The Kingdom of God is Like…

Gospel of Mark 4

Jesus again began to teach by the sea; and, as an immense crowd was gathering round him, he got into a boat, and sat in it on the sea, while all the people were on the shore at the water’s edge. 2 Then he taught them many truths in parables; and in the course of his teaching he said to them: 3 “Listen! The sower went out to sow; 4 And while sowing, some of the seed fell along the path; and the birds came, and ate it up.

5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and, having no depth of soil, sprang up at once; 6 But, when the sun rose, it was scorched, and, having no root, withered away. 7 Some of the seed fell among brambles; but the brambles shot up and completely choked it, and it yielded no return. 8 Some fell into good soil, and, shooting up and growing, yielded a return, amounting to thirty, sixty, and even a hundred fold.” 9 And Jesus said: “Let anyone who has ears to hear with hear.”

10 Afterwards, when he was alone, his followers and the twelve asked him about his parables; 11 And he said: “To you the hidden truth of the kingdom of God has been imparted; but to those on the outside, teaching takes the form of parables, 12 That ‘though they have eyes, they may see without perceiving; and though they have ears, they may hear without understanding; lest some day they should turn and be forgiven.’” 13 He then went on to ask them: “Do you not know the meaning of this parable? Then how will you understand all the other parables? 14 The sower sows the message.”

15 “The people meant by the seed that falls along the path are those where the message is sown, but, as soon as they have heard it, Satan immediately comes and carries away the message that has been sown in them. 16 So, too, those meant by the seed sown on the rocky places are the people who, when they have heard the message, at once accept it joyfully; 17 But, as they have no root, they stand only for a short time; and so, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the message, they fall away at once.”

18 “Those meant by the seed sown among the brambles are different; they are the people who hear the message, 19 But the cares of life, and the glamour of wealth, and cravings for many other things come in and completely choke the message, so that it gives no return. 20 But the people meant by the seed sown on the good ground are those who hear the message, and welcome it, and yield a return, thirty, sixty, and even a hundred fold.”

Learn the Gospels through the Lord’s Prayer.

To continue reading Chapter 5 of the Gospel of Mark and learn what the Kingdom of God is like, please click on page 2 below.

John – Gospel 17 – Christ Is The Messenger

After saying this, Jesus raised his eyes heaven-wards, and said: “Father, the hour has come; honor thy Son, that thy Son may honor you; 2 Even as thou gave him power over all mankind, that he should give eternal life to all those whom thou has given him. 3 And the eternal life is this: to know thee the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou has sent as thy messenger. 4 I have honored thee on earth by completing the work which thou has given me to do; 5 And now do thou honor me, Father, at thy own side, with the honor which I had at thy side before the world began.”

6 “I have revealed thee to those whom thou gave me from the world; they were thy own, and thou gave them to me; and they have laid thy message to heart. 7 They recognize now that everything that thou gave me was from thee; 8 For I have given them the teaching which thou gave me, and they received it, and clearly understood that I came from thee, and they believed that thou has sent me as thy messenger. 9 I intercede for them; I am not interceding for the world, but for those whom thou has given me, for they are thy own—10 All that is mine is thine, and all that is thine is mine—and I am honored in them.”

11 “Now I am to be in this world no longer, but they are still to be in the world, and I am to come to thee. Holy Father, keep them by that revelation of thy name which thou has given me that they may be one, as we are. 12 While I was with them, I kept them by that revelation, and I have guarded them; and not one of them has been lost, except that lost soul—in fulfillment of scripture. 13 But now I am to come to thee; and I am speaking thus, while still in the world, that they may have my own joy, in all its fullness, in their hearts.”

14 “I have given them thy message; and the world hated them, because they do not belong to the world, even as I do not belong to the world. 15 I do not ask thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from evil. 16 They do not belong to the world, even as I do not belong to the world. 17 Sanctify them by the truth; thy message is truth. 18 Just as thou has sent me as thy messenger to the world, so I send them as my messengers to the world. 19 And it is for their sakes that I am sanctified myself, so that they also may be truly consecrated.”

20 “But it is not only for them that I am interceding, but also for those who believe in me through their message, 21 That they all may be one—as thou, Father, are in me, and I in you—so the world may believe that thou has sent me as thy messenger. 22 I have given them the honor which thou has given me, that they may be one as we are one—23 I in union with them and thou with me—that so they may be perfected in their union, and thus the world may know that thou has sent me as thy messenger, and that thou has loved them as thou has loved me.”

24 “Father, my desire for all those whom thou has given me is that they may be with me where I am, so that they may see the honor which thou has given me; for thou did love me before the beginning of the world. 25 O righteous Father, though the world did not know thee, I knew thee; and these people knew that thou has sent me as thy messenger. 26 I have made thee known to them, and will do so still; that the love that thou has had for me may be in their hearts, and that I may be in them also.”

To read the next chapter of the Book of John, please go to The Gospel of John – 18.

This Online New Testament Gospel of John is excerpted from the book The Living Hour: The Lord’s Prayer for Daily Life (with New Century Gospels). Including over 200 bookmarked citations from the canonical Gospels, this Progressive Christian book appeals to the Unitarian spirit at the heart of all faiths.

Challenge your perceptions on the Gospel of Christ, Jesus’s parables, and the Kingdom of God by purchasing The Lord’s Prayer book today. Produced by LivingHour.org, a Thailand-based small press dedicated to publishing unique Learning Easy Thai Language Books, as well as works on progressive spirituality.