Today’s Scrip-Bit 6 November 2026 Mark 4:14.
Mark 4:14. The sower soweth the word (the seed is the word of God).
And it’s another upcoming weekend as our Friday Mantra reminded us this cloudy and windy first Friday in November. Voices were raised in gleeful shouts of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday, and the weekend is here at last!’ Yes friends, the days keep rolling along very quickly, as though they have a race to run and they’re already behind time. But that’s okay, for as believers in, and followers of Jesus Christ, we don’t need to worry about the quickly passing days because we are taught to, and are disciplined enough to make the most of each day with His awesome help.
And since the Lord God Almighty was gracious enough to allow us to enjoy His breath of life for another day, it’s only right that we keep our promise to continue looking at the parable of the Sower and the seed. And to refresh our memory and bring some continuity to the topic, we’ll quickly review the parable. Today however, we’ll give you Mark’s version. (smile) He writes: ‘And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine (act of teaching as well as the content), Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: and it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air devoured it up.
And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up, and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred (fold). And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
And when he was alone, they that were about him, with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery (secrets or hidden truths) of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without (outside), all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted (turn), and their sins should be forgiven them.’ (Mark 4:2-12)
You see that Mark, as well as Luke, don’t record like Matthew does, the full explanation Jesus offered to the disciples as to why He spoke to the people in parables. And as I said yesterday, I believe it was important for us to at least know about it, that’s why I used Matthew’s version. But now knowing it, we can use the shorter versions of the story. (smile) Anyway, Mark continues: ‘And he (Jesus) said unto them, Know ye not (don’t you understand) this parable? and how then will ye know (understand) all parables?
The sower soweth the word (the seed is the word of God). And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction (tribulation) or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended (caused to stumble).
And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts (desires) of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.’ (Mark 4:13-20)
Yes friends, those are the explanations for the different places that Jesus spoke of in the parable. And per the scholars, ‘Jesus interprets the parable thus: ‘The four soils represent four kinds of people who hear the gospel. (1) Unresponsive people, they by the way side, fail to respond to the seed or word (gospel) sown, so Satan quickly removes it lest they be saved. (2) Impulsive people, the stony ground, are those who immediately receive the gospel, but not counting the cost, have no root (spiritual reality) in themselves. They believe for a while, but soon are offended (defect from the truth) because of persecution. Their rejection of the gospel is as speedy as their reception of it.
(3) Preoccupied people, those among thorns, allow legitimate matters (cares of this world) and illegitimate matters (deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things), to take priority over the gospel. And (4) some people, good ground, hear and receive (take to heart) the gospel, which bears the fruit of faith, obedience, and fidelity in them.’ And unfortunately, all of that still happens today, possibly even more than back in Jesus’ time, as our world becomes more deceitful, greedy, evil and ungodly, and his satanic majesty prances around with a big smile on his ugly face.
But fortunately we all receive our comeuppance at some time or another, and Satan and all his evil cronies will eventually receive theirs, while we, the righteous ones will dwell in peace and LOVE with our heavenly Father! And as we look forward with great anticipation to that time, let’s go to the throne of grace, through our Friday Chant, seeking divine help to remain solid ground, bearing plenty good fruit. Altogether: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work. It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. You know our many serious problems are escalating instead of improving, and we desperately need your help to fix them.
Heavenly Father, with your omnipotent help, and our trusting faith, we know that we can stand strong and steadfast and defeat the simmering unrest in our land. So please give our leaders the wise guidance to handle these unexpected storms properly. And despite the anxiety and confusion of these ungodly times, help us to be responsible, and get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that we can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out next week and further your glorious kingdom by the good example we, your faithful believers set. So that our sinful world can wake up and smell the coffee, wake up and smell it sweet and strong! We pray this in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ! Amen!’
And the sad fact my fellow believers, is that we also need to wake up and smell the coffee, because our soil has become contaminated, thus our witness for Christ, is not as good as it ought to be, else Satan would not have such a stranglehold on our world. So let’s get up right now and begin doing something productive about it nuh! Much LOVE!
…with all the contaminants currently floating around…it is indeed difficult to maintain good soil…but with Jesus’ help, it is certainly possible…
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