Mark 4 - First Nations Version

SEED PLANTER STORY

¹ Creator Sets Free (Jesus) returned to the lakeshore and once again a very large crowd gathered around him. They pressed in so close that he got into a canoe and pushed out a little way from shore, while the people stayed at the shoreline.

² He then began to tell them stories to teach them about the ways of Creator’s good road.

³ “Listen!” he said. “A seed planter went to plant some seeds and began to scatter them about on the ground.

⁴ “Some seeds fell on the village pathway, but people walked on them, and the winged ones pecked at the seeds and ate them all.

⁵ “Some of the seeds fell on the rocks where there was only a little dirt. The plants sprouted up quickly,

⁶ but when the sun came out, they dried up because the roots were not deep enough.

⁷ “Other seeds fell into the weeds, and thistles sprouted around the seeds and choked the life out of them. None of these plants grew for a harvest.

⁸ “But some seeds fell on good ground, grew strong, and gave a harvest of thirty, sixty, and even one hundred times as much.”

⁹ Then he said, “Let the one who has ears hear the meaning of this story.”

THE REASON FOR STORIES

¹⁰ Later, when the twelve message bearers and other followers were alone with him, they asked why he taught with stories.

¹¹ He answered them, “To my close followers the honor has been given to understand about the mysterious ways of Creator’s good road. This honor is not given to those who are not my close followers. The stories are to help them,

¹² because, ‘When they look, they cannot see clearly what is in front of them. When they hear, they do not understand the meaning. If they did, then they would return to Creator and be released from their broken ways.’

MEANING OF THE SEED PLANTER STORY

¹³ “If you do not understand this story, then how will you understand any of my stories?” he answered.

¹⁴ “The seed in this story is the message about Creator’s good road.

¹⁵ “The village pathway represents the ones who hear but do not understand the message. Accuser (Satan), the evil trickster snake, sneaks up and snatches it away from them.

¹⁶ “The rocky ground represents the ones who hear and receive the message with a glad heart,

¹⁷ but because they have no roots, their faith is shallow and does not last. As soon as the message brings them trouble or opposition, they stumble and lose their way.

¹⁸ “The weeds and thistles represent the ones who have heard the message,

¹⁹ but they are too busy worrying about their earthly existence. This makes them stray away from the good road, wanting more and more possessions, thinking this will make them happy. The message is choked, and their faith stops growing.

²⁰ “The good ground represents the ones with good and pure hearts. When they hear and understand the message, they hold on tightly to it until it grows into a harvest—thirty, sixty, and even one hundred times as great!

LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS

²¹ “No one hides a torch behind a blanket or under a sleeping bundle. No! A torch belongs up high on a pole, where it can give light to everyone.

²² Nothing that has been hidden can stay a secret, and what has been covered up in darkness will be exposed by the light.

²³ The ones who have ears—hear this!”

²⁴ Then he added, “You must listen with an open heart.

²⁵ The ones who do so will gain wisdom and be ready for more—much more. But the ones who close their hearts to my teaching, even what little they have will be taken away.

MORE STORIES ABOUT THE GOOD ROAD

²⁶ “Here is another way to see Creator’s good road,” he said. “It is like a man who plants seed into the earth.

²⁷ Day or night, awake or asleep, the seed grows without the man knowing how or doing anything.

²⁸ The earth makes the seed grow without any help. First the stem, then the head, and finally the grain appears.

²⁹ Once it is ripe, the time has come, and right away it is harvested.

³⁰ “What is Creator’s good road like?” he asked. “What can I compare it to? What story will help us see its meaning?

MUSTARD SEED WISDOM

^31-32 “It is like a single grain of mustard seed, one of the smallest of seeds. But when planted in a garden, it grows larger than all the other plants and takes over the garden. It becomes a great tree with many branches, large enough for the winged ones who soar in the sky to find lodging in its shade.”

³³ So Creator Sets Free (Jesus) taught the people with many stories like these. He would tell them as much as they were able to hear.

³⁴ He would only use stories to teach the crowds, but then in private he would tell the full meaning to the ones who walked the road with him.

POWER OVER STORMS

³⁵ On that same day, as the sun began to set, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) said to his followers, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.”

³⁶ So they left the crowd and climbed into the canoe with him and pushed off from shore along with some other canoes.

³⁷ A storm was moving in, and a fierce wind drove the waves into the canoe and threatened to swamp it. They paddled harder, trying desperately to keep the canoe from sinking, but the wind and waves were too much for them. They were filled with fear and about to sink and needed help from their Wisdomkeeper.

³⁸ But Creator Sets Free (Jesus), weary from a long, hard day, was in the back of the canoe—sleeping on a soft blanket! They shook him awake and cried out loud, “Wisdomkeeper! Do you not care that we are fighting for our lives?”

³⁹ He stood up and spoke sharply to the wind and said to the raging waters, “Calm down and be still!” Right then and there the wind died down, and a great peace fell upon the surface of the water.

⁴⁰ He then turned to his followers and said to them, “Why have you given yourselves over to fear? Where is your faith?”

⁴¹ They all began to tremble with fear. They shook their heads with wonder and whispered to each other, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the waves do what he says!”