Let’s begin by reading Mark 4:10-12, “And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. 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: 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.”

We have to go back to the beginning of this chapter to see WHO the Lord was talking to and HOW He was talking to them. Mark 4:1-2 states, “And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a GREAT MULTITUDE, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. And HE TAUGHT THEM MANY THINGS BY PARABLES…”

We have a parallel portion in Matthew 13. There we have a question asked by the Lord’s disciples. They asked, “Why speakest thou unto them in parables?” (Verse 10). At that point, the Lord tells His disciples that the “mystery of the kingdom of God” are for them and not for this great multitude. A ‘mystery’ in this sense is a truth that was previously unknown and can only be discerned by divine guidance and revelation. We have a wonderful example of that in Matthew 16, when Peter declared that the Lord Jesus was the Son of the living God. The Lord said to Peter in Matthew 16:17, “Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for FLESH AND BLOOD HATH NOT REVEALED IT UNTO THEE, BUT MY FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN.” Divine revelation to a listening ear revealed the true person of the Christ to Peter.

So, the Lord shows us that His precious truths are only given to those with receptive ears and hearts. It is given to those who truly desire to know divine truth so that they may follow it. You may remember how that Pilate, during the Lord’s trial, asked Him, “What is truth?” (John 18:38). His question was one of sarcasm. He was not a true seeker of the truth, so he did not even wait around for an answer. John 18:38 says, “Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews…” We don’t see that the Lord Jesus even attempted to answer Pilate’s question. Pilate did not have receptive ears and a heart to learn from the Lord, therefore the Lord did not answer him.

The Lord Jesus instructs us in Matthew 7:6, “Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you.” Both dogs and swine (pigs) are names given for unsaved people. (Psalm 26:11, Leviticus 11:7). We are not to give ‘holy’ things or ‘precious things (pearls)’ to the unsaved. They do not realize its value and will simply “trample them under feet.”

We can rest assured though that if someone desires to know the Lord and truly longs for Him, the Lord will make sure they get the truth in an understandable way.

We can rest assured that God wants “all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4). (339.6)