Mark 4:11

11 He answered them, "The secret ^[a] does not mean "mystery" in the Eng sense; it means what we can know only by divine revelation. of the kingdom of God has been granted to you, but to those outside, everything comes in parables

Mark 4:11 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 4:11

And he said unto them
His disciples;

unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God;
or the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, the secrets of the Gospel dispensation, the mysterious doctrines of grace; (See Gill on Matthew 13:11),

but unto them that are without;
"to strangers", as the Syriac and Arabic versions render it, who were not the disciples of Christ, nor admitted to any intimacy with him; who came only to amuse themselves with the sight of his person and miracles:

all [these] things are done in parables;
are wrapped up in dark sayings, and figurative expressions, the sound of which they heard, and might be pleased with the pretty similes made use of, but understood not the spiritual meaning of them.

Mark 4:11 In-Context

9 Then He said, "Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!"

10 When He was alone with the Twelve, those who were around Him asked Him about the parables.

11 He answered them, "The secret does not mean "mystery" in the Eng sense; it means what we can know only by divine revelation. of the kingdom of God has been granted to you, but to those outside, everything comes in parables

12 so that they may look and look, yet not perceive; they may listen and listen, yet not understand; otherwise, they might turn back- and be forgiven. "

13 Then He said to them: "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand any of the parables?

Footnotes

• [a]. The Gk word mysterion