Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 4:12

That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven them.

12. that seeing they may see, and not perceive ] At the beginning of His ministry our Lord did not teach by Parables. “The Sermon on the Mount may be taken as the type of the ‘words of grace’ which He spake ‘not as the Scribes.’ Beatitudes, laws, promises were uttered distinctly, not indeed without similitudes, but with similitudes that explained themselves.” And so He continued for some time. But His direct teaching was met with scorn, unbelief, and hardness. From this time forward “parables” entered largely into His recorded teaching, and were at once attractive and penal. ( a) Attractive, as “instruments of education for those who were children in age or character,” and offering in a striking form much for the memory to retain, and for the docile and truth-loving to learn; ( b) Penal, as testing the disposition of those who listened to them; withdrawing the light from such as loved darkness and were wilfully blind, and protecting the truth from the mockery of the scoffer; finding out the fit hearers, and leading them, but them only, on to deeper knowledge. See Article on Parables in Smith’s Bible Dict.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Mar 4:12

That seeing, they may see, and not perceive.

The derelict

Terrible, but just and adorable, is this conduct of God towards those who have deserved to be left to themselves. This dereliction has several degrees-

1. Their being abandoned to their own darkness.

2. Their not being able to understand the truths of salvation.

3. Their not obeying them.

4. Their remaining in their sins.

5. Their being condemned.

God is pleased to give examples of this, that the children of promise may know how much they owe to grace. It is a mistake to imagine that whatever appears most severe and rigorous in the conduct of God ought to be concealed from Christians. He Himself instructs us in it, on purpose that we should take great notice of it on proper occasions, and glorify Him on the account of all the good we do, and of all the evil which we avoid. (Quesnel.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

That seeing they may see,…. Which the end and reason of his speaking to them in parables. The passage referred to is in Isa 6:9.

[See comments on Mt 13:14].

[See comments on Mt 13:15].

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Lest haply they should turn again, and it should be forgiven them ( ). Luke does not have these difficult words that seem in Isaiah to have an ironical turn, though Mt 13:15 does retain them even after using for the first part of the quotation. There is no way to make in Mr 4:12 and Mt 13:15 have a causal sense. It is the purpose of condemnation for wilful blindness and rejection such as suits the Pharisees after their blasphemous accusation against Jesus. Bengel says: iam ante non videbant, nunc accedit iudicium divinum. Jesus is pronouncing their doom in the language of Isaiah. It sounds like the dirge of the damned.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

1) “That seeing they may see, and not perceive;” (hina blepontes bleposin kai me idosin) “In order that seeing (superficially), they may thus see and not at all perceive, or comprehend,” not grasp the truth presented in the parabolic language.

2) “And hearing they may hear, and not understand,” (kai akouontes akouosin kai me suniosen) “And while audibly hearing, they may so hear and not understand,” may not have spiritual insight or understanding, of what they audibly hear.

3) “Lest at anytime they should be converted,” (mepote epistrepsoisin) “Lest they should turn, repent, or reverse their course of choice and life,” though such is the will of God, Eze 33:11; 2Pe 3:9.

4) “And their sins should be forgiven them.” (kai aphethe autois) “And their sins should be remitted, pardoned, or forgiven.’ This does not teach that Jesus wanted or sought to keep the unbelieving in the dark regarding salvation and Divine service. But because they were already unwilling to perceive, and understand, and had already combined and confederated by collusion to kill Him, these had been given over to their own chosen judicial blindness, lest they should be converted, turned away from their sin Of unbelief, Mar 3:6; 1Co 2:14.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

Mar 4:12

. That seeing, they may see, and not perceive. Here it may suffice to state briefly what has already been fully explained, that the doctrine is not, strictly speaking, or by itself, or in its own nature, but by accident, the cause of blindness. When persons of a weak sight come out into sunshine, their eyes become dimmer than before, and that defect is in no way attributed to the sun, but to their eyes. In like manner, when the word of God blinds and hardens the reprobate, as this takes place through their own depravity, it belongs truly and naturally to themselves, but is accidental, as respects the word.

Lest at any time they should be converted. This clause points out the advantage that is gained by seeing and understanding It is, that men, having been converted to God, are restored to his favor, and, being reconciled to him, enjoy prosperity and happiness. The true end for which

God desires that his word should be preached is, to reconcile men to himself by renewing their minds and hearts. With respect to the reprobate, on the other hand, Isaiah here declares that the stony hardness remains in them, so that they do not obtain mercy, and that the word fails to produce its effect upon them, so as to soften their minds to repentance.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(12) That seeing they may see. . . .St. Mark characteristically gives the words of Isa. 6:9, but not as a quotation, and perhaps in a less accurate form, and omits the addition in Matthew, Blessed are your ears . . . The form in this instance, at first sight, suggests the thought that our Lords purpose was to produce the blindness and deafness of which He speaks. The real meaning of the words is, however, plain. This was to be the result of the wilful blindness of those who rejected Him; and the acceptance of a foreseen result was, in Hebrew forms of thought, expressed as the working out of an intention. (See Notes on Mat. 13:14-15.)

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

12. That Many learned men understand this that to mean so that. Others interpret it in order that. The former meaning indicates that parables were here used so that the effects described in this verse do really follow, but not with the divine intention that they should follow. The latter indicates that parables are used with the intention and purpose that such results should follow. Now the latter is the more ordinary sense, though not the necessary one, of the Greek word here rendered that. It here indicates that parables were used for the purpose that men who chose might remain blind. Not that their blindness is a primary purpose of the Almighty; but that blindness which is their choice may be accorded to them. These negative verbs not perceive and not understand, express intentional unintelligence. These men do not fall into passive ignorance, but they actively ignore. Lest This lest depends upon this ignoring. They ignore lest they should be converted. Obdurate sinners are sometimes afraid they will be converted. They fear that the truth will become so clearly truth that they cannot stand, and will in the trying moment yield to it. To prevent the evil use they would make of his truth Jesus wraps it in parables, and so accommodates their wish to his truth in order to avoid conversion. And their sins should be forgiven them Silly are these men who are so afraid of conversion. For what is the worst that would happen if they should be converted? Simply this: their sins would be forgiven, and they would be healed.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments