After Jesus completed what some call the “Parable of the Sower” (Mark 4:3-8), the gospel of Mark records Him saying a phrase that we find multiple times in the gospels of Mark and Luke.
Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
Mark 4:9 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.4.9.NIV
Today, we might say, “Listen up!”. Jesus wasn’t just talking to hear Himself talk. What He was saying was important. Can you imagine a minister giving an illustration, but no one in the congregation could figure out how it connected to the rest of the sermon? I admit that I may have been guilty of not relating my illustrations to my lessons, but hopefully not too often. When the relationship between the example and the message isn’t obvious to the hearers, though, no matter how much it might be clear to the instructor, an explanation is often necessary.
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!’ ”Mark 4:10-12 NIV
https://bible.com/bible/111/mrk.4.10-12.NIV
Although we may have heard this parable explained before, at least some of those around Jesus didn’t understand what He meant by it. I’m pretty sure that they agreed with the illustration: that seed falling on good soil does better than seed falling in other places that Jesus had described. I suspect, though, that the audience wasn’t sure how that example was connected to the Kingdom of God.
If we give these first-century disciples the benefit of the doubt, maybe they didn’t want to interrupt Jesus when He was teaching, so they waited until they had some time with Him. If it were me, though, I’d probably wait until there were fewer people watching, before I admitted that I didn’t know what the teacher meant. (By the way, note that there were more than just the 12 disciples around when this question was asked. It sounds to me like some of Jesus’ disciples cared enough about what He was teaching that they wanted to understand it better.)
Jesus explained that while some would know the truth, it was hidden from others. Now, it might seem unfair for anyone to be excluded from knowing about the Kingdom of God, so let’s look at that for a moment: We might be tempted to suggest that the limitation was in the hearts of the hearers (especially in light of this specific parable, where the soil impacts the results). I agree that the hardness of peoples’ hearts may have affected how much they were allowed to understand. Maybe only those who stayed close to Jesus and asked for the answer had the right attitude to receive the explanation.
However, Jesus appears to be referencing a prophecy from Isaiah 6, and that chapter might give us more information about why the masses didn’t understand all of Jesus’ teaching that day. First, please read Isaiah 6:8-10 as background, which should include the context from which Jesus seems to be quoting (plus an extra verse for context, in case you have ever heard the “Here am I. Send me!” quote before, and wanted to know how it fit in here).
By itself, this seems to be “more of the same”. It still doesn’t necessarily tell us why some people were prevented from understanding, both in Isaiah’s day, and in Jesus’. What do the following verses in Isaiah say, though? Read Isaiah 6:11-13. While some trials were yet to be endured in Isaiah’s time, this cloud over the people’s understanding wasn’t necessarily meant to be a permanent situation. It was there for a time, and for a purpose, but I don’t think that it was meant to last forever. In fact, I don’t want to read too much into things, since Isaiah 7 starts by talking about a specific historical event; however, we might see a glimpse in Isaiah 7:14 of the time when people would be able to see the truth.
Based on the context of the passage that Jesus appears to have been referencing, the fact that these parables weren’t always clear to all of the hearers may be yet another example of the time not being right for them to understand. (See also Mark 4:22) By the way, since Jesus did provide an explanation of the parable to those who asked (in upcoming verses), let’s remember that sometimes the answers to our own questions are just a prayer away. So, if you don’t understand, ask God for insight. And, if you don’t understand yet, ask God for insight again. Maybe the right time is now!
From Sunday School lesson prepared for September 21, 2025
References:
- Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
- The College Press NIV Commentary – Mark, by Allen Black. © 1995 College Press Publishing Co.
Those Who Sin Differently 