The Way
Parables by the Sea
The kingdom of God in a tiny seed
Story
That day Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. As people kept crowding in without end, he got into a boat and sat on the water, while the crowd stood packed along the shore. Carried on the calm water, his voice reached far. The murmuring on the shore died away. Listen. A sower went out to sow his seed.
Some seed fell along the path, and the birds came down and pecked it up. Some fell on rocky ground where the soil was thin, and it sprang up quickly, but when the sun rose it was scorched and withered. Some fell among thorns and was choked. But the seed that fell on good soil grew and bore fruit, thirty, sixty, a hundred times over. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
One story followed another. A mustard seed is smaller than any seed sown in the ground, yet it grows into a tree where the birds of the air come and nest in its branches. A little yeast mixed into the flour makes the whole batch rise. A man who finds treasure hidden in a field goes off in joy, sells all he has, and buys that field. So does a merchant who finds a precious pearl. A net thrown into the sea hauls up every kind of fish. That is what the kingdom of heaven was like.
Walk this scene on the map →His Words
The seed sown on good soil stands for those who hear the word and welcome it, and they bear fruit thirty, sixty, and a hundred times over.
The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. When planted it is smaller than any seed, but it grows larger than every plant, and birds nest in its shade.
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. Whoever finds it goes off in joy, sells all he has, and buys that field.
Do you light a lamp only to cover it with a bowl or put it under a bed? Will you not set it on a lampstand?
The sayings are fresh renderings of the original meaning in today's language. Text: Mt 13:1–52 · Mk 4:1–34 · Lk 8:4–18
Background
Between Capernaum and Tabgha lies a small inlet called the Bay of the Sower. Research suggests its sloping shore gathers sound like a natural amphitheater, so a voice from a boat could reach thousands.
Pause and Reflect
What keeps God's word from taking root in my heart, even after I hear it?