Mark 4:19 - Printer Friendly

ESV: but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

NIV: but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

NASB: but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

CSB: but the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

NLT: but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

The seed from the sower that lands in a thorn patch will germinate and grow; if the soil is rich enough to nourish thorns, it will nourish wheat. But before long, the weeds will choke the young plant, preventing it from developing mature grain (Luke 8:14). Jesus explains that the seed is someone who hears the gospel and starts to allow it to make changes in their life. But they value worldly riches too much to continue.

The word translated "unfruitful" is from the Greek root word akarpos, and refers to a situation that doesn't bring the results it should. Several characters in the Bible showed this quality. In Mark 10:17–27, the rich, young ruler appears to have spiritual maturity resulting in good works, but the love of his wealth reveals where his heart really lies. One man wants to follow Jesus, but first wishes to bury his father—a one-year-long process; Jesus tells him he has the wrong priorities (Matthew 8:21–22). Herod knows that John the Baptist speaks the truth, but to save face in front of his guests he has John killed (Mark 6:14–29).

It is possible that Jesus' brothers reflect this same belief (Mark 3:21, 31). We aren't told exactly why His brothers want to bring Him back to Nazareth, but it could be that rumors that He was crazy are hurting their business.

Scripture says that "the love of money," not merely money itself, is something which draws us away from Christ (1 Timothy 6:10). We cannot prioritize both money and God (Matthew 6:24). Neither can we focus on earthly comforts if we are called to sacrifice for God's kingdom (Matthew 6:25–33). Jesus points out that it is futile for someone to "gain the whole world and forfeit his soul" (Mark 8:36), whether "the world" means comfort, worldly status, wealth, or even our lives (Mark 8:35).

On a smaller scale, Jesus knows that weeds sometimes invade an otherwise fertile soil where we have resolved to establish deep roots (Matthew 13:24–30). God may leave those weeds—the worldly temptations—because we are where He wants us to be and He can protect us, even in the midst of our enemies (Psalm 23). We need to trust His judgment, allow His word to sink deep into our hearts, and trust that the Holy Spirit will develop fruit (Galatians 5:22–23).

Mark 4:10–20 follows Jesus' telling of the parable of the sower, and now and the disciples would like to understand the deeper truths in the story. Jesus made a habit of explaining parables to those who wanted to know more than the general crowd. The fact that they are curious proves that they are the good soil that will produce much fruit. Jesus explains how the growth of the seeds represent why people react differently to His message (Mark 3). The subsequent parables will go deeper into what it will take for the gospel to spread successfully. You can also find this account in Matthew 13:10–23 and Luke 8:9–15.

Jesus speaks in parables to the assembled crowd, giving them an opportunity to decide how much spiritual truth they want to absorb. The disciples, wanting to learn more, ask Jesus to explain the meaning of the parables He has taught. As Jesus explains these ideas, He demonstrates that a person's spiritual knowledge is based on their willingness to pursue truth. After describing Jesus' teaching in some detail, the Gospel of Mark describes how Jesus calms a storm on the Sea of Galilee.

Mark 3 explores the different ways people react to Jesus' teaching and miracles. They either follow Him, use Him, hide Him, or destroy Him. In Mark 4, Jesus explains why people react the way they do. He uses parables to explain who is serious about learning from Him. The softer a person's heart is, the more truth God will reveal. Soon, the twelve will also spread Jesus' message, although they will not be responsible for the spiritual growth of those who believe. The following chapter returns to depicting Jesus' miracles, including two of His most famous.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.