Mark 4 - I've Got a Secret!



When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”
To Read The Rest of Mark Chapter 4 Click Here

Jesus continues in this chapter to teach in parables.  The parable of the "Sower and the  Seed", the parable of the "Growing Seed", and the parable of the "Mustard Seed".  Parables used earthly analogies to illustrate spiritual meaning.  In this case Jesus says the parables teach the "secret of the kingdom of God".  One might ask why would Jesus teach in secret? Why would he want to keep something about God a secret.  Here is where it is helpful to know the meaning of the word "secret" in the original language.     

 The word for "secret" is the Greek word "mysterion".  In the Bible, a "mystery" is not something unknowable. Rather, it is what can only be known through revelation, i.e. because God reveals it. (Strong's Greek)

 Here is what David Guzik says, "But when Jesus used parables, He didn’t start by stating a truth. Instead, the parable was like a doorway. Jesus’ listeners stood at the doorway and heard Him. If they were not interested, they stayed on the outside. But if they were interested, they could walk through the doorway and think about the truth behind the parable and what it meant to their lives."

 The bible can be hard and often mysterious to understand.  It is a revelation of who God is and how God has worked in history to reveal himself to humankind.  God's ultimate revelation was sending His son to show us EXACTLY what he is like.  Jesus himself said, "If you have seen me you have seen the Father."  

 In Jesus the mystery of God has been made known.  But yet some still refuse to be interested in him or have already written him off.  God wants all people to know him but He won't force himself on anyone. He is a perfect gentlemen.  So when Jesus teaches about the secrets of the kingdom of God, we can learn how God's kingdom works.  And we see it in everything he says and does.  

 As we apply the principles (secrets) of God's kingdom in our lives, God's power is revealed in and through us for others to see.   

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