Story About a Farmer Planting Seed

4 ¹Another time Jesus began teaching by the lake. Many, many people gathered around Jesus. So Jesus got into a boat and went out on the lake. All the people stayed on the shore next to the water. ²Jesus taught the people from the boat. Jesus used many stories to teach them. He said, ³"Listen! A farmer went out to plant his seed. ⁴While the farmer was planting, some seed fell by the road. The birds came and ate all that seed. ⁵Some seed fell on rocky ground. The ground there did not have enough dirt. The seed grew very fast there because the ground was not deep. ⁶But the sun rose and the plants were burned. The plants died because they did not have deep roots. ⁷Some other seed fell among thorny weeds. The weeds grew and stopped the good plants from growing. So those plants did not make grain. ⁸Some other seed fell on good ground. In the good ground, the seed began to grow. It grew and made grain. Some plants had 30 grains, other plants had 60 grains, and some had 100 grains." ⁹Then Jesus said, "You people that hear me, listen!"

Jesus Tells Why He Used Stories

¹⁰Later, Jesus was away from the people. The twelve apostles* and Jesus' other followers asked him about the stories. ¹¹Jesus said, "Only you can know the secret truth about the kingdom of God. But to those other people I tell everything by using stories. ¹²I do this so that: 'They will look and look, but never really see; they will listen and listen, but never understand. If they saw and understood, they might change and be forgiven.'" Isaiah 6:9-10

Jesus Explains the Story About the Seed

¹³Then Jesus said to the followers, "Do you understand this story? If you don't, then how will you understand any story? ¹⁴The farmer is like a person that plants God's teaching in people. ¹⁵Sometimes the teaching falls on the path. This is like some people. Those people hear the teaching of God. But Satan (the devil) comes and takes away the teaching that was planted in them. ¹⁶Other people are like the seed planted on rocky ground. They hear the teaching and quickly and gladly accept it. ¹⁷But those people don't allow the teaching to go deep into their lives. They keep that teaching only a short time. When trouble or persecution* comes because of the teaching they accepted, they quickly quit. ¹⁸Other people are like the seed planted among the thorny weeds. These people hear the teaching. ¹⁹But then these things come into their lives: the worries of this life, the love of money, and wanting all kinds of other things. These things stop the teaching from growing. So that teaching does not make fruit* [in the lives of those people]. ²⁰Other people are like the seed planted on the good ground. They hear the teaching and accept it. Then they grow and make fruit--sometimes 30 times more, sometimes 60 times more, and sometimes 100 times more."

You Must Use What You Have

²¹Then Jesus said to them, "Do you take a lamp and hide it under a bowl or under a bed? No! You put the lamp on a lamp table. ²²Everything that is hidden will be made clear. Every secret thing will be made known. ²³You people that hear me, listen! ²⁴"Think carefully about the things you hear. The way you give is the way God will give to you. But God will give you more than you give. ²⁵The person that has [something] will receive more. But the person that does not have [much] will lose even the little amount he has."

apostles The men Jesus chose to be his special helpers. persecution(s) Being hurt or bothered by Christ's enemies. fruit The good things God wants his people to do.