Thirty, Sixty or Even a Hundred Times…

Mark 4:1-20
Key Verse 20

“Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it,
and produce a crop -- thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”

1. Read verses 1-9.  Please describe how Jesus taught the crowd (1-2).  Why did Jesus teach the crowd by parables (11b)?  Briefly describe the parable (3-8).  How did Jesus start and end his parable? (3a, 9)?

2. Read verses 10-12.  Why did the Twelve and the others ask Jesus about the parables? (10)  What is the secret of the kingdom of God?  To whom was it given? (11a)  Why did Jesus teach the outsiders only by parables? (11b-12)

3. Read verses 13-15.  What does the seed the farmer sowed represent? (14) Who are the people like seed along the path? (15)  Why did they become an easy prey for Satan?

4. Read verses 16-17.  Who represents the rocky places? (16-17)  How do they respond to the word? (16)  However, what happened when trouble or persecution comes? (17) 

5. Read verses 18-19.  Who represents the thorny places? (18)  Why are they unfruitful? (19)

6. Read verse 20.  Who represents the seed sown on good soil? (20a).  What distinguishes this person from the previous three? (20b)  How can we be fruitful? (20)