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Mark 4 Bible study: Ears to hear
Jesus explained the farmer's parable himself: the farmer sows the word, and those on every kind of ground hear it (4:14-20). And in the boat he "rebuked" the wind and said "Be still!" (4:39) with the same two Greek verbs he used when he silenced an unclean spirit (1:25).
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“They were greatly afraid and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?””
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“In Mark 4:10, those who asked Jesus about the parables were those around him with the twelve.”
Is that in Mark 4, or not? Make your call.
What's really going on
"Listen!"
Jesus's first word in the parable is "Listen!" (4:3), and the parable ends, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear" (4:9). He says it again after the lamp, "If any man has ears to hear, let him hear" (4:23), and then, "Take heed what you hear" (4:24). Mark closes the teaching, "With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it" (4:33). In Greek these are one verb, akouo (tap hear): in 4:1-34 it is tagged 14 times, in ten verses. And the chapter ends with a word Strong's gives as formed from it. In the boat the disciples ask, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (4:41). Obey there is hypakouo (tap obey), which Strong's gives as formed from G5259 and akouo (G191), and defines as "to hear under (as a subordinate), i.e. to listen attentively; by implication, to heed or conform to a command or authority".
Where the Old Testament leads here
Even the wind and the sea
Exodus 14:21leads toMark 4:39-41
"The LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all night" (14:21), and a psalm remembers, "He rebuked the Red Sea also, and it was dried up" (Psalm 106:9). In a storm on the lake, Jesus "rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’" (Mark 4:39). He asked his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? How is it that you have no faith?" (Mark 4:40), and they said, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" (Mark 4:41). Mark doesn't mention Exodus, so this link is a reading: some hear in the disciples' question the LORD who rebuked the sea at the crossing, now at work in Jesus; others read the storm on its own, as showing Jesus' authority over wind and sea without a link to Exodus.
Honest questions
Questions people ask about Mark 4
That was a taste
The rest of Mark 4 is waiting in Favor
- "The farmer sows the word"
- Two seeds, left as they are
- "Who then is this?"
- Three Gospels in the boat
- Isaiah's words in Jesus's answer
- 14 questions as you read
- 12 more Greek words
- A short check at the end
- Your notes, saved as you go
Favor reads the Bible in order, so you'll reach Mark 4 with everything before it in view. First week free, then $10 a month per person.
The Greek word behind it
ἀκούωakouosay ak-OO-o
Strong's: "to hear (in various senses)". Thayer lists 4:3's Listen! under the sense "to attend to (use the faculty of hearing), consider what is or has been said". Jesus's first word in the parable, "Listen!" (4:3), is this verb, and so is every hear and heard in 4:1-34. It is tagged 14 times in those verses, in ten of them, and 48 times in Mark (counted in RP2018, the Byzantine text the WEB translates). Twice Jesus says, "let him hear" (4:9, 4:23). Later he asks his disciples, "Having ears, don’t you hear?" (8:18).
For your group
Mark 4 Bible study questions
- 1In Jesus's explanation those on every kind of ground hear the word, and what happens after is what differs (4:15-20). What helps something you hear from God take root rather than fade?
- 2The man sleeps and rises, and the seed grows "though he doesn’t know how" (4:27). Where have you seen something good grow that you couldn't make happen or hurry?
- 3In the storm the disciples asked, "Teacher, don’t you care that we are dying?" (4:38). Have you ever wanted to ask God something like that? What did you do with the question?
Leading a group? In Favor, everyone reads Mark 4 during the week and answers these questions privately. Answers stay sealed until you meet, then appear together, and you can print the week's sheet.
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Questions
What is Favor?
Favor is a Bible study app that explains every chapter as you read: the Hebrew and Greek behind the words, the details most readers miss, and how each part of the Bible leads to Jesus. Read on your own, or start a Bible study with friends, family or your church.
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Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, which is in the public domain. Hebrew and Greek words are checked against the original-language texts and public-domain lexicons. What we believe · Favor home