Mark 4:1-2; 9-13

1 And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.

² Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:

__________

⁹ And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

¹⁰ But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. ¹¹ And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,

¹² so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; Lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.’”

¹³ And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

Also found in Matthew 13:1-3 and Luke 8:4.

great (v.1) — a superlative, the crowd was very large

boat (v.1) — Not a rowboat, as in Mark 3:9, but a larger boat, moored close to shore. The rowboat was likely the boat used to reach the larger boat.

taught (v.2) — tense indicates a continued action. The Lord gave information and explanation, as opposed to making proclamations.

parables (v.2) = lit. “the placing of two things side by side for purposes of comparison.” So, a spiritual truth compared to a truth from the natural world.

teaching (v.2) = doctrine, that which is taught

those around Him with the twelve (v.10) — apparently a larger group than just the 12, probably His followers from whom the apostles were chosen.

parable (v.10) — should be plural. They asked Him about His parables. This seems to indicate that the key to understanding them was the same — to understand one would be to understand all.

asked (v.10) — The Greek indicates that they asked as soon as they got a chance away from the crowd. Perhaps they waited until then because they didn’t want the crowd to know they didn’t understand, but they also were anxious to find out.

mystery (v.10) — The word … as used in Scripture means “the secret counsels of God which are hidden from the ungodly but when revealed to the godly, are understood by them.” the mystery is not in the fact that they are difficult of interpretation, but that they are impossible of interpretation until their meaning is revealed, when they become plain. — Wuest, page 85.

to you it has been given (v.11) — tense indicates a pat act with present results. The Greek indicates a sense of permanence — they had been given and would remain in possession of the secret.

those who are outside (v.11) — outside the circle, to be understood in the sense of contrast — so, here, the apostles, who sought understanding, as opposed to the Pharisees who had hostile minds.

The use of parables on this occasion was a penalty for judicial blindness on those who will not see. The parables are thus a condemnation on the willingly blind and hostile, while a guide and blessing to the enlightened. This is on the same principle as God hardening Pharaoh’s heart by forcing him to an issue which he did not want to meet (Romans 9:14-18). Light resisted, blinds. Here, these Pharisees were attempting to show that our Lord was in league with Satan. They did not want the truth. Thus, rejecting the truth, they in a sense blinded themselves. The parables are so adjusted that they blind the one who wickedly rejects the truth, and enlighten the one who desires it. — Wuest, pages 85-86.

The quote is from Isaiah 6:9.

turn (v.12) = to turn one’s self about, to turn to, to return to, to cause to return, to bring back. A reversal of one’s position from one previously held.

Their sins be forgiven them (v.12) — “Their sins” does not appear in the best texts. It should be “it should be forgiven them.” The Pharisees would not be forgiven their blasphemous accusations against Jesus. Jesus used the words of Isaiah to declare their doom. The verb is singular, referring to one thing — their rejection of the truth.

do you not understand (v.12) — The apostles had been given the secret (the mystery of the Kingdom of God) and should have understood the parables. Jesus was saying that, if they didn’t understand the parable of the sower, they couldn’t understand any of the parables.