Mark Chapter 4

1. Jesus taught with many parables, and many did not understand the meanings of them, even His 12 apostles had difficulty understanding them. In fact they asked Him to explain them when they met in private. Jesus told them that the parable of the sower was imperative for them to understand. Why? See vs. 13.

2. A parable is a teaching with a door. Those listening to the teaching will benefit from it, but those who are really interested will go through the door to learn more. That’s what reading God’s Word is all about – having a desire to learn and apply more to your life. But some have a hard heart and when they hear the Word (the seed) it doesn’t penetrate their heart. Some people hear the Word and they get excited about it momentarily but like rocky ground what happens to the seed?

3. Sometimes the Word falls on ground (hearts) where it is quickly choked out because the enemy is working to destroy any spiritual gain. The hard heart of the person who lets the enemy take over is compared to ground that is like what? See verse 15.

4. Notice that everyone is given a choice to accept the seed of the Word of God. Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” What is the result of someone who allows the truths of God to penetrate their heart? See verse 20

5. The truth is light. “We must not hide this light. If you have the truth of God, you have a solemn responsibility to spread that truth in whatever way God gives you opportunity. It is just as someone who has the cure for a life-threatening disease has the moral responsibility to spread that cure. God didn’t light your lamp so that it would remain hidden.” [Guzik] Jesus said that those who have accepted the truths of God’s Word, what will happen for them? See verse 25.

6. “When a farmer plants seed, and it grows by night, when he sees the seed sprouted in the morning, he has just worked as a partner with God. Man has done what he could do – plant the seed; and God has done what only He can do: grow the seed. This shows that the Word of God works invisibly within us.” [Guzik] The result of a seed planted is a plant growing and the final result is described in verse 29. What is it and what does it symbolize?

7. Jesus taught them that the size of the seed, which represented the truth being sown, does not matter. The truth sown is going to reap a harvest for the Kingdom of God whether it is a small amount or a large amount. What type of seed did Jesus use to represent a tiny bit of God’s truth?

8. When they were in the boat that was experiencing a great storm it says that Jesus was sleeping. The disciples woke Him up, they were scared. They did the right thing going to Jesus and asking for His help. What did Jesus do for them?