The seal of the University of Oklahoma features a picture of a person scattering seeds. The image is called the “Seed Sower”. David Ross Boyd, the first president of OU, scattered or “sowed” seeds of education, as well as literally planting many trees throughout the region. The Seed Sower statue at the entrance to the South Oval (pictured below) reminds us that we, too, should sow seeds today that will blossom and grow for years to come.
Mark 马可福音 chapter 4, Jesus tells the “Parable of the Sower”. It describes a farmer who sows seeds in four different kinds of soil. Even though the seed is the same, it produces different results because of the nature of the soil. Jesus also explains the meaning of the parable.
Discussion: Mark 4:2-20
1) In the Parable of the Sower, what does Jesus say the seed represents?
2) What kinds of people are represented by each of the four soils? a. the path b. rocky places c. among thorns d. The good soil
3) What does the seed produce in each of the four types of soil?
4) What creates good soil that will produce a crop or fruitful harvest?
Word List & Helps
seal – an official symbol for an organization
Seed Sower – one who scatters or plants seeds
parable – a story used to illustrate a moral lesson or a spiritual truth
the Word – God’s message to us in The Bible
crop/fruitful harvest – desirable blessings and results from our actions
Think About It!
In Mark 4:12, Jesus is quoting the Old Testament prophet Isaiah. Isaiah 6:9-10. These words sound confusing, however they are a great warning. Jesus is saying that if we want to understand the meaning of his parables, we must open more than our eyes and our ears. We must open our hearts to perceive and understand. So if we do perceive and we do understand, we can open our heart further to turn to Jesus and to be forgiven.
The parable in Mark 4:2-20 is also presented in Matthew 13:3-23 and Luke 8:4-15.
English/Chinese Translation
Mark 4 马可福音
1-20 Parable of the Seed
21-25 Life Has a Purpose
26-29 Parable of the Growing Seed
30-34 Parable of the Mustard Seed
35-41 Jesus Has Power over the Wind
| 4:1 | Parable of the Seed And again he was teaching by the seaside. And a very great number of people had come to him, so that he got into a boat on the sea and took his seat; and all the people were on the land by the seaside. |
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| 4:2 | And he gave them teaching about a number of things in the form of stories, and said to them in his teaching, Give ear: | |
| 4:3 | A man went out to put seed in the earth: | |
| 4:4 | And while he was doing it, some was dropped by the wayside, and the birds came and took it for food. | |
| 4:5 | And some went on the stones, where it had not much earth; and it came up straight away, because the earth was not deep: | |
| 4:6 | And when the sun was high, it was burned; and because it had no root, it became dry and dead. | |
| 4:7 | And some went among the thorns, and the thorns came up, and it had no room for growth and gave no fruit. | |
| 4:8 | And some, falling on good earth, gave fruit, coming up and increasing, and giving thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much. | |
| 4:9 | And he said to them, Whoever has ears, let him give ear. | |
| 4:10 | And when he was by himself, those who were round him with the twelve put questions to him about the purpose of the stories. | |
| 4:11 | And he said to them, To you is given the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, all things are given in the form of stories; | |
| 4:12 | So that seeing they may see, and it will not be clear to them; and hearing it, they will not get the sense; for fear that they may be turned again to me and have forgiveness. | |
| 4:13 | And he said to them, If you are not clear about this story, how will you be clear about the others? | |
| 4:14 | The seed is the word. | |
| 4:15 | And these are they by the wayside, where the word is planted; and when they have given ear, the Evil One comes straight away and takes away the word which has been planted in them. | |
| 4:16 | And in the same way, these are they who are planted on the stones, who, when the word has come to their ears, straight away take it with joy; | |
| 4:17 | And they have no root in themselves, but go on for a time; then, when trouble comes or pain, because of the word, they quickly become full of doubts. | |
| 4:18 | And others are those planted among the thorns; these are they who have given ear to the word, | |
| 4:19 | And the cares of this life, and the deceits of wealth, and the desire for other things coming in, put a stop to the growth of the word, and it gives no fruit. | |
| 4:20 | And these are they who were planted on the good earth; such as give ear to the word, and take it into their hearts, and give fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundred times as much. | |
| 4:21 |
Life Has a Purpose And he said to them, When the light comes in, do people put it under a vessel, or under the bed, and not on its table? |
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| 4:22 | There is nothing covered which will not be seen openly, and nothing has been made secret which will not come to light. | |
| 4:23 | If any man has ears, let him give ear. | |
| 4:24 | And he said to them, Take care what you give ear to: in the same measure as you give you will get, and more will be given to you. | |
| 4:25 | He who has, to him will be given: and he who has not, from him will be taken even that which he has. | |
| 4:26 |
Parable of the Growing Seed And he said, Such is the kingdom of God, as if a man put seed in the earth, |
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| 4:27 | And went to sleep and got up, night and day, and the seed came to growth, though he had no idea how. | |
| 4:28 | The earth gives fruit by herself; first the leaf, then the head, then the full grain. | |
| 4:29 | But when the grain is ready, he quickly sends men to get it cut, because the time for cutting has come. | |
| 4:30 | And he said, What picture may we give of the kingdom of God, or with what story may we make it clear? | |
| 4:31 |
Parable of the Mustard Seed It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is put in the earth, is smaller than all the seeds on the earth, |
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| 4:32 | But when it is planted, it comes up, and becomes taller than all the plants, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of heaven are able to take rest in its shade. | |
| 4:33 | And with a number of such stories he gave them his teaching, as they were able to take it: | |
| 4:34 | And without a story he said nothing to them: but privately to his disciples he made all things clear. | |
| 4:35 |
Jesus Has Power over the Wind And on that day, when the evening had come, he said to them, Let us go over to the other side. |
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| 4:36 | And going away from the people, they took him with them, as he was, in the boat. And other boats were with him. | |
| 4:37 | And a great storm of wind came up, and the waves came into the boat, so that the boat was now becoming full. | |
| 4:38 | And he himself was in the back of the boat, sleeping on the cushion: and they, awaking him, said, Master, is it nothing to you that we are in danger of destruction? | |
| 4:39 | And he came out of his sleep, and gave strong orders to the wind, and said to the sea, Peace, be at rest. And the wind went down, and there was a great calm. | |
| 4:40 | And he said to them, Why are you full of fear? have you still no faith? | |
| 4:41 | And their fear was great, and they said one to another, Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea do his orders? |
| 4:1 | 耶 稣 又 在 海 边 教 训 人 。 有 许 多 人 到 他 那 里 聚 集 ， 他 只 得 上 船 坐 下 。 船 在 海 里 ， 众 人 都 靠 近 海 站 在 岸 上 。 | |
| 4:2 | 耶 稣 就 用 比 喻 教 训 他 们 许 多 道 理 。 在 教 训 之 间 ， 对 他 们 说 ， | |
| 4:3 | 你 们 听 阿 。 有 一 个 撒 种 的 。 出 去 撒 种 。 | |
| 4:4 | 撒 的 时 候 ， 有 落 在 路 旁 的 ， 飞 鸟 来 吃 尽 了 。 | |
| 4:5 | 有 落 在 土 浅 石 头 地 上 的 ， 土 既 不 深 ， 发 苗 最 快 。 | |
| 4:6 | 日 头 出 来 一 晒 ， 因 为 没 有 根 ， 就 枯 干 了 。 | |
| 4:7 | 有 落 在 荆 棘 里 的 ， 荆 棘 长 起 来 ， 把 他 挤 住 了 ， 就 不 结 实 。 | |
| 4:8 | 又 有 落 在 好 土 里 的 ， 就 发 生 长 大 ， 结 实 有 三 十 倍 的 ， 有 六 十 倍 的 ， 有 一 百 倍 的 。 | |
| 4:9 | 又 说 ， 有 耳 可 听 的 ， 就 应 当 听 。 | |
| 4:10 | 无 人 的 时 候 ， 跟 随 耶 稣 的 人 ， 和 十 二 个 门 徒 ， 问 他 这 比 喻 的 意 思 。 | |
| 4:11 | 耶 稣 对 他 们 说 ， 神 国 的 奥 秘 ， 只 叫 你 们 知 道 ， 若 是 对 外 人 讲 ， 凡 事 就 用 比 喻 。 | |
| 4:12 | 叫 他 们 看 是 看 见 ， 却 不 晓 得 。 听 是 听 见 ， 却 不 明 白 。 恐 怕 他 们 回 转 过 来 ， 就 得 赦 免 。 | |
| 4:13 | 又 对 他 们 说 ， 你 们 不 明 白 这 比 喻 吗 ？ 这 样 怎 能 明 白 一 切 的 比 喻 呢 ？ | |
| 4:14 | 撒 种 之 人 所 撒 的 ， 就 是 道 。 | |
| 4:15 | 那 撒 在 路 旁 的 ， 就 是 人 听 了 道 ， 撒 但 立 刻 来 ， 把 撒 在 他 心 里 的 道 夺 了 去 。 | |
| 4:16 | 那 撒 在 石 头 地 上 的 ， 就 是 人 听 了 道 ， 立 刻 欢 喜 领 受 。 | |
| 4:17 | 但 他 心 里 没 有 根 ， 不 过 是 暂 时 的 ， 及 至 为 道 遭 了 患 难 ， 或 是 受 了 逼 迫 ， 立 刻 就 跌 倒 了 。 | |
| 4:18 | 还 有 那 撒 在 荆 棘 里 的 ， 就 是 人 听 了 道 。 | |
| 4:19 | 后 来 有 世 上 的 思 虑 ， 钱 财 的 迷 惑 ， 和 别 样 的 私 欲 ， 进 来 把 道 挤 住 了 ， 就 不 能 结 实 。 | |
| 4:20 | 那 撒 在 好 地 上 的 ， 就 是 人 听 道 ， 又 领 受 ， 并 且 结 实 ， 有 三 十 倍 的 ， 有 六 十 倍 的 ， 有 一 百 倍 的 。 | |
| 4:21 | 耶 稣 又 对 他 们 说 ， 人 拿 灯 来 ， 岂 是 要 放 在 斗 底 下 ， 床 底 下 ， 不 放 在 灯 台 上 吗 ？ | |
| 4:22 | 因 为 掩 藏 的 事 ， 没 有 不 显 出 来 的 。 隐 瞒 的 事 ， 没 有 不 露 出 来 的 。 | |
| 4:23 | 有 耳 可 听 的 ， 就 应 当 听 。 | |
| 4:24 | 又 说 你 们 所 听 的 要 留 心 。 你 们 用 什 么 量 器 量 给 人 ， 也 必 用 什 么 量 器 量 给 你 们 ， 并 且 要 多 给 你 们 。 | |
| 4:25 | 因 为 有 的 还 要 给 他 。 没 有 的 ， 连 他 所 有 的 也 要 夺 去 。 | |
| 4:26 | 又 说 ， 神 的 国 ， 如 同 人 把 种 撒 在 地 上 ， | |
| 4:27 | 黑 夜 睡 觉 ， 白 日 起 来 ， 这 种 就 发 芽 渐 长 ， 那 人 却 不 晓 得 如 何 这 样 。 | |
| 4:28 | 地 生 五 谷 ， 是 出 于 自 然 的 。 先 发 苗 ， 后 长 穗 ， 再 后 穗 上 结 成 饱 满 的 子 粒 。 | |
| 4:29 | 谷 既 熟 了 ， 就 用 镰 刀 去 割 ， 因 为 收 成 的 时 候 到 了 。 | |
| 4:30 | 又 说 ， 神 的 国 ， 我 们 可 用 什 么 比 较 呢 ？ 可 用 什 么 比 喻 表 明 呢 ？ | |
| 4:31 | 好 像 一 粒 芥 菜 种 ， 种 在 地 里 的 时 候 ， 虽 比 地 上 的 百 种 都 小 ， | |
| 4:32 | 但 种 上 以 后 ， 就 长 起 来 ， 比 各 样 的 菜 都 大 ， 又 长 出 大 枝 来 。 甚 至 天 上 的 飞 鸟 ， 可 以 宿 在 它 的 荫 下 。 | |
| 4:33 | 耶 稣 用 许 多 这 样 的 比 喻 ， 照 他 们 所 能 听 的 ， 对 他 们 讲 道 。 | |
| 4:34 | 若 不 用 比 喻 ， 就 不 对 他 们 讲 。 没 有 人 的 时 候 ， 就 把 一 切 的 道 讲 给 门 徒 听 。 | |
| 4:35 | 当 那 天 晚 上 ， 耶 稣 对 门 徒 说 ， 我 们 渡 到 那 边 去 吧 。 | |
| 4:36 | 门 徒 离 开 众 人 ， 耶 稣 仍 在 船 上 ， 他 们 就 把 他 一 同 带 去 。 也 有 别 的 船 和 他 同 行 。 | |
| 4:37 | 忽 然 起 了 暴 风 ， 波 浪 打 入 船 内 ， 甚 至 船 要 满 了 水 。 | |
| 4:38 | 耶 稣 在 船 尾 上 ， 枕 着 枕 头 睡 觉 。 门 徒 叫 醒 了 他 ， 说 ， 夫 子 ， 我 们 丧 命 ， 你 不 顾 吗 ？ | |
| 4:39 | 耶 稣 醒 了 ， 斥 责 风 ， 向 海 说 ， 住 了 吧 ， 静 了 吧 。 风 就 止 住 ， 大 大 地 平 静 了 。 | |
| 4:40 | 耶 稣 对 他 们 说 ， 为 什 么 胆 怯 。 你 们 还 没 有 信 心 吗 ？ | |
| 4:41 | 他 们 就 大 大 地 惧 怕 ， 彼 此 说 ， 这 到 底 是 谁 ， 连 风 和 海 也 听 从 他 了 。 |
