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Jesus told a story about seeds and ground
And you can read this story in Matthew 13:1-9 and in Luke 8:4-8
1 Jesus went down to the lake again and started to teach the people. There were so many people standing there, that Jesus got into a boat and his friends pushed it away from the land. From there, the people standing next to the water could see him and hear him.+ 2 Jesus used picture stories that have special meanings inside them to teach the people about God.
3 He said, “Listen, a man wanted to grow some food plants. 4 So he got the paddock ready and then he spread the seeds out all over the ground.
Some seeds went too far and fell on the road. The birds saw the seeds and ate all of them.
5-6 Some seeds went another way and fell onto ground that had too much stone in it. The seeds grew into plants really quickly but the stones in the ground blocked the roots from going down deep. When the sun came up, it burnt the plants and they died.
7 Another lot of seeds fell into prickle grass growing next to the paddock. Those little plants tried to grow but the prickle grass blocked them so that they could not grow any new seeds.
8 But some of the seeds fell onto the really good ground, and those seeds grew and became strong plants. At the end of the growing time, the man went to the paddock to pick all the new seeds from the plants. There were plants that had some seeds but other plants had a lot more seeds.” 9 Then Jesus said to the people, “You all have ears, so listen to what I say.”
Jesus told his followers what his stories were all about
And you can read this story in Matthew 13:10-17 and in Luke 8:9-10
10 Later on, Jesus was sitting down with his 12 close followers, and there were other people sitting with them. His close followers said to Jesus, “We don't understand the stories that you tell us. Can you tell us what they mean?”
11 Jesus said, “These stories have a secret meaning. The stories are all about how God will be the king over everything in a new way. You men follow me, so I will tell you what those stories mean. People that are not in God's family will hear the stories but they will not understand them. 12 That way, what God told Isaiah to say a long time ago will come true.”
This is what Isaiah said,
People will look with their eyes, but they will not understand what they see.
People will hear with their ears, but they will not understand what they hear.
If people did look and listen properly, they would turn around and come back to God, and he would forgive them.+
This is the meaning of the story about seeds and ground
And you can read this story in Matthew 13:18-23 and in Luke 8:11-15
13 Jesus said to them, “Why can't you understand the story I just told you? If you can't understand this easy story, you will not understand the other stories that I am going to tell you.
14 In my story, the man that spread the seeds out all over the ground is like a person that is telling people about God.
15 At the start of my story, the seeds are a picture for God's word. The road is a picture of some people and the birds are a picture of the Devil. And so when the seeds fell onto the road, the birds came and took the seeds away. That means God's word is given out to people, but the Devil comes along and takes those words away so that people cannot take them deep into their lives.
16-17 In the next part of my story, some of the seeds fell onto ground that had too much stone in it. That is a picture of people that are happy to listen to God's word. They start to take notice of it, but they do not let that message go down deep into their life. When they have trouble or other people rubbish them, they get weak for God and they walk away from him.
18-19 In the next part of my story, some seeds fell into prickle grass, and that grass blocked the seeds so that the plants could not grow properly. The prickles are a picture of the things that people think about all the time. They worry about money, and they always want something new. All sorts of things fill their minds and these things block God's words from helping them live the right way. They cannot grow strong for God.
20 In the last part of my story, the seeds that fell onto good ground, grew into strong plants with lots of new seeds. This is a picture of people that are like that good ground. They are ready to listen to God's word, and they do what it says. They learn more and more of God's story and grow strong for him.”
Jesus told a story about light
And you can read this story in Luke 8:16-18
21 Then Jesus said, “Do you reckon someone might light a candle, and then put a billycan over it? Would they put the candle under their bunk bed? No! People always put candles up high, so that everyone can see clearly.+ 22 There are a lot of things that are hidden and there are things that God has not told us yet. God's light will show all the hidden things and God will tell us what he wants us to know at the right time.+ 23 You all have ears, so listen to what I say.”
24-25 Then Jesus said, “You should listen carefully and think deeply about what I say. When you take notice of my words, God will help you understand more and more. But if you do not listen and believe what I say, God will stop you from understanding the little bit you do hear.”+
How God's family grows
26-29 Jesus kept on teaching and said, “Let me tell you another story about how God is growing a family for himself. He is doing that so that he can look after his family forever. A man wanted to grow some food, so he got the ground ready and spread the seeds all over that ground. When he finished, he walked away and left those seeds to grow. The man did not know what made those seeds grow, but day and night for many months, the seeds grew and became plants. First the seed went into the ground and then the plants grew out from those seeds. At the right time, the plants grew new seeds, and when those seeds had finished growing, the man cut those plants. He hit the plants so that the seeds fell off, then he picked up all the seeds and put them into his shed.”
Jesus talked more about God's family
And you can read this story in Matthew 13:31-32, 34 and in Luke 13:18-19
30 Then Jesus said, “I have been thinking about another story to help you understand how God's family is growing. 31-32 God's family is like a really little seed. You know, like that mustard seed. It is the smallest seed, but when someone plants it in the ground, it grows and grows until it is the biggest tree in your garden. It is so big, birds sit in its shade and they make their nests in it.”
33-34 Jesus knew how much the people could understand and so he always used picture stories to tell them about God. But when he was sitting down with his close followers, he told them the deeper meaning for those stories.
Jesus told the wind to stop and the water to be quiet
And you can read this story in Matthew 8:23-27 and in Luke 8:22-25
35 Later that day, as the sun started to go down, Jesus stopped teaching and asked his close followers to take him across the lake. 36 They left all the other people behind on the land, and his followers took Jesus across the lake in their boat. But some of the other people got into their boats and followed them.
37 A little bit later, the wind started to get really strong, and it made the waves come up over the sides of the boat so that it was nearly full of water. 38 Jesus was sleeping in the back of the boat with his head on a pillow. His followers were so frightened they woke him up and said, “Teacher, don't you care that we are all going to die?”
39 Jesus opened his eyes and then he got up. He growled at the wind, and said to the water, “Stop. Sit down and be quiet.” Straight away, the wind stopped and the sea went flat. And everything was quiet.
40 Then Jesus said to his followers, “Why are you so frightened? You really don't trust me, do you?”
41 But they were still frightened and they said to each other, “Who is this man? How come the wind and the water listen to him and do what he says?”
+ 4:1 Luke 5:1-3 + 4:12 Isaiah 6:9-10 + 4:21 Matthew 5:15; Luke 11:33 + 4:22 Matthew 10:26; Luke 12:2 + 4:24-25 Matthew 7:2; 13:12; 25:29; Luke 6:38; Luke 19:26