Mark 4:13 Cross References

Mark 4:13

13: "But if you can't understand this story, how will you understand all the others I am going to tell?

I am the one who corrects and disciplines everyone I love. Be diligent and turn from your indifference.

Then Jesus said to them, "You are such foolish people! You find it so hard to believe all that the prophets wrote in the Scriptures.

"Now here is the explanation of the story I told about the farmer sowing grain:
The seed that fell on the hard path represents those who hear the Good News about the Kingdom and don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the seed away from their hearts.
The rocky soil represents those who hear the message and receive it with joy.
But like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted because they believe the word.
The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life and the lure of wealth, so no crop is produced.

Do you understand?Yes," they said, "we do."
Then he added, "Every teacher of religious law who has become a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a person who brings out of the storehouse the new teachings as well as the old."

Then Peter asked Jesus, "Explain what you meant when you said people aren't defiled by what they eat."
"Don't you understand?" Jesus asked him.
"Anything you eat passes through the stomach and then goes out of the body.

Dear brothers and sisters, when I was with you I couldn't talk to you as I would to mature Christians. I had to talk as though you belonged to this world or as though you were infants in the Christian life.
I had to feed you with milk and not with solid food, because you couldn't handle anything stronger. And you still aren't ready,

"This is the meaning of the story: The seed is God's message.
The seed that fell on the hard path represents those who hear the message, but then the Devil comes and steals it away and prevents them from believing and being saved.
The rocky soil represents those who hear the message with joy. But like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. They believe for a while, but they wilt when the hot winds of testing blow.
The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.
But the good soil represents honest, good-hearted people who hear God's message, cling to it, and steadily produce a huge harvest.

Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowds, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the statement he had made.
"Don't you understand either?" he asked. "Can't you see that what you eat won't defile you?

Jesus knew what they were thinking, so he said, "You have so little faith! Why are you worried about having no food?
Won't you ever understand? Don't you remember the five thousand I fed with five loaves, and the baskets of food that were left over?

There is so much more we would like to say about this. But you don't seem to listen, so it's hard to make you understand.
You have been Christians a long time now, and you ought to be teaching others. Instead, you need someone to teach you again the basic things a beginner must learn about the Scriptures. You are like babies who drink only milk and cannot eat solid food.
And a person who is living on milk isn't very far along in the Christian life and doesn't know much about doing what is right.
Solid food is for those who are mature, who have trained themselves to recognize the difference between right and wrong and then do what is right.

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