And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it.
Parallel translations
- WEB With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.
- BSB With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, to the extent that they could understand.
- NKJV And with many such parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.
- NASB And with many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to understand it;
- NLT Jesus used many similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus taught the crowds in parables, speaking truth in measure as they were able to receive it.
Overview
Mark notes that parables were Jesus' regular teaching method with the multitudes, accommodating the word to the hearers' capacity. This reflects God's gracious, gradual self-revelation, drawing people toward deeper understanding. It also foreshadows that genuine hearing leads to fuller insight, while a hardened heart receives only the outward story.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Matt 13:34–35All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
- John 16:12I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
- Heb 5:11–14Of whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.
- 1 Cor 3:1–2And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 4:33 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.