1 Jesus went down to the lake again, and he started to teach people. A big mob of people went to listen to him, so he got into a boat and sat in it. He was a little bit away from the dry ground. All the people stayed on the dry ground and listened to his words.[a] 2 He told them picture stories to teach them lots of things.

Jesus told them this story. He said, 3 “You mob listen to me now. A man wanted to grow some seed food in a garden. 4 He threw the seeds all over the garden.

Some seeds went too far and fell on the road. The road was hard, so the seeds couldn’t grow there. Some birds saw those seeds lying there, so they ate them and finished them up.

5-6 And some seeds went another way. They fell on ground that had too much rock in it. Those seeds grew up really fast, but they had too much rock and only a little bit of ground, so when the sun got hot, they dried up and died.

7 Some other seeds fell into the rubbish grass that was growing right next to the garden. Those seeds tried to grow, but the rubbish grass blocked them, so they couldn’t grow properly. They didn’t grow any new seeds on them.

8 But some of those seeds fell on really good ground, and those seeds grew properly and became seed food plants. When they were ready, they had really big mobs of new seeds on them.”

9 Then Jesus said, “You’ve got ears, so you have to listen to me properly, and take notice of my words.”

10 Some time later, Jesus came away from that big mob of people. Then just his 12 special workers and a few other people sat around him. They said to him, “You tell us picture stories, but we can’t understand them. What are your stories all about?”

11 Jesus said, “You mob follow me, so God wants you to know what my stories are all about, so I will tell you what they mean. Those stories are about how God gets people into his family. But other people don’t follow me, so they only get the picture stories. I will not tell them what they mean. 12 You know, God got one of his men to write these words, and they are in God’s book. He wrote,

13 Jesus kept on talking. He said, “Why can’t you understand this picture story? If you can’t understand this easy story, you will not understand the other stories that I’m going to tell you.

14 Listen to me again. In my story, a man threw the seeds into his garden, to grow some food. He is a picture of somebody that tells God’s word to people.

15 I said that some seeds fell on the road, and birds ate them up. Those seeds are a picture for God’s word, and the birds are a picture of Satan, the boss over the bad spirits. When some people hear God’s word, Satan makes them forget it, so they take no notice of its message.

16 In my story there was ground with too much rock in it. That is a picture of people that listen to God’s word and they are happy about it, and they start to take notice of it. 17 But other people see them believing that word, and those other people make trouble for them, so they stop taking notice of God’s word. They soon turn their back and walk away from it.

18 In my story the man threw some seeds into rubbish grass, and that grass blocked them, so they couldn’t grow. That is a picture of people that hear God’s word, 19 but after that, they let other things stop them, so they don’t live properly for God. They worry too much about the things they want in this life. They start to think too much about money, and they trick themselves. They want a lot of different things all the time, and they worry too much about all those things. They just think about what they want for themselves, and that stops them listening properly to God’s word, so they can’t live properly for God.

20 In my story, the seeds that fell on the good ground grew properly, and after those plants grew up big, they made lots of new seeds. That is a picture of people that are ready to listen to God’s word, and do what he says. When they believe God’s word, they grow stronger and stronger for God, and they live God’s way.”

21 Then Jesus said, “When somebody lights a candle, they don’t put it under a bowl. And they don’t put that candle under their bed. No way. People put candles up high, so everyone can see clearly.[c] 22 Well, just like that, God wants people to understand the things that are true. He will not hide them away. You see, there are some things that God hasn’t told anyone yet, but people will know them soon. It will be like a light will shine on them.[d] 23 You’ve all got ears, so you have to listen to me properly, and take notice of my words.”

24-25 Then Jesus said, “Make sure you listen to the right message and think about it properly. When you really take notice of a true message, God will help you understand it, and he will help you to know more and more of his word. But if you don’t want to listen to that message, God will stop you from understanding the little bit you did hear.”[e]

26-29 Jesus kept on teaching. He said, “I want you to know how God’s family grows. This is another picture story. A man wanted to grow some seed food, so he threw some seeds on the ground in his garden. Then that man walked away and left the seeds there. Those seeds grew all by themselves in that ground, and that man didn’t know what made those seeds grow. He just left them there for a few months, and they grew. At first the long stick part grew, and after that, the head part grew with all the seeds inside it. Then, when the seeds were ready, that man cut those plants down and picked up the seed food. God is boss for everyone, and his family will grow just like the plants in that story.”[f]

30 Jesus talked some more. He said, “Do you know what God’s family is like? I will tell you another picture story to help you understand it. 31 God’s family is like a little seed, like the seed of the plant we call mustard. Its seeds are very little. 32 When somebody puts one of those little seeds into the ground, it grows and grows. Later it gets really big with lots of branches. It gets bigger than all the other plants in a vegetable garden, and birds can sit down in the shade of its branches, and they can make their nests there too. Well, that is a picture of how God’s family will grow.”

33 Jesus taught the people this way whenever they were ready to listen. 34 Whenever he talked to all the people, he used picture stories. But later, when Jesus was sitting down with only his followers, he told them what those stories really mean.

35 On that same day, while Jesus was teaching, the sun started to go down. He was still sitting in the boat, so he stopped teaching and told his followers to take him across the lake. 36 So they left all the other people behind, and his followers started to take him across the lake in their boat. Some other people got into their boats and followed them.

37 A little bit later a really strong storm came. The wind got very strong, and the waves started to fill the boat with water, so it was starting to sink. 38 Jesus was asleep in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow. His followers were frightened, so they woke him up, and they shouted at him, “Teacher, we will all drown, and you don’t care. Why don’t you do something?”

39 Jesus opened his eyes, then he stood up, and he talked strongly to the wind and the water. He said, “Stop. Be quiet.” Straight away, the wind stopped and the water lay down flat. Everything was quiet and still.

40 Then Jesus said to his followers, “Why are you so frightened? You should know by now that you can trust me.”

41 They said to each other, “Look. The wind and the water listen to this man, and they do what he says. He is really powerful.” So they were really surprised and frightened.

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