Mar 4:20 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.

Alternative: And those that are sown on quality ground, who hear the word and accepts the idea from another as truth, bears fruit, one thirty times, another sixty times, and others a hundred times.

This version differs from Mat 13:23 in a single significant word. In Matthew, those on the good ground "understand" the word. Here, Mark says that they "receive" the word, or "accept it as correct." This is the only time in the Gospels that this specific Greek word for "receive" is used.

Since the words of Christ are almost always rendered in the same Greek words, this draws my attention. The term used in Matthew for translated as "understand" is suniêmi (suniemi) which actually means "bring together" whereas the primary meaning of the term used here is "receive from another." Both carry the idea of a connection with other people that doesn't come across at all in the English.

This is important because the primary symbol in this parable is the earth. The earth is Christ's symbol from our emotional relationships with other people, specifically our personal, meaningful relationships. Not connecting Christ's ideas with relationships, having too shallow emotional relationships, or having those relationships crowded out by other concerns are the three problems described here prevent us from getting value out of Christ's ideas.

However, if we have those personal, emotional relationship and connect Christ's ideas with those relationships, and our lives become productive.

But what do we produce? Christ discusses it simply as various multiples, but what is being multiplied?

If we extend the analogy, what is multiplied is the seed, that is, Christ's ideas. So we duplicate the idea, passing it on to others. However, something more general is hinted at. Our lives become that many times more meaningful and significant in the world. This significance doesn't come from our social concerns, which work against them. Instead, it comes from building our ideas and contribution on tops of Christs ideas.

"Good" is from kalos (kalos), which means "beautiful," "good," "of fine quality," "noble," and "honorable." It is most often translated as "good" juxtaposed with "evil" in the New Testament, but the two ideas are closer to "wonderful" and "worthless," "noble" and "base."

"Hear" and "hearing" are from akouô (akouo), which means "hear of," "hear tell of," "what one actually hears," "know by hearsay," "listen to," "give ear to," "hear and understand," and "understand."

"Receive" is from paradechomai (paradechomai), which means "receive from another," "take over," "admit," "allow," and "recognize as correct."

"Brings forth fruit" is from karpophoreô, which means specifically "to bear fruit." It is also a metaphor in Greek, as in English, for virtue. It is the positive from of the term used in the previous verse, akarpos, which means barren.