And when he was entered into the house from the people, his disciples asked him concerning the parable.
Parallel translations
- WEB When he had entered into a house away from the multitude, his disciples asked him about the parable.
- BSB After Jesus had left the crowd and gone into the house, His disciples inquired about the parable.
- NKJV When He had entered a house away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him concerning the parable.
- NASB And when He later entered a house, away from the crowd, His disciples asked Him about the parable.
- NLT Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used.
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
In private the disciples asked Jesus to explain the parable. Their question shows both their dullness and their desire to understand.
Overview
Away from the crowd, the disciples sought clarification of Jesus' saying about defilement. Their need for explanation reveals how deeply ingrained the purity laws were and how revolutionary Jesus' teaching seemed. Jesus' patient instruction in private models His care to bring His followers to fuller understanding.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Matt 15:15Then answered Peter and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
- Matt 13:36Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
- Mark 9:28And when he was come into the house, his disciples asked him privately, Why could not we cast him out?
- Mark 4:34But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.
- Matt 13:10And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
- Mark 4:10And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable.
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 7:17 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.