Signs, Parables, and Discipleship

Mark 4:1-20

And again he began to teach beside the sea, and a very large crowd was gathered to him, so that he got into a boat and sat on the sea, and the whole crowd was at the sea on the land. And he began to teach them many things in parables, and was saying to them in his teaching, “Listen! Behold, the sower went out to sow. And it happened that while he was sowing, some seed fell on the side of the path, and the birds came and devoured it. And other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up at once, because it did not have any depth of soil. And when the sun rose it was scorched, and because it did not have enough root, it withered. And other seed fell among the thorn plants, and the thorn plants came up and choked it, and it did not produce grain. And other seed fell on the good soil, and produced grain, coming up and increasing, and it bore a crop —one thirty and one sixty and one a hundred times as much . And he said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!” And when he was alone, those around him together with the twelve began asking him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been granted the secret of the kingdom of God, but to those who are outside everything is in parables, so that ‘they may look closely and not perceive, and they may listen carefully and not understand, lest they turn and it be forgiven them.’ ” And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? And how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones beside the path where the word is sown, and whenever they hear it , immediately Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. And these are like the ones sown on the rocky ground, who whenever they hear the word immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but are temporary. Then when affliction or persecution comes because of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among the thorn plants—these are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word and it becomes unproductive. And those are the ones sown on the good soil, who hear the word and receive it and bear fruit—one thirty and one sixty and one a hundred times as much .”

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John 6:1-14

After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the sea of Galilee (that is, Tiberias). And a large crowd was following him because they were observing the signs that he was doing on those who were sick. So Jesus went up on the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. (Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near.) Then Jesus, when he looked up and saw that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, “Where can we buy bread so that these people can eat?” (Now he said this to test him, because he knew what he was going to do.) Philip replied to him, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread would not be enough for them, in order that each one could receive a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew the brother of Simon Peter, said to him, “Here is a boy who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people ?” Jesus said, “Make the people recline.” (Now there was a lot of grass in the place.) So the men reclined, approximately five thousand in number. Then Jesus took the bread, and after he had given thanks, he distributed it to those who were reclining—likewise also of the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they were satisfied, he said to his disciples, “Gather the remaining fragments so that nothing is lost.” So they gathered them , and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves which were left over by those who had eaten. Now when the people saw the sign that he performed, they began to say, “This one is truly the Prophet who is to come into the world!”

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