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Someone says something to you that you don’t quite understand. Maybe it’s an older relative, or a friend who knows you well. You nod. You walk home. And three days later you’re still turning it over in your head, wondering what they really meant.
That is how a lot of people feel after reading the stories Jesus told. A farmer throwing seed everywhere. A tiny seed that becomes a big plant. A lamp under a bed. So it’s fair to ask: why did Jesus speak in parables at all? Why not just say it plainly?
The Bible gives a real answer. And it’s not the one most people expect.
Why Did Jesus Speak in Parables? The Verse That Sounds Unfair
Here is the part that trips people up. In Mark 4, the friends of Jesus ask about His stories. And Jesus answers with words that can sound like a closed door:
“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: 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.” (Mark 4:11-12, KJV)
Read that quickly and it sounds like Jesus was hiding the truth on purpose. Like the stories were a lock, and only a few people got the key.
If that bothers you, good. It should make you look closer. Because when you read the verses around it, the picture changes completely.
If you want to read these stories the way those first listeners heard them, slowly and in order, there’s a free gift below. It’s the whole Book of Matthew, including chapter 13, where the disciples ask Jesus this exact question. You get it as an easy-to-read PDF and a 28-chapter audiobook you can listen to on a walk.
Look at Who Was Actually in the Room
Mark 4 starts on a beach. So many people came to hear Jesus that He got into a boat and sat in it, out on the water, while “the whole multitude was by the sea on the land” (Mark 4:1). From there, He told them story after story.
Then the crowd went home. And Mark tells us what happened next:
“And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.” (Mark 4:10, KJV)
Read that slowly. It doesn’t say only the twelve disciples asked. It says “they that were about him with the twelve.” Other people stayed too. People with no title. Nobody picked them. They just didn’t leave.
So when Jesus says “unto you it is given,” the “you” isn’t a secret club. It’s whoever was still sitting there. The line between “you” and “them that are without” wasn’t drawn by Jesus ahead of time. It was drawn by who got up and walked away, and who stayed and asked.
And look at what Jesus did with the ones who asked. He was a little surprised they hadn’t got it: “Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?” (Mark 4:13). But then He explained it anyway. All of it. Seed by seed, soil by soil.
The Hard Words Came From Isaiah
Those words about “seeing” and “not perceiving” weren’t new. Jesus was quoting the prophet Isaiah, from the day Isaiah was sent to speak to his own people:
“Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.” (Isaiah 6:9, KJV)
It’s a painful job. Isaiah was sent to people who, by the time of that call, had spent a long time not listening. His message would bounce off. So Isaiah asks the question anyone would ask: “Lord, how long?” (Isaiah 6:11). The answer is grim. Until the cities are empty and the land is bare.
But here’s the detail almost everyone reads past. The chapter doesn’t end there. The very last line says that even when the tree has been cut down, something is left in the stump:
“…as a teil tree, and as an oak, whose substance is in them, when they cast their leaves: so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.” (Isaiah 6:13, KJV)
A seed. Isaiah’s hardest message ends with a seed still alive in the ground.
Now think about which story Jesus told right before He quoted Isaiah. It was the story of a sower throwing seed (Mark 4:3). When Jesus reached for Isaiah’s words, He was reaching for a passage that ends with a seed that survives. The parable of the sower and the prophecy of Isaiah are about the same thing: the word goes out, much of it seems lost, and some of it lands and grows.
Matthew Tells It a Little Differently
Matthew records the same moment, and the small change in wording is worth noticing. The disciples ask, “Why speakest thou unto them in parables?” (Matthew 13:10). And Jesus says:
“Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.” (Matthew 13:13, KJV)
Mark’s version says “that seeing they may see.” Matthew’s says “because they seeing see not.” One sounds like a purpose. The other sounds like a reason. Matthew puts the not-seeing first, as something already true of the crowd, and the parable as Jesus’s response to it.
Christians have talked about how these two wordings fit together for a very long time, and nobody should pretend it’s a simple question. But read side by side, both writers point at the same scene: a story that meets people exactly where they already are. The ones who didn’t want to see went home with a nice story about farming. The ones who did want to see had something to ask about.
Then Matthew adds a line Mark doesn’t: “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear” (Matthew 13:16). Not blessed because they were clever. Blessed because they were still there.
The Verse That Changes How You Read the Rest
If you only read Mark 4:11-12, you miss how the chapter ends. Mark sums up the whole day like this:
“And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.” (Mark 4:33-34, KJV)
Two things jump out.
First, “as they were able to hear it.” The stories weren’t built to push the crowd away. They were sized for the crowd. A farmer understands seed. Anyone who has lost something small understands a lost coin. Jesus used what people already knew so the truth could get in, even if it took a while to open up.
Second, “he expounded all things.” Not some things. Not the easy ones. All things. There is no story in Mark 4 that Jesus refused to explain to someone who asked.
In the middle of the same chapter, Jesus says it even more plainly: “For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad” (Mark 4:22). The hiding was never the goal. The hiding was on the way to the showing.
That’s why some of Jesus’s stories still feel strange today. The parable of the unjust steward is one that still leaves people scratching their heads. And the story of the wheat and the weeds growing side by side only opened up when the disciples went into the house and said, “Declare unto us the parable” (Matthew 13:36). Every time, the pattern is the same: someone asks, and the answer comes.
A Parable Is a Story With a Door in It
So why did Jesus speak in parables? Here’s what Mark 4 actually shows.
A parable doesn’t sort people by how smart they are. It sorts them by whether they care enough to come back. Everyone gets the story. Only the curious get the conversation. And the conversation was open to anyone who stayed, not just the twelve.
That changes how you can read your own confusion.
Maybe you’ve opened the Bible and thought, “This isn’t for people like me. I don’t get it.” Maybe you’ve sat somewhere and felt like everyone else understood something you didn’t. It’s easy to take that as a sign you’re on the outside.
But in Mark 4, not understanding was never what put someone outside. The disciples didn’t understand either. The only difference between the crowd and the people inside was one question: “What did you mean?”
Your confusion isn’t a locked door. It’s the door. The part of the Bible that doesn’t make sense to you yet is exactly where the invitation is.
And the promise is still there: “unto you that hear shall more be given” (Mark 4:24). Bring a small question, and you get more than you came with.
The parable didn’t lock anyone out. It waited to see who would stay.
Actions to Take Today
- Find your one confusing line. Open Mark 4 on your phone. Read the short story of the mustard seed (Mark 4:30-32). Write down the one phrase that doesn’t make sense to you. Just one.
- Ask it out loud. Take that phrase and say it to Jesus like the people on the beach did: “What did you mean by this?” Then be quiet for two minutes. You don’t need the answer today. You just need to stay and ask.
- Ask a person. Send your question to one friend who reads the Bible, or leave it in the comments below. You can also explore it with our free What Jesus Teaches AI assistant (it opens in ChatGPT). Asking someone else is how the first disciples got their answers too.
Journaling Prompts
- Think of a time you walked away from something about faith because it didn’t make sense. What made you leave instead of asking?
- What question about God have you been carrying for a long time but never said out loud? Write it down exactly as you’d say it.
- Where in your life right now do you feel like “them that are without”? What would it look like to stay a little longer there?
A Prayer for When I Don’t Understand
Jesus, there’s a lot in your words that I don’t understand yet. Sometimes that makes me feel like I’m on the outside looking in. But I don’t want to walk away with the crowd. I’m staying, and I’m asking: show me what you meant. Give me ears that keep listening, even when it takes a while for the story to open up. Amen.
Let’s Talk About It
Why do you think Jesus chose stories instead of just giving clear rules and explanations to everyone? Do you think a story teaches something a plain answer can’t? Share your thoughts in the comments. We’d love to hear what you think.
If this opened up something for you, keep going. The free Book of Matthew below includes all of chapter 13, where Jesus tells parable after parable and explains them to the ones who asked.
Share This
- I always thought Jesus spoke in parables to hide the truth. Then I read Mark 4:10. The people who stayed behind and asked got every story explained. Confusion isn’t a locked door. It’s the invitation.
- “When they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.” Mark 4:34. Not some things. All things. If something in the Bible doesn’t make sense to me, I can still ask.
- The parable didn’t lock anyone out. It waited to see who would stay.
Questions About Why Jesus Spoke in Parables
Why did Jesus speak in parables?
According to Mark 4, Jesus spoke in parables to the crowds “as they were able to hear it” (Mark 4:33), using everyday pictures like seeds, lamps and soil. Then, when the crowd left, He explained every parable to the people who stayed behind and asked (Mark 4:10, 4:34). The parables gave everyone a story and gave the curious a conversation.
Did Jesus use parables to hide the truth?
Mark 4:11-12 quotes Isaiah 6:9-10 about people who see but do not perceive, which can sound like hiding. But the same chapter says “there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested” (Mark 4:22), and it records Jesus explaining “all things” to those who asked. In Mark 4, nobody who asked for an explanation was refused one.
Who did Jesus explain the parables to?
Mark 4:10 says the people who asked Jesus about the parables were “they that were about him with the twelve.” That means the explanation was given to the twelve disciples and to other followers who stayed behind after the crowd left, not only to the inner circle of twelve.
What is the difference between Mark 4:12 and Matthew 13:13?
Mark 4:12 in the King James Version says Jesus spoke in parables “that seeing they may see, and not perceive,” which sounds like a purpose. Matthew 13:13 says “because they seeing see not,” which sounds like a reason already true of the listeners. Both passages quote Isaiah 6:9-10 and describe the same moment from two angles.
How many parables did Jesus tell?
The Gospels record dozens of parables, but the exact number depends on what counts as a parable, since some are full stories and others are short sayings or comparisons. Mark 4 alone includes the sower, the lamp under a bushel, the seed growing secretly and the mustard seed.
