Mark 4:11

11 And he said to them, ¹"To you has been given ²the secret of the kingdom of God, but for ³those outside everything is 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 And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.

11 And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,

12 so that "they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven."

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

Cross References

• 1. Matthew 19:11; Colossians 1:27; [1 Corinthians 2:6-10; 1 John 2:20, 27]; See Matthew 11:25
• 2. See Romans 16:25
• 3. 1 Corinthians 5:12, 13; Colossians 4:5; 1 Thessalonians 4:12; 1 Timothy 3:7