Mark 4-6 - He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear.

The Parable of the Sower

Mar 4:5-6 LSB - [5] "And other [seed] fell on the rocky [ground] where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. [6] "And after the sun rose, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.

Mar 4:8 LSB - [8] "And other [seeds] fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they were yielding a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

Gen 26:12 LSB - [12] And Isaac sowed in that land and reaped in the same year one hundredfold. And Yahweh blessed him,

Mar 4:9 LSB - [9] And He was saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Mar 4:11-12 LSB - [11] And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside, everything comes in parables, [12] so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, LEST THEY RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN."

Isa 6:9-10 LSB - [9] He said, "Go, and tell this people: 'Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not know.' [10] "Render the hearts of this people insensitive, Their ears dull, And their eyes dim, Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears, And understand with their hearts, And return and be healed."

 

The Parable of the Sower Explained

Mar 4:14-20 LSB - 

[14] "The sower sows the word. 

[15] "And these are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown: when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 

[16] "And in a similar way, these are the ones being sown on the rocky [places]: those who, when hearing the word, immediately receive it with joy; 

[17] and they have no root in themselves, but are [only] temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. 

[18] "And others are those being sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 

[19] but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for anything else enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

[20] "And those are the ones which were sown on the good soil: they who hear the word and accept it and are bearing fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."

The Seed upon a Rock - Spurgeon 

No Root in Themselves - Spurgeon

Then there are many more, whose religion must be sustained by enthusiastic surroundings. They seem to have been baptized in boiling water; and unless the temperature around them is kept up to that point, they wither away... the religion that is born of mere excitement will die when the excitement is over.” (Spurgeon)

The Parable of the Seed

Mar 4:26-29 LSB - [26] And He was saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; [27] and he sleeps and rises, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows--how, he himself does not know. [28] "The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. [29] "But when the grain is ripe, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Mar 4:30-32 LSB - [30] And He was saying, "How shall we compare the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? [31] "[It is] like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is smallest of all the seeds that are upon the soil, [32] yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes largest of all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that THE BIRDS OF THE AIR can NEST UNDER ITS SHADE."

Jesus Calms a Storm

Mar 4:39-40 LSB - [39] And He woke up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Silence! Be still." And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. [40] And He said to them, "Why are you [so] cowardly? Do you still have no faith?"

Jesus Saves a Man with Many Demons

Mar 5:18-20 LSB - [18] And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed was pleading with Him that he might accompany Him. [19] And He did not let him, but He said to him, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you, and [how] He had mercy on you." [20] And he went away and began to preach in the Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was marveling.

Christ’s Curate in Decapolis - Spurgeon

Of course, this was because this man could be a light among the people of these Gentile cities in a way that Jesus and the disciples could not. But it was also to cure the man of any superstitions. He might have thought that he had to stay close to Jesus to keep the demons from coming back. “Perhaps, too, his prayer was not answered, lest his fear should have been thereby sanctioned. If he did fear, and I feel morally certain that he did, that the devils would return, then, of course, he longed to be with Christ. But Christ took that fear from him, and as good as says to him, ‘You do not need to be near me; I have so healed that you will never be sick again.’” (Spurgeon)

 

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus’ Daughter

Mar 5:34 LSB - [34] And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace and be healed of your affliction."

Mar 5:41-42 LSB - [41] And taking the child by the hand, He said to her, "Talitha kum!" (which translated means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise!"). [42] And immediately the little girl stood up and [began to] walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

Mar 6:4-5 LSB - [4] And Jesus was saying to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his [own] relatives and in his [own] household." [5] And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.

The Twelve Sent Out

Mar 6:7 LSB - [7] And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and was giving them authority over the unclean spirits;

Mar 6:12-13 LSB - [12] And they went out and preached that [men] should repent. [13] And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.

The Death of John the Baptist

Mar 6:30-31 LSB - [30] And the apostles gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. [31] And He said to them, "Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while." (For there were many [people] coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.)

Jesus Feeds Five Thousand

Mar 6:34 LSB - [34] And when Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things.

Num 27:16-17 LSB - [16] "May Yahweh, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation, [17] who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of Yahweh will not be like sheep which have no shepherd."

 

Mar 6:37 LSB - [37] But He answered and said to them, "You give them [something] to eat!" And they said to Him, "Shall we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give them [something] to eat?"

Jesus Walks on the Sea

Mar 6:46 LSB - [46] And after bidding them farewell, He left for the mountain to pray.

Mar 6:51-52 LSB - [51] Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were utterly amazed, [52] for they had not gained any insight about the loaves, but their heart was hardened.

Many Healed at Gennesaret

Mar 6:56 LSB - [56] And wherever He was entering villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces, and pleading with Him that they might just touch the fringe of His garment; and as many as touched it were being saved [from their sicknesses].