◄ Mark 4:19 ►
but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
Study Bible
But the worries of this life
The phrase "worries of this life" refers to the anxieties and concerns that are part of our earthly existence. The Greek word for "worries" is "merimna," which implies a distraction or a division of the mind. In a historical context, this reflects the everyday struggles faced by people in the first century, such as food, clothing, and shelter. These worries can consume one's thoughts and energy, diverting attention away from spiritual growth and the teachings of Christ. From a conservative Christian perspective, believers are encouraged to cast their anxieties on God, trusting in His provision and care, as emphasized in 1 Peter 5:7.

the deceitfulness of wealth
"Wealth" in this context is translated from the Greek word "ploutos," which signifies riches or abundance. The "deceitfulness" of wealth suggests that riches can create a false sense of security and self-sufficiency, leading individuals away from reliance on God. Historically, wealth has been seen as a blessing, but it also poses a spiritual danger when it becomes an idol. The Bible consistently warns against the love of money, as seen in 1 Timothy 6:10, emphasizing that it can lead to spiritual ruin. Conservative Christians are reminded to view wealth as a tool for God's kingdom rather than an end in itself.

and the desires for other things
The phrase "desires for other things" is derived from the Greek word "epithymia," which means a strong craving or longing. This encompasses any yearning that diverts one's focus from God and His word. In the historical and cultural context of the New Testament, such desires could include the pursuit of status, power, or pleasure. These desires are not inherently sinful but become problematic when they overshadow one's commitment to God. From a conservative Christian viewpoint, believers are called to seek first the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:33), ensuring that their desires align with His will.

come in and choke the word
The imagery of "choke" is vivid, suggesting a suffocation or stifling of the word of God. The Greek word "sympnigō" conveys the idea of being overwhelmed or crowded out. In the parable of the sower, this represents how external pressures and internal desires can stifle spiritual growth. Historically, this reflects the challenges faced by early Christians who were often tempted to conform to societal norms. Conservative Christians are encouraged to guard their hearts and minds, ensuring that the word of God remains central and unimpeded in their lives.

and it becomes unfruitful
"Unfruitful" is translated from the Greek word "akarpos," meaning barren or unproductive. This signifies a failure to produce the spiritual fruits that are expected of a believer, such as love, joy, peace, and righteousness. In the scriptural context, fruitfulness is a key indicator of a vibrant faith, as seen in John 15:5, where Jesus speaks of the necessity of abiding in Him to bear fruit. From a conservative Christian perspective, the call is to remain steadfast in faith, allowing the Holy Spirit to cultivate a life that reflects the character of Christ and advances His kingdom.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
The speaker of the parable, teaching His disciples and the crowd about the Kingdom of God through the Parable of the Sower.

2. The Crowd
The audience listening to Jesus' teachings, representing various types of hearers of the Word.

3. The Disciples
Followers of Jesus who receive further explanation of the parable, representing those who seek deeper understanding.

4. The Sower
Symbolic of anyone who spreads the Word of God.

5. The Seed
Represents the Word of God being sown into the hearts of people.
Teaching Points
The Dangers of Distraction
The worries of this life can distract us from God's Word. We must prioritize spiritual growth over worldly concerns.

The Deceitfulness of Wealth
Wealth can be deceptive, promising security and happiness but often leading us away from God. True security is found in Christ.

Desires for Other Things
Our desires can become idols, taking the place of God in our hearts. We must guard against letting anything overshadow our relationship with Him.

Fruitfulness in the Christian Life
To be fruitful, we must allow the Word to take root deeply in our hearts, free from the choking influences of the world.

Cultivating a Receptive Heart
Regular self-examination and prayer can help us identify and remove the thorns that hinder our spiritual growth.
Bible Study Questions
1. What are some specific "worries of this life" that you find most challenging, and how can you address them biblically?

2. How can you guard against the deceitfulness of wealth in your own life, and what practical steps can you take to ensure your priorities align with God's Kingdom?

3. Reflect on a time when desires for other things have choked the Word in your life. How did you overcome this, or how can you seek to overcome it now?

4. In what ways can you cultivate a more fruitful heart that is receptive to God's Word, and how can you encourage others to do the same?

5. How do the teachings in Hebrews 12:1-2 and James 1:22-25 complement the message of Mark 4:19, and how can you apply these teachings to your daily walk with Christ?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 6:19-21
Jesus warns against storing up treasures on earth, which connects to the deceitfulness of wealth mentioned in Mark 4:19.

1 Timothy 6:9-10
Paul speaks about the dangers of desiring wealth, which can lead to ruin and destruction, echoing the choking effect of wealth on the Word.

Hebrews 12:1-2
Encourages believers to lay aside every weight and sin that entangles, similar to the worries and desires that choke the Word.

James 1:22-25
Emphasizes being doers of the Word, not just hearers, to avoid becoming unfruitful.

Luke 12:22-31
Jesus teaches about not worrying about life, which directly relates to the worries of this life mentioned in Mark 4:19.
Sermons
Parabolic TeachingJ.J. Given Mark 4:1-20
The Process of Truth in the SoulE. Johnson Mark 4:1-20
The Duty of Faithfully Hearing the WordR. Green Mark 4:1-25
The Parable of the SowerA.F. Muir Mark 4:3-9, 18-23
The Parable of the SowerA.F. Muir Mark 4:3-9, 18-23
The Parable of the SowerA.F. Muir Mark 4:3-9, 18-23
The Perils and the Prospects of the Good Seed of the KingdomA. Rowland Mark 4:15-20
People
Jesus
Places
Galilee, Sea of Galilee
Topics
Age, Anxieties, Becomes, Becometh, Cares, Choke, Deceitfulness, Deceits, Delight, Desire, Desires, Enter, Entering, Excessive, Fruit, Gives, Growth, Lusts, Making, Message, Objects, Proves, Pursuit, Riches, Stifle, Stop, Unfruitful, Wealth, Worldly, Worries
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Mark 4:19

     5399   luxury
     5973   unreliability
     6250   temptation, sources
     8701   affluence
     8810   riches, dangers
     8845   unfruitfulness
     8849   worry

Mark 4:1-20

     2357   Christ, parables

Mark 4:1-34

     2345   Christ, kingdom of

Mark 4:10-20

     8319   perception, spiritual

Mark 4:13-20

     2060   Christ, patience of
     4540   weeds

Mark 4:14-20

     1690   word of God

Mark 4:16-19

     8743   faithlessness, nature of

Mark 4:18-19

     2426   gospel, responses
     5786   ambition, negative

Mark 4:19-20

     8443   growth

Library
October 1 Evening
Grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.--EPH. 4:15. First the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.--Till we all come to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ. They measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. For not he that commendeth himself is approved, …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

December 21 Evening
Master, carest thou not that we perish?--MARK 4:38. The Lord is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works. Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.--While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease. The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble; and he knoweth them that trust in him.--God heard the voice of the lad: and the angel of …
Anonymous—Daily Light on the Daily Path

Lamps and Bushels
'And Jesus 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?'--Mark iv. 21. The furniture of a very humble Eastern home is brought before us in this saying. In the original, each of the nouns has the definite article attached to it, and so suggests that in the house there was but one of each article; one lamp, a flat saucer with a wick swimming in oil; one measure for corn and the like; one bed, raised slightly, but sufficiently to admit …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Four Soils for one Seed
'And when He was alone, they that were about Him with the twelve asked of Him the parable. 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 …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Storm Stilled
'And the same day, when the even was come, He saith unto them, Let us pass over unto the other side. 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? 39. And He arose, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Toiling Christ
'They took Him even as He was in the ship.... And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow.'--Mark iv. 36, 38. Among the many loftier characteristics belonging to Christ's life and work, there is a very homely one which is often lost sight of; and that is, the amount of hard physical exertion, prolonged even to fatigue and exhaustion, which He endured. Christ is our pattern in a great many other things more impressive and more striking; and He is our pattern in this, that 'in the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The First Great Group of Parables.
(Beside the Sea of Galilee.) Subdivision C. Parable of the Seed Growing Itself. ^B Mark IV. 26-29. ^b 26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth; 27 and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how. [In the kingdom of grace, as well as in the kingdom of nature, we are laborers together with God. As preachers, teachers, or friends we sow the seed of the kingdom and God brings it to perfection (I. Cor. iii. …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Seed Growing Secretly.
"And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come."--MARK iv. 26-29. This is the only parable that is peculiar to Mark. The subjects contained in …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

Ancient Versions of the Old Testament.
In the present chapter only those versions of the Old Testament are noticed which were made independently of the New. Versions of the whole Bible, made in the interest of Christianity, are considered in the following part. I. THE GREEK VERSION CALLED THE SEPTUAGINT. 1. This is worthy of special notice as the oldest existing version of the holy Scriptures, or any part of them, in any language; and also as the version which exerted a very large influence on the language and style of the New Testament; …
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Harvest.
Harvest. See! the corn again in ear! How the fields and valleys smile! Harvest now is drawing near To repay the farmer's toil: Gracious LORD, secure the crop, Satisfy the poor with food; In thy mercy is our hope, We have sinned but thou art good. While I view the plenteous grain As it ripens on the stalk; May I not instruction gain, Helpful, to my daily walk? All this plenty of the field Was produced from foreign seeds; For the earth itself would yield Only crops of useless weeds. Though, when …
John Newton—Olney Hymns

Of Avoiding Heresies and Superstitions, and what is the Only True Catholic Church.
But since many heresies have existed, and the people of God have been rent into divisions at the instigation of demons, the truth must be briefly marked out by us, and placed in its own peculiar dwelling-place, that if any one shall desire to draw the water of life, he may not be borne to broken cisterns [898] which hold no water, but may know the abundant fountain of God, watered by which he may enjoy perpetual light. Before all things, it is befitting that we should know both that He Himself and …
Lactantius—The divine institutes

On Earthly Things
The earth is man himself; in the gospel: another has fallen into the good earth. The same in a bad part about the sinner: you devour the earth all the days of your life. [Mark 4:18; Genesis 3:14] The dry lands are the flesh of a fruitless man; in Ecclesiastes, to work in a dry land with evil and sorrow. [Ecclesiastes 37:3] The dust is a sinner or the vanity of the flesh; in the psalm: like the dust, which the wind blows about. [Ps. 1:4 Vulgate] The mud is the gluttony of sinners; in the psalm: tear …
St. Eucherius of Lyons—The Formulae of St. Eucherius of Lyons

On the Animals
The birds are the saints, because they fly to the higher heart; in the gospel: and he made great branches that the birds of the air might live in their shade. [Mark 4:32] Flying is the death of the saints in God or the knowledge of the Scriptures; in the psalm: I shall fly and I shall be at rest. [Ps. 54(55):7 Vulgate] The wings are the two testaments; in Ezekiel: your body will fly with two wings of its own. [Ez. 1:23] The feathers are the Scriptures; in the psalm: the wings of the silver dove. …
St. Eucherius of Lyons—The Formulae of St. Eucherius of Lyons

Four Miracles
"And there was a great calm." MARK 4:39 (R.V.) "Behold, him that was possessed with devils, sitting, clothed and in his right mind, even him that had the legion." v. 15 (R.V.) "Who touched Me?" v. 31 (R.V.) "Talitha cumi." v. 41 (R.V.) THERE are two ways, equally useful, of studying Scripture, as there are of regarding the other book of God, the face of Nature. We may bend over a wild flower, or gaze across a landscape; and it will happen that a naturalist, pursuing a moth, loses sight of a mountain …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Parables
"And again He began to teach by the sea side. And there is gathered unto Him a very great multitude, so that He entered into a boat, and sat in the sea; and all the multitude were by the sea on the land. And He taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in His teaching. . . . "And when He was alone, they that were about Him with the twelve asked of Him the parables. And He said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Chapter: 4:21-25 Lamp and Stand
"And He said unto them, Is the lamp brought to be put under the bushel, or under the bed? and not to be put on the stand? For there is nothing hid, save that it should be manifested; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light. If any man hath ears to hear, let him hear. And He said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete it shall be measured unto you: and more shall be given unto you. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Seed Growing Secretly
"And He said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed upon the earth; and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knoweth not how. The earth beareth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is ripe, straightway he putteth forth the sickle, because the harvest is come." MARK 4:26-29 (R.V.) ST. Mark alone records this parable of a sower who sleeps by night, and rises for other business by …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Sower
"Hearken: Behold the sower went forth to sow: and it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured it. And other fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth; and straightway it sprang up, because it had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And other fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And others fell into the good ground, …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Mustard Seed
"And He said, How shall we liken the kingdom of God? or in what parable shall we set it forth? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, though it be less than all the seeds that are upon the earth, yet when it is sown, groweth up, and becometh greater than all the herbs, and putteth out great branches; so that the birds of the heaven can lodge under the shadow thereof. And with many such parables spake He the word unto them, as they were able to hear it: and without …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Two Storms (Jesus Walking on the Water)
"And on that day, when even was come, He saith unto them, Let us go over unto the other side. And leaving the multitude, they take Him with them, even as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him. And there ariseth a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the boat, insomuch that the boat was now filling. And He Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion: and they awake Him, and say unto Him, Master, carest Thou not that we perish? And He awoke, and rebuked the wind, and said unto …
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Sovereignty of God in Administration
"The LORD hath prepared His Throne In the heavens; and His Kingdom ruleth over all" (Psa. 103:19). First, a word concerning the need for God to govern the material world. Suppose the opposite for a moment. For the sake of argument, let us say that God created the world, designed and fixed certain laws (which men term "the laws of Nature"), and that He then withdrew, leaving the world to its fortune and the out-working of these laws. In such a case, we should have a world over which there was no intelligent, …
Arthur W. Pink—The Sovereignty of God

The First Great Group of Parables.
(Beside the Sea of Galilee.) Subdivision A. Introduction. ^A Matt. XIII. 1-3; ^B Mark IV. 1, 2; ^C Luke VIII. 4. ^a 1 On that day went Jesus out of the house [It is possible that Matthew here refers to the house mentioned at Mark iii. 19. If so, the events in Sections XLVIII.-LVI. all occurred on the same day. There are several indications in the gospel narratives that this is so], and sat by the sea side. ^b 1 And again he began again to teach by the sea side. [By the Sea of Galilee.] And there …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus Stills the Storm.
(Sea of Galilee; Same Day as Last Section) ^A Matt. VIII. 18-27; ^B Mark IV. 35-41; ^C Luke VIII. 22-25. ^b 35 And that day, { ^c one of those days,} ^b when the even was come [about sunset], ^a when Jesus saw great multitudes about him, he gave commandment to depart unto the other side. { ^b he saith unto them, Let us go over unto the other side.} [Wearied with a day of strenuous toil, Jesus sought rest from the multitude by passing to the thinly settled on the east side of Galilee.] ^a 19 And there …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

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