Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 4:10
And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
10 25. The Explanation of the Parable
10. And when he was alone ] St Mark here anticipates what took place after the Saviour had “ sent the multitudes away ” and “ gone into the house ” (Mat 13:36).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
See the notes at Mat 13:10-17. On Mar 4:12, see the notes at Joh 12:39-40.
When he was alone – That is, separate from the multitude. When he withdrew from the multitude a few followed him for the purpose of more instruction.
Mar 4:13
Know ye not this parable? – This which is so plain and obvious.
How then will ye know all parables? – Those which are more difficult and obscure. As they were themselves to be teachers, it was important that they should be acquainted with the whole system of religion – of much more importance for them at that time than for the mass of the people.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 10. They that were about him] None of the other evangelists intimate that there were any besides the twelve with him: but it appears there were several others present; and though they were not styled disciples, yet they appear to have seriously attended to his public and private instructions.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
10. And when he was alone, they thatwere about him with the twelveprobably those who followed Himmost closely and were firmest in discipleship, next to the Twelve.
asked of him the parableThereply would seem to intimate that this parable of the sower was ofthat fundamental, comprehensive, and introductory character which wehave assigned to it (see on Mt 13:1).
Reason for Teaching in Parables(Mar 4:11; Mar 4:12;Mar 4:21-25).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And when he was alone,…. After the multitude was dismissed, and he either remained in the ship, or left it, and retired to some private place, it may be to Simon’s house in Capernaum. The Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions read, “when they were alone”; meaning as follows,
they that were about him with the twelve; that is, such disciples of his, who, besides the twelve, constantly attended him; perhaps those who now were, or hereafter were the seventy disciples. The Vulgate Latin reads, “the twelve that were with him”. In Beza’s most ancient copy it is read, “his disciples”; and to this agrees the Persic version; and so the other evangelists, Matthew and Luke, relate, that his disciples came and
asked of him the parable; the meaning of it, and why he chose this way of speaking to the people, Mt 13:10, though that word may include others besides the twelve.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
When he was alone ( ). Only in Mark. Vivid recollection of Peter. Mark has also “they that were about him with the twelve” ( ), Matthew and Luke simply “the disciples.” They did not want the multitude to see that they did not understand the teaching of Jesus.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
When he was alone. Mark only.
They that were about him with the twelve. Mark only. Matthew and Luke, the disciples.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) ”And when He was alone,” (kai hote egeneto kata monas) “And when He came to be alone,” away, apart from the very large crowd, with His people, shortly thereafter.
2) “They that were about Him with the twelve,” (hoi peri auton sun tois dodeka) “Those who (were) around Him, disciples in colleague with the twelve,” that is His church disciples, His- intimate followers, in contrast with, or different from the masses of curious hearers.
3) ”Asked of Him the parable.” (eroton auton tas parabolas) “They questioned Him about the parable,” about the hidden meaning of the parable spoken that day, Tho the plural of parables is used in the Gk. the idea is that the parable had one common drift in meaning, Pro 4:7; Mat 13:10-11; Luk 8:8-10.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
B. THE EXPLANATION OF THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER 4:10-20
TEXT 4:10-20
And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parables. And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables: that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn again, and it should be forgiven them. And he saith unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how shall ye know all the parables? The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; and when they have heard, straightway cometh Satan, and taketh away the word which hath been sown in them. And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky places, who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy; and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway they stumble. And others are they that are sown among the thorns; these are they that have heard the word, and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And those are they that were sown upon the good ground; such as hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit, thirty-fold, and sixty-fold, and a hundred-fold.
THOUGHT QUESTIONS 4:10-20
168.
Why wait until there were but twelve before He told the meaning of the parable?
169.
What is meant by the expression mystery of the kingdom?
170.
Please explain in your own words Mar. 4:12.
171.
Why the rebuke in Mar. 4:13?
172.
Are we to understand that Satan can actually remove the word of God from the heart? How?
173.
How can we have root in ourselves? Cf. Mar. 4:17.
174.
Please notice that those with shallow hearts stumble because of the word. Please explain.
175.
Have the thorns of choking changed? What shall we do with them?
176.
Why do some bear only 30 while others yield 100-fold for the Master?
COMMENT 4:10-20
LESSON ANALYSIS
I.
SPEAKING IN PARABLES, Mar. 4:10-13.
1.
Disciples Ask an Explanation. Mar. 4:10; Mat. 13:10; Luk. 8:9.
2.
The Reason for Parables. Mar. 4:11-12; Mat. 13:11-17; Luk. 8:10.
II.
WAYSIDE AND STONY GROUND, Mar. 4:14-17.
1.
The Good Seed. Mar. 4:14; Luk. 8:11.
2.
Wayside Hearers. Mar. 4:15; Mat. 13:19; Luk. 8:12.
3.
Stony Ground Hearers. Mar. 4:16-17; Mat. 13:20; Luk. 8:13.
III.
THORNS AND GOOD GROUND, Mar. 4:18-20.
1.
The Seed Choked Out. Mar. 4:18-19; Mat. 13:22; Luk. 8:14.
2.
Good Seed in Good Ground. Mar. 4:20; Mat. 13:23; Luk. 8:15.
INTRODUCTION
He privately retired to the margin of the lake, desiring probably to rest awhile; but no sooner had he taken his seat beside the cool, still water, than he was again surrounded by the anxious crowd. At once, to escape the pressure and to command the audience better when he should again begin to speak, he stepped into one of the fishing-boats that floated at ease close by the beach, on the margin of that tideless inland sea. From the waters edge, stretching away upward on the natural gallery formed by the sloping bank, the great congregation, with every face fixed in an attitude of eager expectancy, presented to the Preachers eye the appearance of a plowed field ready to receive the seed. As he opened his lips and cast the word of life freely abroad among them, he saw, he felt, the parallel between the sowing of Nature and the sowing of Grace. Into that word accordingly he threw the lesson of saving truth.W. Arnot.
OUTLINE OF THE PARABLE OF THE SOWERIt will aid in understanding the lesson to have a clear outline in the mind of the application. This is the first parable the Saviour spoke as far as we have record. He spoke the parable to a vast audience in whose minds the story was lodged and left for reflection without an explanation of its meaning. He had sowed, in this illustrative way, the seed of the kingdom broadcast, and in many a heart it would live until it burst forth, full of meaning, to bear fruit. His apostles, not accustomed to this mode of teaching, come to him privately and ask the meaning. In order to understand the parable we must go with the other disciples and listen to the explanation given in Mar. 4:10-20. Christ is the great Sower, and all whom he sends forth to preach are sowers under him. The seed sown is his Word, the Gospel of the Kingdom. The soil where the seed is cast is human hearts, Four kinds of human hearts are described: 1. The wayside hearer; the light flippant, indifferent hearer upon whom no impression is produced. 2. The stony hearer; the heart that exhibits an evanescent feeling at the appeal of the gospel, but upon whom no permanent impression is made. 3. The thorny soil; the heart that takes in the Word, but is so full of worldly cares that these presently gain the mastery. This describes the world-serving hearing. 4. The good soil; the good and honest heart; the heart that receives and retains the truth. In such a heart the seed will grow and the new life will be manifest. Three things, then, are needful: 1. A Sower. 2, Good Seed; the pure word of God, 3. A good and honest heart, A dishonest man cannot be converted until he casts out his dishonesty. He who cavils at and deceitfully entreats the word of God will not be profited.
EXPLANATORY NOTES
I. SPEAKING IN PARABLES.Mar. 4:10. When he was done. This may have occurred after the public labors of the day were over and the multitude had been dismissed. By comparing with Matthew we learn that the Lord spoke seven parables in succession, and it seems to me more probable that the explanations were given in the quiet when surrounded only by the twelve and they that were about him with the twelve, a number of his friends and disciples. Asked of him the parables. This language shows that the Lord had spoken more than once before the explanation was asked for or given. Though the parable was new to his disciples it was not a new method of instruction. A number occur in the Old Testament, and it was frequently adopted by the Jewish rabbis. It differs from an allegory or fable in that its characters are real and it does not violate possibilities. It is an imaginary illustration of real truth. In this instance the Saviour stated some facts familiar to all the farming population of Palestine and made them the vehicle to carry spiritual truth. Perhaps from where the multitude was gathered a sower on the plain of Gennesaret was visible at work and pointed to by the Lord.
Mar. 4:11. Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom. A mystery is not something obscure, but something plain to those initiated, but a secret to those without. The Greeks had what were called the Eleu-sinian mysteries, unknown to all without, but fully explained to all who were initiated. The Saviour says no more than that there are matters that my disciples shall know that those without can never understand. When one makes Jesus the Master and himself a pupil (disciple), of course he has the vantage ground and will be admitted to spiritual knowledge that he could never obtain had he not entered the school of Christ. The English alphabet is a mystery to the savage, but is no mystery to even little children who have learned it. To them that are without . . . parables. The method of instruction by parables was peculiarly adapted to their state. It was interesting, and would excite attention, and many of the similes would be long remembered, and their true meaning would insensibly break forth upon their minds. It would lead them to some correct views before they were aware. At the same time the truths thus delivered were covered by a thin veil, and were not immediately apprehended; thus, while instant rejection might be the result of presenting the naked truth, attention to the truth was secured by the interesting covering under which it was couched. He spake only in parables to these Jewish cavillers, in order to take from them the means of knowing truths which they would merely abuse. He would not cast pearls before swine.
Mar. 4:12. That seeing they may see, and not perceive. Did he speak in parables because he did not wish them to know and to enjoy? Everything shows the reverse. But he was aware, that, in consequence of the inveteracy of their prejudice, they could not, in the first instance, see the secret of the kingdom without being repelled in spirit, and confirmed in their dissent and dislike. He wished, therefore, that they should not see. But, at the same time, he graciously wished that they should look, and keep looking, so that they might, if possible, get such a glimpse of the inner glory as might fascinate their interest and attention, and by and by disarm their prejudices, so that they might with safety be permitted to see.Morison. Though they see the truth intellectually, they shall not appreciate it spiritually; they see it as the horse sees the same prospect with his rider, without appreciation.Abbott. But their position was according to their own choice. Christ forbade none; and the disciples in this case were not merely the twelve chosen by him, but all who would come. Moral inability always is the fruit of moral unwillingness. Those who cannot see, were in the first place unwilling to see. Lest . . . they should he converted. His meaning is not, These things are done in parables, lest they should be converted, but, Their eyes they closed, etc., lest at any time they should be converted. That is, men willfully close their hearts to the truth, lest they should be led to repentance and reformation. They will not, therefore they cannot.
Mar. 4:13. Know ye not this parable? It is not a reproof, but means, You find you cannot understand this without assistance. The next question, and how then will ye know all parables? extends the thought to all parables, but intimates further: The first parable of the kingdom is the basis of all the rest. If they understand not this, they could not understand any that followed. If they had the explanation of this, they had the key for the understanding of all others. Hence our Lord gives, not rules of interpretation, but examples, one of which is here preserved to be our guide in interpretation.
II. WAYSIDE AND STONY GROUND.Mar. 4:14. The sower soweth the word. The great Sower is Christ; the seed sown is the Word of God, the Gospel, whether spoken by Christ, his apostles, preachers, Sunday-school teachers, any disciple, or written in the New Testament, or upon the printed page of the book, tract or newspaper, All spiritual life depends on a divine seed sown in the heart by the divine Sower. The life of the seed depends on, first, receiving it; second, rooting it; third, cultivating it.
Mar. 4:15. These are they by the wayside. The fields of Palestine were not fenced and lay in the open country while the population lived in hamlets. The roads or paths were through the fields. Thomson, in the Land and the Book, says: There are neither roads, nor thorns, nor stony places in such lots. They go forth into the open country, where the path passes through the cultivated land, where there are no fences, where thorns grow in clumps all around, where rocks peep out in places through the scanty soil, and hard by are patches extremely fertile. Some of the seed fell on the hard-beaten paths where it would lie until picked up by the birds. This, said the Savior, represents the hardened, worldly hearts that never allow the seed of the kingdom to enter at all. These never allow the word to get under the surface of their thoughts. The way is the heart, beaten and dried by the passage of evil thoughts. Sin has so hardened the heart, worldliness has so deadened the feelings, sinful pleasures and desires have so dulled the conscience that Gods truth makes no impression, more than a passing dream, or a pleasant song, to be heard and forgotten, Satan . . . taketh away the word that was sown. The object of the preaching of the word is to save souls; the aim of Satan is to destroy souls. The word lies there ready for him. It has not pierced the soil of the heart. It has found no entrance, It is all on the surface. It lies quite naked and exposed. The word has been heard, and that is all. It is snatched away at once. Guthrie says: Wherever there is a preacher in the pulpit, there is a devil among the pews, busy watching the words that fall from the preachers lips to catch them away. Every preacher is familiar with this class. Upon their hard, flinty hearts the most searching appeals fail to make any impression. They come out of idle curiosity, or to cavil and to scoff and go away as they came.
Mar. 4:16. They which are sown on stony ground. Under the figure of the stony ground, he depicts that lively but shallow susceptibility of spirit which grasps the truth eagerly, but receives no deep impressions, and yields as quickly to the reaction of worldly temptations as it had yielded to the divine word. Those whose feelings are touched, but not their conscience or their will. Immediately. The seed in such case springs upall the quicker from the shallowness of the soilbecause it has no depth of earth. Receive it with gladness. The hearer described has not counted the cost; whatever was fair and beautiful in Christianity, as it first presents itself, had attracted himits sweet and comfortable promises, the moral loveliness of its doctrines, but not its answer to the deepest needs of the human heart; as neither, when he received the word with gladness, had he contemplated the having to endure hardness in his warfare with sin and Satan and the world.Trench.
Mar. 4:17. Have no root in themselves. They make profession and begin, but do not hold out, because the good seed has not rooted deeply. These are they who are moved by emotion, not by a deep sense of conviction. When affliction or persecution. As the heat scorches the blade which has no deepness of earth, so the troubles and afflictions, which would have strengthened a true faith, cause a faith which was merely temporary to fail. The image has a peculiar fitness and beauty, for as the roots of a tree are out of sight, yet from them it derives its firmness and stability; so upon the hidden life of the Christian his firmness and stability depend.Trench. A sneer from some leading spirit in a literary society, or a laugh raised by some gay circle of pleasure-seekers in a fashionable drawing-room, or the rude jests of scoffing artisans in a workshop, may do as much as the fagot and the stake to make a fair but false disciple deny his Lord.
III. THORNS AND GOOD GROUND.Mar. 4:18. Sown among thorns. The seed which takes root, but is stifled by the thorns that shoot up with it, figures the mind in which the elements of worldly desire develop themselves along with the higher life, and at last become strong enough to crush it, so that the received truth it utterly lost. The evil here is neither a hard nor a shallow soilthere is softness enough, and depth enough; but it is the existence in it of what draws all the moisture and richness of the soil away to itself, and so starves the plant.
Mar. 4:19. Cares of this world. What are these thorns? First, the cares of this worldanxious, unrelaxing attention to the business of his present life; second, the deceitfulness of richesof those riches which are the fruit of this worldly care; third, the pleasures of this lifethe enjoyments, in themselves it may be innocent, in which worldly prosperity enables one to indulge. These choke or smother the word; drawing off so much of ones attention, absorbing so much of ones interest, and using up so much of ones time, that only the dregs of these remain for spiritual things, and a fagged, hurried and heartless formalism is at length all the religion of such persons.J. F. and B. Our Savior here places riches in the midst between cares and pleasures; for cares generally precede the gaining of riches, and, when gained, they draw men into pleasures and indulgence.Dodd.
Mar. 4:20. Sown on good ground, etc. A heart soft and tender, stirred to its depths on the great things of eternity, and jealously guarded from worldly engrossments, such only is the honest and good heart (Luk. 8:15), which keeps, i.e., retains the seed of the word, and bears fruit just in proportion as it is such a heart. Such bring forth fruit with patience (Mar. 4:15), or continuance, enduring to the end; in contrast with those in whom the word is choked, and brings no fruit to perfection. The thirty-fold is designed to express the lowest degree of fruitfulness; the hundred-fold, the highest, and the sixty-fold the intermediate degrees of fruitfulness. As a hundred-fold, though not unexampled (Gen. 26:12), is a rare return in the natural husbandry, so the highest degrees of spiritual fruitfulness are, too, seldom witnessed.J.F. and B. Some thirty-fold, some sixty and some a hundred. Thirty-fold is now a first-rate crop, even for such plains as Esdraelon, just below Nazareth. But in the time of Christ there might be realized, in favorable circumstances, a hundredfold. Intelligent gentlemen (in the plain of Esdraelon) maintain that they have themselves reaped more than an hundred-fold, Moreover, the different kinds of fertility may be ascribed to different kinds of grain: Barley yields more than wheat; and white maize, sown in the neighborhood, often yields several hundred-fold. An extraordinary number of stalks do actually spring from a single root. Here, on this plain of Sidon, I have seen more than a hundred, and each with a head bowing gracefully beneath the load of well-formed grains. The yield was more than a thousand-fold.Land and Book. Observe the four kinds of seed: The first did not spring up at all; the second sprang up, but soon withered away; the third sprang up and grew, but yielded no fruit; the fourth sprang up, grew, and brought forth fruit. And as there are three causes of unfaithfulness, so there are three degrees of fruitfulness, but only one cause of fruitfulness,Maclear.
FACT QUESTIONS 4:10-20
194.
Show how the parable of the sower was appropriate to the time and place where it was given.
195.
Describe briefly the four types of soils.
196
.Did Jesus speak more than one parable upon this occasion? How many?
197.
Was this a new method of instruction? Show the difference in a parable and an allegory.
198.
Explain the expression mystery of the kingdom.
199.
Show how appropriate the use of parables was to those without.
200.
Please explain: that seeing they may see, and not perceive.lest they be converted.
201.
What seems to be the key to all the parables?
202.
In what way can the seed be sown?
203.
Where was the wayside in the fields of Palestine?
204.
Why are wayside hearers so indifferent?
205.
Explain how Satan takes away the word or the seed?
206.
What causes such a joyful acceptance on the part of someonly to be lost later?
207.
Show the difference between emotion and conviction.
208.
Discuss carefully the three types of thorns and their interrelation.
209.
Show the three causes of unfaithfulness, the three degrees of fruitfulness and the one cause of fruitfulness.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(10) They that were about him.In St. Matthew, simply, the disciples. Here the presence of others besides the Twelve is directly asserted.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘And when he was alone those who were about him with the twelve asked him what the parables meant.’
Notice that this was not just the twelve, it was a wider number of His followers ‘who were about Him’ (compare Mar 3:34). They recognised that there was a lesson to be learned and came to Him seeking more truth. They were not satisfied just with a story.
‘When He was alone.’ That is, when the crowds had dispersed and He was no longer in demand. This explanation need not necessarily have been given immediately. Indeed this comment suggests that it may well not have been, for Mar 4:35 suggests connection back to Mar 4:1 indicating a day of preaching, and some of these enquirers would not have been in the boat with Him. It awaited a suitable time and place. Mark puts it here so that the application immediately follows the giving of the parable and brings out Jesus’ purpose in the use of parables.
‘What the parables meant.’ Notice the plural for ‘parables’. This may indicate that Jesus had taught a number of parables at this juncture, to which they required explanation. However it may be that it rather indicates that they had recognised the fact that His story of the sower contained a number of ‘parables’, i.e. riddles to be explained. We may translate, ‘what the illustrations meant’. (Compare Mar 3:23. The meaning of the word ‘parable’ is more fixed for us than it was for them). We need not assume that they were completely in the dark about its meaning, but rather that they wanted to make sure that they had the message right.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Explanation of the Parable and the Mystery of God’s Rule (4:10-20).
Once the parable had been given those desirous of knowing more crowded round Jesus for an explanation. This was what distinguished the true disciples from the hangers on.
Analysis.
a
b And he said to them, “To you is given the mystery of the Kingly Rule of God, but to those who are without all things are done in parables, that seeing they may see, and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest it should happen that they turn again and it should be forgiven them” (Mar 4:11-12).
a And he says to them, “Do you not know this parable? And how shall you know all parables?” (Mar 4:13).
Note that in ‘a’ the twelve, along with others who were about Him asked Him about the meaning of the parables, and in the parallel Jesus is concerned because they do not know. Centrally He explains why He teaches in parables.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The disciples ask for an explanation:
v. 10. And when He was alone, they that were about Him with the Twelve asked of Him the parable.
v. 11. And He said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
v. 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.
v. 13. And He said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how, then, will ye know all parables?
The disciples of the Lord, the Twelve as well as the others that believed on Him and were with Him as much as possible, were still very dense in spiritual understanding. So they took the opportunity, when they were alone with the Lord, to ask Him about the meaning of this parable. He said to them: To you the mystery of the kingdom of God is given. The word “mystery” here, according to New Testament usage, does not mean something hidden and obscure, but something that is and should be revealed. “We usually think of a mystery as something hidden; but in the New Testament it means something revealed. It had been ‘kept secret’ and was still hidden to the world in general; but this mystery of God’s nature and God’s will had now been ‘made known’ ( Eph 3:3; Eph 6:1-24:. ” The disciples, the members of His Church, should fully understand the meaning of the kingdom of God, how Christ, in and with the working of the Holy Ghost through the Gospel, engenders faith in the hearts of men, so that they might know their Savior Jesus Christ, perform truly good works by His power, and finally obtain the everlasting possession of heaven. Of those without, Christ says that He speaks everything to them in parables, and then quotes the prophecy of Isaiah, chapter 6:9, in which it is said of the unbelieving Jews that they see indeed, that they use their eyes, and yet get no picture of that which they see, that they use their ears and yet understand not, that therefore there would not be an opportunity for them to repent and receive remission of their sins. It is one of the severe passages directed against self-hardening. This word of the prophet found its application in the days of Jesus. The judgment of God against His former people, which had begun in the days of Isaiah, was now being fully accomplished. It became more and more evident that the majority of the people that crowded to Jesus had no thought of seeking salvation in their hearts; they were merely inquisitive, they wanted to see and hear this new Prophet, about whom they had been told so many wonderful things. And so God finally condemns them to remain in their perverse, hardened mind. The Gospel of Christ, preached by Christ Himself, served the terrible purpose of hardening their hearts, it was to them a savor of death unto death. But the disciples also needed an earnest admonition. Their spiritual dullness was a great danger, theirs was the condition of so many Christians that are satisfied with just a little and do not have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil, Heb 5:14. The Word of God is like a mountain full of treasures. The treasures on the outside have been picked over so often that their beauties have been brought down to the plane of mere platitudes with many people; but the searcher after the pure gold will dig and delve and search, and will find ever new veins and occasionally such a rich nugget of purest gold that he stands overawed in the presence of such sublimity.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mar 4:10. And when he was alone, Many writers of harmonies, thinking this inconsistent with the acknowledged circumstances of the history, havesupposed, that the interpretation of the parable was not given now, but on some other occasion, though, for the sake of perspicuity, it is related together with the parable; yet the nature of the thing, as well as the testimony of St. Matthew, Mat 13:10 prove sufficiently, that the question which occasioned this interpretation was put immediately after the parable was delivered; for the question took its rise from the concluding words of the parable, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear; which were no sooner pronounced, than the disciples came from their several stations in the vessel, and asked the reason why he spake in parables, since he desired his hearers to understand what he said? To remove this difficulty, therefore, we may suppose, that in addressing Jesus the disciples spake with such a tone of voice as they used in conversation, and that Jesus answered in the same key; so that the people on the shore not hearing distinctly what passed, Jesus and his disciples were to all intents and purposes alone; or after finishing the parable he might, as on former occasions of this kind, (see Luk 5:1-3.) order his disciples, to thrust out a little further from the land, that the people might have time to consider what they had heard; and the disciples, embracing this opportunity, might speak to him in private concerning the manner of his preaching. Either of these suppositions seems fully to come up to the import of St. Mark’s phrase; which, however, some would render, and when he was in private, they that were about him, or his disciples, with the twelve, &c. See Luk 9:18.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mar 4:10-20 . See on Mat 13:10-23 . Comp. Luk 8:9-15 .
] therefore, according to Mark, no longer in the ship, Mar 4:1 .
] they who besides and next after the Twelve were the more confidential disciples of Jesus. A more precise definition than in Matthew and Luke. Of the Seventy (Euthymius Zigabenus) Mark has no mention. We may add that Matthew could not have better made use of the expression . (Holtzmann, who therefore pronounces it not to belong to the primitive-Mark), nor could he not use it at all (Weiss in the Zeitschr. f. D. Theol. 1864, p. 86 f.). He has only changed the detailed description of Mark into the usual expression, and he goes to work in general less accurately in delineating the situation.
.] see Mar 4:2 .
Mar 4:11 . ] of the spiritual giving brought about by making them capable of knowing ; hence , (which here is spurious) in Matthew and Luke.
] that is, to those who are outside of our circle, to the people . The sense of is always determined by the contrast to it. In the Epistles it is the non-Christians (1Co 5:12 f.; Col 4:5 ; 1Th 4:12 ; 1Ti 3:7 ). We are the less entitled to discover here, with de Wette, an unsuitable of expression, seeing that the expression in itself so relative does not even in the Talmud denote always the non-Jews (Schoettgen, ad 1Co 5:12 f.), but also those who do not profess the doctrine of the the ; see Lightfoot, p. 609.
. ] . has the emphasis: in parables the whole is imparted to them, so that there is not communicated to them in addition the abstract doctrine itself. All that is delivered to them of the mystery of the Messiah’s kingdom that is, of the divine counsel concerning it, which was first unveiled in the gospel is conveyed to them under a veil of parable, and not otherwise. On , comp. Herod. ix. 46: , Thucyd. v. 111, al.
Mar 4:12 . ] not: ita ut, as Wolf, Bengel, Rosenmller, Kuinoel, and others would have it, but, as it always is (comp. on Mat 1:22 ), a pure particle of design. The unbelieving people are, by the very fact that the communications of the mystery of the Messiah’s kingdom are made to them in parables and not otherwise, intended not to attain to insight into this mystery, and thereby to conversion and forgiveness. This idea of the divine Nemesis is expressed under a remembrance of Isa 6:9-10 , which prophetic passage appears in Matthew (less originally) as a formal citation by Jesus, and in an altered significance of bearing attended by a weakening of its teleological point. Baur, indeed, finds the aim expressed in Mark (for it is in nowise to be explained away) absolutely inconceivable; but it is to be conceived of as a mediate, not as a final, aim a “judicium divinum” (Bengel), which has a paedagogic purpose.
Mar 4:13 . After Jesus, Mar 4:11-12 , has expressed the right of His disciples to learn, not merely, like the unbelieving multitude, the parables themselves, but also their meaning the contained in them and has thus acknowledged their question in Mar 4:10 as justified, He addresses Himself now, with a new commencement of His discourse ( , comp. Mar 4:21 ; Mar 4:24 ; Mar 4:26 ; Mar 4:30 ; Mar 4:35 ), to the purpose of answering that question, and that with reference to the particular concrete parable, Mar 4:3 ff. To this parable, which is conceived as having suggested the general question of Mar 4:10 (hence . ), He confines Himself, and introduces the exposition to be given with the words: Know ye not this parable, and how shall ye (in general) understand all parables? These words are merely intended to lead back in a lively manner, after the digression of Mar 4:11-12 , to the point of the question at Mar 4:10 , the reply to which then begins at Mar 4:14 with respect to that special parable. A reproach is by some found in the words (since unto you it is given, etc., Mar 4:11 , it surprises me, that ye know not, etc.). See Fritzsche and de Wette, the latter accusing Mark of placing quite inappropriately in the mouth of Jesus an unseasonable reproach. But Mark himself pronounces decisively against the entire supposition of this connection by his , whereby he separates the discourse of Mar 4:13 from what has gone before. If the assumed connection were correct, Mark must have omitted this introduction of a new portion of discourse, and instead of must have used perhaps , or some similar link of connection with what precedes. Moreover, Mar 4:13 is to be read as one question (comp. Lachmann and Tischendorf), and in such a way that . . . still depends on (comp. Ewald); not, as Fritzsche would have it, in such a way that indicates the consequence, and there would result the meaning: “Ye understand not this parable, and are ye to understand all parables?” But this would rather result in the meaning: Ye understand not this parable; how is it, consequently, possible that ye shall understand all parables? And this would be a strange and unmeaning, because altogether self-evident consequence. Usually Mar 4:13 is divided into two questions (so, too, de Wette), and is taken as equivalent to: all the rest; but this is done quite without warrant, since the idea of would be precisely the point in virtue of the contrast which is assumed.
] future, because the disciples were not aware how they should attain to the understanding of the whole of the parables partly delivered already (Mar 4:2 ), partly still to be delivered in time to come.
The following interpretation of the parable, Mar 4:14-20 , is “so vivid, rich, and peculiar, that there is good reason for finding in it words of Christ Himself,” Ewald.
Mar 4:15 . Observe the difference between the local and the temporal , in connection with which is not adversative (Kuinoel, de Wette), but the simple conjunctive and: The following are those (who are sown) by the way-side: then, when the teaching is sown and they shall have heard, cometh straightway Satan, etc.
Mar 4:16 . ] in like manner, after an analogous figurative reference, in symmetrical further interpretation of the parable. Translate: And the following are in like manner those who are sown on the stony ground: (namely) those who, when they shall have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have not root in themselves, etc. It is more in keeping with the simplicity and vividness of the discourse not to take the along with .
Mar 4:18 f. And there are others, who are sown among the thorns; these are they who, etc. If be read, which, however, would arise more easily from the similar parallel of Matthew than (B C D L , Tisch.) from the dissimilar one of Luke, the course of events is set forth from the outset, whereas sets it forth from the standpoint of the result (they have heard, and, etc.).
] besides riches: sensual pleasure, honour, etc.
.] namely, into that place whither the word that is heard has penetrated, into the heart. The expression does not quite fit into the parable itself; but this does not point to less of originality (Weiss). De Wette wrongly observes that . is probably an erroneous explanation of the in Luke.
Mar 4:20 . (not ; see the critical remarks on Mar 4:8 ) . . . is, it is true, so far out of keeping, that by retaining the numbers the discourse falls back from the interpretation into the figure; but the very repetition of the striking closing words of the parable, in which only the preposition is here accidentally changed, betokens the set purpose of solemn emphasis.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
Ver. 10. And when he was alone ] Or solitary. A well chosen season is a very great advantage.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
10 12. ] REASON FOR SPEAKING IN PARABLES. Mat 13:10-17 . Luk 8:9-10 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
10. ] . . . . = . Luke.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 4:10-12 . Disciples ask an explanation of the parable (Mat 13:10-17 , Luk 8:9-10 ). Mar 4:10 . ( or understood), alone , those about Him, not = (Mar 3:21 ), nor = the Twelve, who are separately mentioned ( . .); an outer circle of disciples from which the Twelve were chosen. , the parables , spoken that day. They asked Him about them, as to their meaning. The plural, well attested, implies that the parables of the day had a common drift. To explain one was to explain all. They were a complaint of the comparative fruitlessness of past efforts.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mark
FOUR SOILS FOR ONE SEED
Mar 4:10 – Mar 4:20
Dean Stanley and others have pointed out how the natural features of the land round the lake of Gennesaret are reflected in the parable of the sower. But we must go deeper than that to find its occasion. It was not because Jesus may have seen a sower in a field which had these three varieties of soil that He spoke, but because He saw the frivolous crowd gathered to hear His words. The sad, grave description of the threefold kinds of vainly-sown ground is the transcript of His clear and sorrowful insight into the real worth of the enthusiasm of the eager listeners on the beach. He was under no illusions about it; and, in this parable, He seeks to warn His disciples against expecting much from it, and to bring its subjects to a soberer estimate of what His word required of them. The full force and pathos of the parable is felt only when it is regarded as the expression of our Lord’s keen consciousness of His wasted words. This passage falls into two parts-Christ’s explanation of the reasons for His use of parables, and His interpretation of the parable itself.
I. Christ was the centre of three circles:
II. We turn to the exposition of the parable of the sower, or rather of the fourfold soils in which he sows the seed.
The seed sown on the trodden footpath running across the field never sinks below the surface. It lies there, and has no real contact, nor any chance of growth. It must be in, not on, the ground, if its mysterious power is to be put forth. A pebble is as likely to grow as a seed, if both lie side by side, on the surface. Is not this the description of a mournfully large proportion of hearers of God’s truth? It never gets deeper than their ears, or, at the most, effects a shallow lodgment on the surface of their minds. So many feet pass along the path, and beat it into hardness, that the truth has no chance to take root. Habitual indifference to the gospel, masked by an utterly unmeaning and unreal acceptance of it, and by equally habitual decorous attendance on its preaching, is the condition of a dreadfully large proportion of church-goers. Their very familiarity with the truth robs it of all penetrating power. They know all about it, as they suppose; and so they listen to it as they would to the clank of a mill-wheel to which they were accustomed, missing its noise if it stops, and liking to be sent to sleep by its hum. Familiar truth often lies ‘bedridden in the dormitory of the soul, beside exploded errors.’
And what comes of this idle hearing, without acceptance or obedience? Truth which is common, and which a man supposes himself to believe, without having ever reflected on it, or let it influence conduct, is sure to die out. If we do not turn our beliefs into practice they will not long be our beliefs. Neglected impressions fade; the seed is only safe when it is buried. There are flocks of hungry, sharp-eyed, quick-flying thieves ready to pounce down on every exposed grain. So Mark uses here again his favourite ‘straightway’ to express the swift disappearance of the seed. As soon as the preacher’s voice is silent, or the book closed, the words are forgotten. The impression of a gliding keel on a smooth lake is not more evanescent.
The distinct reference to Satan as the agent in removing the seed is not to be passed by lightly. Christ’s words about demons have been emptied of meaning by the allegation that He was only accommodating Himself to the superstition of the times, but no explanation of that sort will do in this case. He surely commits Himself here to the assertion of the existence and agency of Satan; and surely those who profess to receive His words as the truth ought not to make light of them, in reference to so solemn and awe-inspiring a revelation.
The seed gets rather farther on the road to fruit in the second case. A thin surface of mould above a shelf of rock is like a forcing-house in hot countries. The stone keeps the heat and stimulates growth. The very thing that prevents deep rooting facilitates rapid shooting. The green spikelets will be above ground there long before they show in deeper soil. There would be many such hearers in the ‘very great multitude’ on the shore, who were attracted, they scarcely knew why, and were the more enthusiastic the less they understood the real scope of Christ’s teaching. The disciple who pressed forward with his excited and unasked ‘Master, I will follow Thee whithersoever Thou goest!’ was one of such-well-meaning, perfectly sincere, warmly affected, and completely unreliable. Lightly come is lightly go. When such people forsake their fervent purposes, and turn their backs on what they have been so eagerly pursuing, they are quite consistent; for they are obeying the uppermost impulse in both cases, and, as they were easily drawn to follow without consideration, they are easily driven back with as little. The first taste of supposed good secured their giddy-pated adhesion; the first taste of trouble ensures their desertion. They are the same men acting in the same fashion at both times. Two things are marked by our Lord as suspicious in such easily won discipleship-its suddenness and its joyfulness. Feelings which are so easily stirred are superficial. A puff of wind sets a shallow pond in wavelets. Quick maturity means brief life and swift decay, as every ‘revival’ shows. The more earnestly we believe in the possibility of sudden conversions, the more we should remember this warning, and make sure that, if they are sudden, they shall be thorough, which they may be. The swiftness is not so suspicious if it be not accompanied with the other doubtful characteristic-namely, immediate joy. Joy is the result of true acceptance of the gospel; but not the first result. Without consciousness of sin and apprehension of judgment there is no conversion. We lay down no rules as to depth or duration of the ‘godly sorrow’ which precedes all well-grounded ‘joy in the Lord’; but the Christianity which has taken a flying leap over the valley of humiliation will scarcely reach a firm standing on the rock. He who ‘straightway with joy’ receives the word, will straightway, with equal precipitation, cast it away when the difficulties and oppositions which meet all true discipleship begin to develop themselves. Fair-weather crews will desert when storms begin to blow.
The third sort of soil brings things still farther on before failure comes. The seed is not only covered and germinating, but has actually begun to be fruitful. The thorns are supposed to have been cut down, but their roots have been left, and they grow faster than the wheat. They take the ‘goodness’ out of the ground, and block out sun and air; and so the stalks, which promised well, begin to get pale and droop, and the half-formed ear comes to nothing, or, as the other version of the parable has it, brings ‘forth no fruit to perfection.’ There are two crops fighting for the upper hand on the one ground, and the earlier possessor wins. The ‘struggle for existence’ ends with the ‘survival of the fittest’; that is, of the worst, to which the natural bent of the desires and inclinations of the unrenewed man is more congenial. The ‘cares of this world’ and the ‘deceitfulness of riches’ are but two sides of one thing. The poor man has cares; the rich man has the illusions of his wealth. Both men agree in thinking that this world’s good is most desirable. The one is anxious because he has not enough of it, or fears to lose what he has; the other man is full of foolish confidence because he has much. Eager desires after creatural good are common to both; and, what with the anxiety lest they lose, and the self-satisfaction because they have, and the mouths watering for the world’s good, there is no force of will, nor warmth of love, nor clearness of vision, left for better things. That is the history of the fall of many a professing Christian, who never apostatises, and keeps up a reputable appearance of godliness to the end; but the old worldliness, which was cut down for a while, has sprung again in his heart, and, by slow degrees, the word is ‘choked’-a most expressive picture of the silent, gradual dying-out of its power for want of sun and air-and ‘he’ or ‘it’ ‘becometh unfruitful,’ relapsing from a previous condition of fruit-bearing into sterility. No heart can mature two crops. We must choose between God and Mammon-between the word and the world.
There is nothing fixed or necessary in the faults of these three classes, and they are not so much the characteristics of separate types of men as evils common to all hearers, against which all have to guard. They depend upon the will and affections much more than on anything in temperament fixed and not to be got rid of. So there is no reason why any one of the three should not become ‘good soil’: and it is to be noted that the characteristic of that soil is simply that it receives and grows the seed. Any heart that will, can do that; and that is all that is needed. But to do it, there will have to be diligent care, lest we fall into any of the evils pointed at in the preceding parts of the parable, which are ever waiting to entrap us. The true ‘accepting’ of the word requires that we shall not let it lie on the surface of our minds, as in the case of the first; nor be satisfied with its penetrating a little deeper and striking root in our emotions, like the second, of whom it is said with such profound truth, that they ‘have no root in themselves,’ their roots being only in the superficial part of their being, and never going down to the true central self; nor let competing desires grow up unchecked, like the third; but cherish the ‘word of the truth of the gospel’ in our deepest hearts, guard it against foes, let it rule there, and mould all our conduct in conformity with its blessed principles. The true Christian is he who can truly say, ‘Thy word have I hid in mine heart.’ If we do, we shall be fruitful, because it will bear fruit in us. No man is obliged, by temperament or circumstances, to be ‘wayside,’ or ‘stony,’ or ‘thorny’ ground. Wherever a heart opens to receive the gospel, and keeps it fast, there the increase will be realised-not in equal measure in all, but in each according to faithfulness and diligence. Mark arranges the various yields in ascending scale, as if to teach our hopes and aims a growing largeness, while Matthew orders them in the opposite fashion, as if to teach that, while the hundredfold, which is possible for all, is best, the smaller yield is accepted by the great Lord of the harvest, who Himself not only sows the seed, but gives it its vitality, blesses its springing, and rejoices to gather the wheat into His barn.
Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar 4:10-12
10As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, 12so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.”
Mar 4:10 “As soon as He was alone” This means alone with the disciples. They were apparently embarrassed to ask questions in public. It is obvious they did not understand the parable.
Mar 4:11 “‘To you has been given'” This is perfect passive indicative. We are responsible stewards of the spiritual truths we possess. “To whom much is given, much is required” (cf. Luk 12:48).
This private teaching, which seems to be a regular occurrence, may explain the differences between the Synoptic Gospels and John’s Gospel. Jesus speaks very differently in John. It is possible that the parabolic teachings, so common in the Synoptics, was done before the crowds and that the totally different style (i.e., “I Am” statements) were done in private with the disciples and this is what the Gospel of John records.
It is just possible that this whole issue of special instruction for the Twelve may have functioned in the early church as a way of accentuating Apostolic authority. They, and they alone, knew the “true” interpretation of Jesus’ words. All revelation comes through these chosen and inspired disciples.
“‘the mystery'” This is the Greek term mustrion. It is used in the NT in several different senses. In this context it is revealed truth which the leaders and the crowd could not comprehend (cf. Isa 6:9-10).
SPECIAL TOPIC: MYSTERY IN THE GOSPELS
“kingdom of God” See note at Mar 1:15.
“but those who are outside” The Holy Spirit and personal receptivity are both needed to understand spiritual truth. Those who reject the Spirit commit the sin of Mar 3:29. Parables had the dual purpose of hiding truth (cf. Mat 11:25-27) and clearly revealing truth (cf. Luk 10:29 and the parable that follows). The heart of the hearer is the key.
Mar 4:12 This quote is from an Aramaic Targum of Isa 6:9. The Matthean parallel from the Septuagint quotes both Isa 6:9-10. Isaiah’s preaching was rejected by the hard-headed Israelites he addressed in the eighth century B.C. Jesus’ hearers in the first century A.D. similarly rejected His teaching. subjunctive verbs dominate this quote, which shows the volitional contingency on the part of the hearers.
Although Mark is writing to Gentiles, probably Romans, he often alludes to OT texts (cf. Mar 1:2-3; Mar 2:25-26; Mar 4:12; Mar 10:6-8; Mar 10:19; Mar 12:26; Mar 12:29-31; Mar 12:36).
“they might return” This was the OT (i.e., shub, BDB 996) term for repentance.
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
was = came to be.
they that were about Him . . . asked. Occurs only in Mark. Showing that this parable was spoken after that in Luk 8. See note on Mar 4:3.
about = around. Greek peri. App-104.
with = in conjunction with. Greek. sun. App-104. Not the some word as in Mar 4:16, Mar 4:24, Mar 4:30, Mar 4:36.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
10-12.] REASON FOR SPEAKING IN PARABLES. Mat 13:10-17. Luk 8:9-10.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 4:10. , they that were about Him) Who enjoyed the privilege of the first admission to His presence: ch. Mar 3:34.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Mar 4:10-13
2. WHY JESUS SPAKE IN PARABLES
Mar 4:10-13
10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parables.–Jesus spake many parables and now the disciples ask concerning the design of all his parables. Matthew (Mat 13:10) says: “Why speakest thou unto them in parables?” Before this, the teaching of Jesus had been plain and direct, but now “without a parable spake he nothing unto them.” (Verse 34.) Luke (Luk 8:9) says they “asked him what this parable might be.”
11 And he said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God:–[So also there were profound and sublime truths of the kingdom of God, which men could grasp and appreciate, only when they had put themselves under the tutelage of Christ. We are not to understand “mystery” in the sense of something which never could be understood, as some take it even now. This was spoken to and of his disciples.]
but unto them that are without,–Mere idle, careless hearers, who have not interest enough to put themselves under the special teaching of the Master.
all things are done in parables:–This and the next verse were also spoken to his disciples but about those not disciples. The parables are really the testing point. If they are ready for the kingdom, they will not be satisfied with the parable. The spiritual nature realizes there is a truth hidden, and desires to know that truth, and will come within and seek the special teaching of Jesus to know it. The “mysteries of the kingdom” does not mean a doctrine incomprehensible in itself but doctrine about the establishment and work of the kingdom of God which had not been fully understood. The apostles and first disciples of our Lord thought that his mission on earth was to establish a political kingdom; and the spiritual nature of this kingdom was a mystery to them until they understood it.
12 that seeing they may see, and not perceive;–They had organs of vision which could observe natural objects but their mental perceptions were so filled with gross cares as to prevent their mental perception of receiving the truths contained in the parable.
and hearing they may hear, and not understand;–They had ears that could hear the voice of the teacher, who spoke in a known tongue to them, and they doubtless knew the outward facts of the Savior’s works, but the spiritual truths Jesus designed to teach by these things they did not understand for the reason they made no effort upon their part. Man must make some effort to understand the teaching of Jesus, or else, he will go through life blinded.
lest haply they should turn again, and it should be forgiven them.–The hearing, understanding, and turning is man’s duty, the forgiving is God’s pleasure. But he cannot and will not forgive, until man does his part. He must show interest by acting his part. He must come to Christ for complete instruction. It was so then. It is so now. The Spirit speaks to him through the Word. (Joh 6:44-45.) If he listens with such interest as induces him to seek anxiously the whole truth, there is no aid that it will not afford, and he will turn again and be forgiven. The eyes that are blinded are the eyes that do not desire to see, and the ears that are deafened are the ears that do not desire to hear–moral unwillingness resulting in moral inability. To hear, and understand what we hear, is necessary in order to conversion–at least understand enough to know what the Lord requires, in order that it may be obeyed and man saved.
The scribes and Pharisees had hardened their hearts, stuffed their ears, and closed their eyes, as the Jews had done in the days of Isaiah. They were determined not to believe the teachings of Jesus. Now he speaks in parables–not that he does not desire all to know the truth, but that those who desire the truth may be separated from those who have rejected it. God has so arranged it that people must desire the truth in order to receive it, and yet all who desire it–hunger and thirst after it–have the blessed assurance that they can understand and receive it. This is the key to the whole matter. Careless seeing and careless hearing destroy the soul. God will afford to every soul so much as it is willing and anxious to receive. Matthew (Mat 13:13-15) says: “Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And unto them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive; For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; Lest haply they should perceive with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should turn again, and I should heal them.” This Isaiah foretold of the condition of the Jewish people. They would close their eyes, stop their ears, harden their hearts, refuse to hear God’s word, lest they should be converted, and then God would heal them. Men usually fail to hear and understand God because they will not do it. When they thus show themselves unwilling to obey God he determines to destroy them, and so speaks to them as to harden their hearts and lead them down to destruction. He, too, spoke truth that they could have understood to their salvation had they been willing to be taught of God. But in their unwillingness to learn of God they perverted the truths to their own ruin. God hardened Pharaoh’s heart because he was wicked, to publicly lead him to ruin as an example to others.
The means God used to harden Pharaoh’s heart was the truth–the same truth he used to touch and tender the hearts of the children of Israel. The truth that softened and tendered the hearts of one class and caused them to follow Moses to freedom hardened the heart of the other and led him to ruin. So in the case before us. The truths which drew the disciples closer to Jesus drove the scribes and Pharisees further from him. The Lord said: “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isa 55:11.) God’s word will have success. It will prosper and succeed in accomplishing the thing for which it was sent. It was sent into the world to either save or damn the souls of men. If man receives it and is guided by it, it will be the means of saving him. If he rejects it, it will be the means of damning him. Man’s eternal destiny depends upon how he treats the word of God. It is a steppingstone to heaven, if accepted, but a stumbling stone to hell if rejected. (1Co 1:22-24.) God did not take away their freedom. “Come unto me . . . and I will give you rest” was and is the invitation to all. Their moral inability was the result of their moral unwillingness. (Joh 5:40.) They were reaping the fruit of the seed they had sown.
13 And he saith unto them, Know ye not this parable?–This which is so plain and obvious. The disciples had asked its meaning. (Luk 8:9.) This question is preparatory to the one that follows.
and how shall ye know all the parables?–That is, if you do not understand one so plain and simple as this one, how will you comprehend those more difficult and obscure?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
Growth in Gods Kingdom
Mar 4:10-41
How quick the Master was to observe the meaning of natural symbols! To Him all things were unfoldings of eternal mystery, and the ways of men unconsciously mirrored the unseen. Are there bushels in your life? Use them as lamp stands, not as coverings. All secrets come out; beware of what you say. All measures come back to us; take care how you mete. The mysterious co-operation of God in nature, and the gradual process of growth, are analogous to the co-working of the Holy Spirit with all faithful sowers of the Word, and the imperceptible stages through which the soul reaches maturity.
The stilling of the storm, Mar 4:35-41. They that bear Christs company must prepare for squalls. Yet, why should we fear, when the Master is on board, who can impress His commands on wind and sea-to the wind, Peace; to the sea, Be still! The Lord on high is mightier than the waves of the sea. A moment ago he was so weary as to sleep amid the storm, but at a word of appeal from those He loves, He shows Himself able to save to the uttermost.
Fuente: F.B. Meyer’s Through the Bible Commentary
Mar 4:34, Mar 7:17, Pro 13:20, Mat 13:10-17, Mat 13:36, Luk 8:9-15
Reciprocal: Pro 28:5 – General Isa 8:16 – among Mat 11:25 – because Mat 17:19 – General Mar 9:28 – asked Mar 10:10 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
0
Asked of him the parable signifies they did not understand the meaning of it. See the comments on Mat 13:11 as to why the apostles needed to have the parables explained to them aside from the crowd.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mar 4:10. Alone. This refers to a temporary withdrawal, when His disciples came to Him (Matthew), for He evidently spoke further to the multitude (Mat 13:24-35).
They that were about him with the twelve. Matthew and Luke say less definitely: the disciples. What follows was spoken neither to the multitude nor to the Twelve alone.
Asked of him the parablesThe plural is the more correct form. Matthew says more definitely: Why speakest thou unto them in parables? and Luke: What might this parable be? The answer in all three accounts is: first, a reason why He thus taught, and, secondly, the exposition of this particular parable. Both questions must have been asked, as is implied in the indefinite statement of this verse. This was precisely the purpose: that those who would seek might know the mystery, and those who would not put forth this effort, might not.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, The disciples’ question, and our Saviour’s reply. Their question is about the sense and meaning of the parable. They own their ignorance, and desire better information. It is no shame, for the best of ministers, yea, the best of men, to acknowledge their own ignorance in the mysteries of religion, and to attend upon the means of instruction, in order to their further information. In our Saviour’s answer, To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, &c.
Observe, 1. That the doctrines of the gospel are great mysteries.
2. That it is a matchless and invaluable privilege practically to understand gospel-mysteries.
3. That this privilege all are not sharers in, and partakers of, but only those to whom it is given.
4. That it is a righteous thing with God, to give such persons over to farther blindness and ignorance in spiritual things, who wilfully reject the truth, and shut their eyes against the light and evidence of it.
The Pharisees had all along shut their eyes, and said they would not see: and now Christ closes their eyes judicially, and says they shall not see. Seeing ye shall see, and not perceive; and hearing ye shall hear, and not understand.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mar 4:10-12. When he was alone That is, retired apart from the multitude. Unto them that are without So the Jews termed the heathen: so our Lord terms all obstinate unbelievers; for they shall not enter into the kingdom; they shall abide in outer darkness. So that seeing they may see, and not perceive They would not see before; now they could not, God having given them up to the blindness which they had chosen.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 10
When he was alone; after the public discourse was ended, and he was alone with his friends.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
10 And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 11 And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: 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. 13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
First of all some of the people did not understand the parable. These were not the twelve from the construction. Then second the Lord broke the people into groups. The twelve, those present at the question and those present for the parable. Third He explains the reason for parables, and fourth He seems to question the spiritual condition of those asking the question.
Let us look at these four things for a few moments.
First of all some of the people did not understand the parable. These were not the twelve from the construction. The twelve, if they did not know were being quiet about their ignorance and allowing others to show their ignorance so they did not have to. We do not know if the twelve knew the meaning of the parable for we are not told but I would assume that Mark would have clarified his statement if they did not grasp it. Second the Lord broke the people into groups. The twelve, those present at the question other than the twelve and those present for the parable. There is a contrasting of the groups as well.
There is the group that was with the Lord for the question, which included the twelve, however the twelve seem to be slightly separate from the group.
There are those that heard the parable but did not come with the Lord. Christ describes the parable listeners as “without” and that they see but do not perceive and hear but not understand.
Third He explains the reason for parables. The parable is to separate the lost from the saved. Obviously these are lost people who do not grasp spiritual truths. Further they will not be converted, nor will their sins be forgiven.
Fourth He seems to question the spiritual condition of those asking the question when he asks them how they will understand further parables if they do not understand this one. The clear implication is that anyone that does not understand this parable will not understand further parables. Further the implication is that those raising the question are lost and in the same group as the parable listeners. Further that they will not be converted, nor will their sins be forgiven.
If true this had to be a real wake-up call for those folks to evaluate their true condition. “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God:” seems to be a clear indication that they would be believers in that they were to know the mysteries but also the entire text would indicate that some of them were not yet believers.
The parable seems rather obvious to me as a believer, but to one that does not understand the Word, it would be a nice story. We know, as believers, that the Word sometimes falls on deaf ears, while it sometimes falls on a listening ear, but after a seemingly change in life, there is a falling away to the old life. We also know by experience that when the Word was planted in our life that it grew miraculously into something wonderful for us as a believer.
To look upon the Christians that we know we can know that the increase is more for some and less for others. We all grow where we are planted and we all produce in different ways/amounts. This variance in result is not necessarily a direct result of our efforts though it may be. Results are normally up to the Lord if we are open to serving Him.
It is of great note that Luke records an interesting fact concerning the Lord as He spoke the parable. In 8.8 Luke states that the Lord did something as he finished this parable. “As he said these things, he cried” Now we are not told what brought the emotion to the Lord, but it is easy to assume that it was either sadness over the loss of some, or the joy of the saving of others as well as their increase. It would not be inconceivable that it was a mixture of both.
A couple of obvious points might be made – Christ as our example and as a man, cried. The other point is that we ought to also be emotional at the lost or coming to the Lord as we go about His work. Emotion is not wrong, it is human and it is to be expressed if it comes forth.Just a little side note, this passage shows a particular truth that there were the disciples and there were the twelve apostles. We know that the twelve were once disciples, but this text shows the two groups distinctly. Mark in verse ten the two groups are shown as different. Mat 13:10 mentions only the disciples, but they are the ones questioning the Lord. Also we see that Luke in 8.9 mentions the “disciples” asked the question rather than the twelve.
One further point we should notice. When Christ is speaking of the reason for the parables Matthew mentions a little further note of information. 13.12 “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.” Just how many times have you heard that text quoted out of context to mean material blessings or money? I trust you will understand it to be speaking of spiritual knowledge rather than money.
Matthew adds information that Mark does not relating to the purpose of parables. He mentions that this was a prophecy from Isa 6:9-10. This further information is obviously to the Jews that Matthew was writing to. I will quote Matthew’s comments on the parable below for your reading.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
4:10 And when he was {c} alone, they that were {d} about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
(c) Literally, “solitary”.
(d) They that followed him at his heels.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jesus’ explanations to His disciples 4:10-29
This section of Mark’s account records Jesus’ words to His disciples that the multitudes did not hear.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
The purpose of the parables 4:10-12 (cf. Matthew 13:10-17; Luke 8:9-10)
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Mark alone noted that those who asked Jesus to explain the parables included the Twelve plus other disciples (Mar 4:10). Evidently their question concerned why Jesus was using parables to teach as well as what they meant. He could have been clearer.
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
elete_me Mar 4:10-13
Chapter 4
CHAPTER 4:1-2, 10-13 (Mar 4:1-2; Mar 4:10-13)
THE PARABLES
“And again He began to teach by the sea side. And there is gathered unto Him a very great multitude, so that He entered into a boat, and sat in the sea; and all the multitude were by the sea on the land. And He taught them many things in parables, and said unto them in His teaching. . . .
“And when He was alone, they that were about Him with the twelve asked of Him the parables. And He said unto them, Unto you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all things are done in parables: that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn again, and it should be forgiven them. And He saith unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how shall ye know all the parables?” Mar 4:1-2; Mar 4:10-13 (R.V.)
AS opposition deepened, and to a vulgar ambition, the temptation to retain disciples by all means would have become greater, Jesus began to teach in parables. We know that He had not hitherto done so, both by the surprise of the Twelve, and by the necessity which He found, of giving them a clue to the meaning of such teachings, and so to “all the parables.” His own ought to have understood. But He was merciful to the weakness which confessed its failure and asked for instruction.
And yet He foresaw that they which were without would discern no spiritual meaning in such discourse. It was to have, at the same time, a revealing and a baffling effect, and therefore it was peculiarly suitable for the purposes of a Teacher watched by vindictive foes. Thus, when cross-examined about His authority by men who themselves professed to know not whence John’s baptism was, He could refuse to be entrapped, and yet tell of One Who sent His own Son, His Beloved, to receive the fruit of the vineyard.
This diverse effect is derived from the very nature of the parables of Jesus. They are not, like some in the Old Testament, mere fables, in which things occur that never happen in real life. Jotham’s trees seeking a king, are as incredible as Aesop’s fox leaping for grapes. But Jesus never uttered a parable which was not true to nature, the kind of thing which one expects to happen. We cannot say that a rich man in hell actually spoke to Abraham in heaven. But if he could do so, of which we are not competent to judge, we can well believe that he would have spoken just what we read, and that his pathetic cry, “Father Abraham,” would have been as gently answered, “Son, remember.” There is no ferocity in the skies; neither has the lost soul become a fiend. Everything commends itself to our judgment. And therefore the story not only illustrates, but appeals, enforces, almost proves.
God in nature does not arrange that all seeds should grow: men have patience while the germ slowly fructifies, they know not how; in all things but religion such sacrifices are made, that the merchant sells all to buy one goodly pearl; an earthly father kisses his repentant prodigal; and even a Samaritan can be neighbor to a Jew in his extremity. So the world is constructed: such is even the fallen human heart. Is it not reasonable to believe that the same principles will extend farther; that as God governs the world of matter so He may govern the world of spirits, and that human helpfulness and clemency will not outrun the graces of the Giver of all good?
This is the famous argument from analogy, applied long before the time of Butler, to purposes farther-reaching than his. But there is this remarkable difference, that the analogy is never pressed, men are left to discover it for themselves, or at least, to ask for an explanation, because they are conscious of something beyond the tale, something spiritual, something which they fain would understand.
Now this difference is not a mannerism; it is intended. Butler pressed home his analogies because he was striving to silence gainsayers. His Lord and ours left men to discern or to be blind, because they had already opportunity to become His disciples if they would. The faithful among them ought to be conscious, or at least they should now become conscious, of the God of grace in the God of nature. To them the world should be eloquent of the Father’s mind. They should indeed find tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones. He spoke to the sensitive mind, which would understand Him, as a wife reads her husband’s secret joys and sorrows by signs no stranger can understand. Even if she fails to comprehend, she knows there is something to ask about. And thus, when they were alone, the Twelve asked Him of the parables. When they were instructed, they gained not only the moral lesson, and the sweet pastoral narrative, the idyllic picture which conveyed it, but also the assurance imparted by recognizing the same mind of God which is revealed in His world, or justified by the best impulses of humanity. Therefore, no parable is sensational. It cannot root itself in the exceptional, the abnormal events on which men do not reckon, which come upon us with a shock. For we do not argue from these to daily life.
But while this mode of teaching was profitable to His disciples, and protected Him against His foes, it had formidable consequences for the frivolous empty followers after a sign. Because they were such they could only find frivolity and lightness in these stories; the deeper meaning lay farther below the surface than such eyes could pierce. Thus the light they had abused was taken from them. And Jesus explained to His disciples that, in acting thus, He pursued the fixed rule of God. The worst penalty of vice is that it loses the knowledge of virtue, and of levity that it cannot appreciate seriousness. He taught in parables, as Isaiah prophesied, “that seeing they may see, and not perceive, and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn again and it should be forgiven them.” These last words prove how completely penal, how free from all caprice, was this terrible decision of our gentle Lord, that precautions must be taken against evasion of the consequences of crime. But it is a warning by no means unique. He said, “The things which make for thy peace . . . are hid from thine eyes” (Luk 19:42). And St. Paul said, “If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled in them that are perishing”; and still more to the point, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; and he cannot know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (2Co 4:3; 1Co 2:14). To this law Christ, in speaking by parables, was conscious that He conformed.
But now let it be observed how completely this mode of teaching suited our Lord’s habit of mind. If men could finally rid themselves of His Divine claim, they would at once recognize the greatest of the sages; and they would also find in Him the sunniest, sweetest and most accurate discernment of nature, and its more quiet beauties, that ever became a vehicle for moral teaching. The sun and rain bestowed on the evil and the good, the fountain and the trees which regulate the waters and the fruit, the death of the seed by which it buys its increase, the provision for bird and blossom without anxiety of theirs, the preference for a lily over Solomon’s gorgeous robes, the meaning of a red sky at sunrise and sunset, the hen gathering her chickens under her wing, the vine and its branches, the sheep and their shepherd, the lightning seen over all the sky, every one of these needed only to be re-set and it would have become a parable.
All the Gospels, including the fourth, are full of proofs of this rich and attractive endowment, this warm sympathy with nature; and this fact is among the evidences that they all drew the same character, and drew it faithfully.