Mark 4:11 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Mark 4:11
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:
properly · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
them
αὐτοῖς·autois
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative plural masculine
Unto you
ὑμῖνhymîn
G5213
to (with or by) you
it is given
δέδοταιdedotai
G1325
to give (used in a very wide application · verb — perfect passive indicative, 3rd person singular
to know
γινώσκωginṓskō
G1097
to "know" (absolutely) in a great variety of applicatio…
the mystery
μυστήριονmustērion
G3466
a secret or "mystery" (through the idea of silence impo… · noun — nominative singular neuter
of the kingdom
βασιλείαςbasileias
G932
properly · noun — genitive singular feminine
of God
θεοῦ,theou
G2316
figuratively · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
but
δὲde
G1161
but · conjunction
unto them
ἐκείνοιςekeinois
G1565
that one (or (neuter) thing) · demonstrative pronoun — dative plural masculine
that are without
ἔξωexō
G1854
out(-side · preposition
all
πάνταpanta
G3956
all · adjective — nominative plural neuter
things
πᾶςpâs
G3956
all
are done
γίνεταιginetai
G1096
to cause to be ("gen"-erate) · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
in
ἐνen
G1722
"in · preposition
parables
παραβολαῖςparabolais
G3850
a similitude ("parable") · noun — dative plural feminine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Matthew 11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and…
Luke 8:10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, an…
1 Corinthians 5:12-13 For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?
Colossians 4:5 Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.
1 Thessalonians 4:12 That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.
1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is tr…
Ephesians 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Mark 4:1-20
The foregoing chapter began with Christ's entering into the synagogue (Mar 4:1); this chapter begins with Christ's teaching again by the sea side. Thus he changed his method, that if possible all might be reached and wrought upon. To gratify the nice and more genteel sort of people that had seats, chief seats, in the synagogue, and did not care for hearing a sermon any where else, he did not preach always by the sea side, but, having liberty, went often into the synagogue, and taught there; yet, to gratify the poor, the mob, that could not get room in the synagogue, he did not always preach there, but began again to teach by the sea side, where they could come within hearing. Thus are we deb…
Unto you it is given to know - Γνωναι, to know, is omitted by ABKL, ten others, the Coptic, and one of the Itala. The omission of this word makes a material alteration in the sense; for without it the passage may be read thus: - To you the mystery of the kingdom of God is given; but all these things are transacted in parables to those without. Griesbach leaves it doubtful. And Professor White says, probabiliter delendum. I should be inclined to omit it, were it not found in the parallel passages in Matthew and Luke, in neither of whom it is omitted by any MS. or version. See the dissertation on parabolical writing at the end of Mat 13:58.
John Gill on 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 underst…
(ubi sup.) To those then who are without, all things are done in parables, that is, both the actions and the words of the Saviour, because neither in those miracles which He was working, nor in those mysteries which He preached, were they able to acknowledge Him as God. Therefore they are not able to attain to the remission of their sins.
Jesus alone was empowered to distinguish among the hearers His own from the outsiders, so as to speak to the outsiders in parables, but to explain the parables to those who entered with Him into the house. The outsiders and those who entered into the house have a mystical meaning. For "why should I judge outsiders?" Every sinner is an outsider. This is why the outsiders are addressed in parables: so that they might be able to leave the outer and enter the inner. Entering the house has a mysterious meaning: he who enters the house of Jesus becomes His true disciple. He enters through the mind's assimilation of the teaching of the Church, through following the rules of church life.
(Vict. Ant. c Cat. in Marc.) As if He said unto them, You that are worthy to be taught all things which are fitted for teaching, shall learn the manifestation of parables; but I use parables with them who are unworthy to learn, because of their wickedness. For it was right that they who did not hold fast their obedience to that law which they had received, should not have any share in a new teaching, but should be estranged from both; for He showed by the obedience of His disciples, that, on the other hand, the others were become unworthy of mystical doctrine. But afterwards, by bringing in a voice from prophecy, He confounds their wickedness, as having been long before reproved; wherefore it goes on, that seeing they might see, and not perceive, &c. (Isa. 6:9) as if He said, that the prophecy might be fulfilled which foretells these things.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Parable — (Gr. parabole), a placing beside; a comparison; equivalent to the Heb. mashal, a similitude. In the Old Testament this is used to denote (1) a proverb (1 Sam. 10:12; 24:13; 2 Chr. 7:20), (2) a…
Apostasy · UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO — UNCLASSIFIED SCRIPTURES RELATING TO
Metaphor · Jesus spoke in — Jesus spoke in
Mysteries · OF RE — OF RE
Sermon · Besi — Besi
Sower · Parable of the — Parable of the
Word Of God · .To seed — .To seed
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
John Calvin on Mark 4:1-12
Mark 4:1-12, 24-25
Matthew 13:1-17
Mark 4:1-12, 24-25
Luke 8:1-10, 18
1. And on the same day Jesus went out of the house, and sat down near the sea. 2. And great multitudes were gathered to him, so that he entered into a ship, and sat down, and the whole multitude was standing on the shore. 3. And he said many things to them by parables, saying, Lo, one who was sowing, some seeds fell near the road, and the birds came and devoured them. 5. And some fell on stony places, where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang up, because they had not depth of earth. 6. But when the sun rose, they were burnt up, and because they had not a root, they withered away. 7. Others again fell o…
Jesus’ real followers were permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God—namely, that the Kingdom of God had come (1:14-15) and that Christ, the Son of God, was in their midst (1:1). For outsiders, it all seemed like riddles. • Jesus’ reply to the disciples’ question suggests that the parables were intended to prevent outsiders from understanding them, so that they would be unable to repent and be forgiven. The quotation from Isa 6:9-10 (Greek version) suggests that it was an intentional judgment on the hearers. Jesus’ teaching in parables, and the resultant unbelief of outsiders, fulfilled what the Scriptures had predicted. The sensitive nature of Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdo…
