Seminaries and Institutes
Mark 4: Jesus Teaches with Parables

“Mark 4: Jesus Teaches with Parables,” New Testament Seminary Student Study Guide (2003)

“Mark 4,” New Testament Student Study Guide

Mark 4

Jesus Teaches with Parables

The word parable comes from a Greek word that means “to set alongside” or, in other words, to set one thing next to something else in order to compare them. Jesus told parables, or stories, of things the people were very familiar with that could be compared to a spiritual truth. The introduction to Matthew 13 (p. 22) explains why Jesus used parables and gives some ideas for interpreting their meanings.

Other Accounts of What You Read in Mark 4

Mark 4:1–25—Matthew 13:1–23; Luke 8:4–18

Mark 4:30–34—Matthew 13:31–35

Mark 4:35–41—Matthew 8:18–27; Luke 8:22–25

Studying the Scriptures

Do both activity A and B as you study Mark 4.

  1. Meet the Press

    1. Imagine you have been assigned to speak about the Church to a group of newspaper reporters. Tell which parable from Mark 4 you could use to answer each of the following questions:

      • What is the future of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?

      • Why does the Church send out so many missionaries?

      • How do you explain the remarkable growth of the Church, considering that it is fairly new compared to most world religions and started quite small in the frontier United States?

    2. Tell which parable seems to apply to the following statement by President Gordon B. Hinckley: “The Church is growing in a marvelous and wonderful way. … It is spreading over the Earth in a miraculous manner” (in Steve Fidel, “Members Living Abroad Outnumber LDS in U.S.,” Deseret News, 26–27 Feb. 1996, A2).

  2. Answers to Important Questions

    There are four questions asked in Mark 4:35–41. The disciples asked the first and the fourth questions; Jesus asked the second and third. No answers were given for any of the questions, but by carefully reading the story and by analyzing what we know about Jesus and His disciples we can think about possible answers.

    1. Write the first question and the answer you think Jesus would give.

    2. Write the second and third questions and answer them as if you were the disciples.

    3. Write your own answer to the fourth question.

    4. What message could this experience have for someone today?