiah 6 can sound as though parables are designed only to prevent understanding. In context, however, the parables both reveal and expose. Those who draw near to Jesus and ask receive explanation; those committed to resistance hear judgment in the very truth they refuse to receive.
The “mystery” of God’s kingdom is not a puzzle solved by intelligence alone. It is a truth God makes known through Jesus: the kingdom has arrived, but its present form is quieter and more hidden than many expected. The King sows His word before the final harvest, allowing genuine hearing and unbelief to develop side by side.
The lamp saying shows that present hiddenness is temporary. Jesus’ identity and the nature of His kingdom will not remain concealed. A lamp is meant for a stand, and what is secret will come to light. The private explanations given to disciples prepare them to proclaim publicly what they have received.
“Take heed what you hear” makes listening a moral responsibility. The measure a person brings to Jesus’ teaching affects what follows. Receptive attention leads to further understanding, while careless dismissal results in loss. Spiritual insight is not merely stored information; it grows through faithful use and obedient response.
The parable of the growing seed emphasizes God’s hidden activity. The farmer sows and then follows the ordinary rhythm of sleeping and rising. The seed develops through stages he cannot control or fully explain. Christian ministry depends on diligent sowing, but the life and increase belong to God, as 1 Corinthians 3 also teaches.
The sequence—blade, ear, and full grain—encourages patience with gradual growth. God often works through processes rather than instant maturity. Believers should not despise early signs of grace or demand ripe fruit before its season. At the same time, growth moves toward harvest, so hidden development is purposeful rather than endless.
The mustard seed illustrates disproportion between beginning and outcome. Jesus’ movement appears small beside imperial power and established religious institutions, yet the kingdom will extend far beyond its modest beginning. The large branches and sheltering birds communicate expansive reach and blessing, not the triumph of human ambition.
Mark notes that Jesus spoke as people were able to hear, while explaining everything privately to His disciples. The distinction does not flatter the disciples, who repeatedly struggle to understand. Their privilege creates responsibility: revelation is given so that they may learn, remain with Jesus, and eventually carry His message to others.
When Jesus says, “Let’s go over to the other side,” the disciples enter the storm in obedience, not rebellion. Following Christ does not guarantee a life without danger. The crossing also moves toward the Gentile region encountered in Mark 5, showing that the mission advances through threatening circumstances rather than around them.
Jesus sleeps in the stern while experienced fishermen fear death. His sleep reveals genuine human weariness after teaching, but it also displays calm confidence. The disciples interpret His silence as indifference—“Don’t you care?”—a common conclusion when God’s presence does not immediately remove distress.
Jesus rebukes the wind and commands the sea, “Peace! Be still!” The sudden great calm answers the great storm. In the Old Testament, rule over the raging sea belongs to God, as celebrated in Psalm 107. Mark therefore presents more than a miracle of rescue; he reveals Jesus’ divine authority over creation.
After calming the storm, Jesus addresses the disciples’ fear and lack of faith. Faith would not require pretending the waves were harmless. It would remember who gave the command to cross and who remained in the boat. Their fear shifts from the storm to awe before Jesus as they ask, “Who then is this?”
Important Verses
Verses 3–9 establish the chapter’s governing picture. The farmer sows one kind of seed, but four soils produce four responses. The parable directs examination away from blaming the message and toward the heart’s posture: Is the word resisted, shallowly received, crowded out, or welcomed into a fruitful life?
Verses 16–17 warn against rootless joy. A positive first response is not the same as enduring faith. Trials do not necessarily destroy genuine discipleship; they reveal whether the word has taken root deeply enough to govern a person when obedience becomes costly.
Verses 18–19 identify subtle enemies of fruitfulness. Anxiety, wealth’s false promises, and expanding desires can choke spiritual life without a dramatic rejection of belief. James 1 similarly urges believers to receive the implanted word and become doers rather than hearers only.
Verses 26–29 encourage workers who cannot see immediate results. The kingdom’s growth is real even when its processes are hidden. The farmer’s limits protect against pride when fruit appears and despair when progress seems slow. God remains responsible for the life within the seed and the timing of the harvest.
Verses 39–41 form the chapter’s climax. Jesus speaks to wind and water as a master addressing servants, and creation obeys. The disciples’ final question is the response Mark wants from every reader. The parables concern God’s kingdom, but the storm reveals that understanding the kingdom requires recognizing the identity of its King.
Practical Applications
Prepare your heart to hear before reading or listening to Scripture. Ask what resistance, shallowness, anxiety, pursuit of wealth, or competing desire may be preventing the word from taking root. Good soil is not passive; it receives, holds, and allows truth to reshape conduct over time.
Do not measure spiritual health by initial excitement alone. Build roots through regular prayer, careful study, worship, Christian fellowship, confession, and obedience in ordinary responsibilities. These practices do not earn salvation, but they deepen a life that can endure pressure without abandoning Christ.
Remove thorns deliberately. Cares should be brought to God, money should be treated as a servant rather than a savior, and desires should be tested instead of automatically followed. Fruitfulness often requires saying no to good or attractive things that have begun to occupy the heart’s controlling place.
Sow faithfully without pretending to control growth. Parents, teachers, pastors, and friends can communicate truth, model it, pray, and create opportunities for response. They cannot manufacture spiritual life. This frees Christians from manipulation while calling them to patient, consistent, hopeful service.
Value gradual progress. The kingdom’s work may appear first as a blade rather than a harvest. Encourage sincere early steps, allow time for maturity, and keep tending what God has begun. Patience should not become complacency, but impatience can damage people whom God is steadily forming.
Bring fear honestly to Jesus, but do not treat His apparent silence as proof that He does not care. The disciples prayed poorly, yet they awakened the right Person. In crisis, remember Christ’s presence, previous commands, and demonstrated authority before allowing circumstances to define His character.
Let the question “Who then is this?” continue beyond the storm. Jesus is not merely a teacher who offers useful principles; He is the Lord whom creation obeys. The proper response is reverent trust—hearing His word, following where He leads, and resting in His authority when the crossing becomes dangerous.