Mark 4:26-41

26“The kingdom of God is like this,” he said. “A man scatters seed on the ground.

27He sleeps and rises night and day; the seed sprouts and grows, although he doesn’t know how.

28The soil produces a crop by itself — first the blade, then the head, and then the full grain on the head.

29As soon as the crop is ready, he sends for the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

30And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to describe it?

31It’s like a mustard seed that, when sown upon the soil, is the smallest of all the seeds on the ground.

32And when sown, it comes up and grows taller than all the garden plants, and produces large branches, so that the birds of the sky can nest in its shade.”

33He was speaking the word to them with many parables like these, as they were able to understand.

34He did not speak to them without a parable. Privately, however, he explained everything to his own disciples.

35On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.”

36So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him.

37A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.

38He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?”

39He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

41And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”