Mark 4:1-2 – Jesus Teaching at the sea side

[1] And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.
[2] And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

Mark 4:3-8 – Jesus giving the parable of the sower

[3] Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
[4] And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
[5] And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
[6] But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
[7] And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
[8] 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.

Mark 4:9-10 – The people began to question

[9] And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
[10] And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.

Mark 4:11-33 – Christ brings out the deeper meaning of it

[11] And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
[12] That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
[13] And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
[14] The sower soweth the word.
[15] And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
[16] And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
[17] And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.
[18] And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
[19] And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
[20] 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.
[21] And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
[22] For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.
[23] If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
[24] And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.
[25] For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.
[26] And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground;
[27] And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
[28] For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
[29] But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
[30] And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?
[31] It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth:
[32] But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
[33] And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.

Mark 4:34 – Christ broke it down further for his disciples

[34] But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

Mark 4:35 – Christ asked the disciples to come along across the waters

[35] And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side.

Mark 4:36-38 – As the winds blew down, they became worried

[36] And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship. And there were also with him other little ships.
[37] And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
[38] And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?

Mark 4:39 – Christ first rebuked the wind, then spoke to the sea

[39] And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Mark 4:40 – Jesus questions their faith

[40] And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?

Mark 4:41- The disciples realized His power

[41] And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

North of Jerusalem about 80 miles lies a body of water known as the sea of

Galilee. It is roughly 12 miles long and 7 miles wide. The sea is quite low at about 680 feet below sea level. The river Jordan flows through it on its way to the Dead Sea. It was the lake that Jesus knew as a child and young man. It was only 12 to 15 miles from this childhood home of Nazareth.

Jesus used the boat to get a few yards out so all could see and hear. As the heat became so great on the sea and the hills around the water, and considering that those hills were very high, this would allow cold air to rush in from above and create truly violent winds. These were the kind of storms they were experiencing as they went across. Jesus calming the storm was one of His demonstrated miracles of power over Nature.

It demonstrated the power of rebuke and how we need to put into practice rebuke AND speaking peace. Demonstrated Godly authority to the enemy AND faith in God bringing peace to your mind!

John 2:6-11 – Water Into Wine

[6] And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece.
[7] Jesus saith unto them, Fill the waterpots with water. And they filled them up to the brim.
[8] And he saith unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bare it.
[9] When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,
[10] And saith unto him, Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the good wine until now.
[11] This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.

When you read about the containers, let us put it into perspective:

1 firkin = 9 Gallons

1 Water pot = 2 or 3 firkins (18-27 Gallons per pot)

6 Water pots = 108-162 Possible Gallons of changed water!

The people that drew the water knew that it was truly a miracle. Not just because of the change of contents, but because of the volume of the change. Normally wine is a very long process and would take longer than literally a few spoken words. You can just consider that by the sacrifice of Jesus and grace of God that we are not the old covenant, but of that new wine of Christ!