1 Again he began to teach by the seaside. A great multitude was gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat in the sea, and sat down. All the multitude were on the land by the sea. 2 He taught them many things in parables, and told them in his teaching, 3 “Listen! Behold, the farmer went out to sow, 4 and as he sowed, some seed fell by the road, and the birds* came and devoured it. 5 Others fell on the rocky ground, where it had little soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil. 6 When the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 Others fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing. Some produced thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times as much.” 9 He said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”

10 When he was alone, those who were around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 He said to them, “To you is given the mystery of God’s Kingdom, but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables, 12 that ‘seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest perhaps they should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them.’”

13 He said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 The ones by the road are the ones where the word is sown; and when they have heard, immediately Satan comes, and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16 These in the same way are those who are sown on the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 They have no root in themselves, but are short-lived. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they stumble. 18 Others are those who are sown among the thorns. These are those who have heard the word, 19 and the cares of this age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 Those which were sown on the good ground are those who hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, some thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times.”

Mark 4:1-20 - World English Bible

In Mark 4, Jesus taught the people on shore, a parable from a boat slightly off shore. This passage captures our attention because it contains the parable, a reason for using parables and an interpretation of the parable.

The story itself could be call the parable of the Wasteful Farmer. In the time of Jesus, crop yields were low and landlords kept tenant farmers in a below-subsistence lifestyle. These farmers divided the little seed they had for the baking of bread and future planting. When planting season arrived, they placed each seed carefully into the soil and tended the field lovingly, for their future and that of their family was at stake. When Jesus told the story, the image of the sower caught the attention of the audience, for the man threw seed around without care, some on the road, some on the hard soil, some among the thorns, some on good ground. Of course, the fate of the seed had a predictable result, except for the last planting, where the crops produced an astounding yield. The people considered a double or triple yield good, but thirty, sixty or hundred fold? That was unheard of! But, if the people could really hear what the Lord told them, they'd understand.

Why did Jesus speak in this way? He quoted Isaiah 6:9-10 to explain his reasons. People do not open their eyes to see the big picture, or their ears to hear the great story. If they did, they would turn back to God.

The interpretation of the parable saw the seed as God's word and the surface as the hearts of those who were evangelized. Some had hearts as hard as a road surface, so the word had no effect. Some were shallow, with hearts like rocky soil, so after brief enthusiasm, they faded away from the faith. Some had hearts filled with worldly concerns which, like thorns, choked out faith and denied growth. But, those who had good hearts accepted the word of God and allowed it to grow within; these people would go on the evangelize many others, though word and deed.

The parable should open our eyes and our ears, our minds and our hearts. And, it should give us a chance for self reflection.

What sort of heart do you possess?