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Jesus began to teach beside the sea, and a very large crowd gathered around Him. So He got into a boat and sat in it out on the sea, while all the people were along the shore facing the sea. 2 He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said to them, 3 “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And it happened that as he was scattering the seed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, since it didn’t have any depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 But other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop that multiplied thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times what was sown.”
9 Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 When He was alone, the Twelve and those who were around Him asked Him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret of the Kingdom of God has been granted to you. But to those on the outside everything is in parables; 12 so that
‘They may look and look, and still not perceive,
and they may indeed listen and listen, and still not understand;
otherwise they might turn back and be forgiven’.”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand any of the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 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. 16 And likewise, these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy. 17 But they have no root in themselves, and endure for a time. Then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. 18 Still others, like seed sown among the thorns, are the ones who hear the word, 19 but the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 But the ones who were sown on good soil are those who hear the word, welcome it, and produce a crop: some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred times what was sown.”
21 He said to them, “Is a lamp brought in to be put under a basket or under a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on a stand? 22 For nothing is hidden that will not be revealed; and nothing is concealed except that it should come to light. 23 If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.”
24 Then He said to them, “Consider carefully what you hear. With the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be given. 25 For to whoever has, more will be given; but whoever has not, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
26 He also said, “This is what the Kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground; 27 night and day he sleeps and rises, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 The soil produces crops by itself, first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29 Then as soon as the grain is ripe, he puts in the sickle because the harvest has come.”
30 Again He said, “What can we compare the Kingdom of God with, or what parable can we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which when it is sown in the soil is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground. 32 But when it is sown, it grows up and becomes the tallest of all the garden shrubs. It spreads out large branches, and the birds of the air nest in its shade.”
33 With many such parables, Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they were able to understand. 34 He did not speak to them without using a parable. But when He was alone with His disciples, He explained everything.
35 On that same day, when the evening had come, He said to His disciples, “Let us cross over to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took Him with them in the boat, just as He was. There will also other boats with Him. 37 A furious windstorm arose, so that waves were breaking over the boat, and the boat was nearly swamped. 38 But Jesus was in the stern of the boat, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, don’t You care that we are in danger of perishing?”
39 He got up, and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
40 He said to His disciples, “Why you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”
41 And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”