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 (τα παντα) are done in parables. (Mark 4:11)
The referent of τα παντα. What is the proper referent of τα παντα? First,
some apply it to parables only (Manson and Moule). But this seems overly
restrictive. Second, others apply it to both parables and the teaching of Jesus
(Jeremias, Hauck, and Ambrozic). But this limits it to the spoken
word. Third, a majority of scholars apply it to parables, public teaching, and
deeds of Jesus (Gnilka, Woodward, Robinson, Mauser, Cranfield, Lane, Evans).
In support of this final view is
that misunderstandings in Mark are explicitly tied to three areas: parables,
teachings, and actions of Jesus (Mark 6:52; 8:17, 21; 4:12; 7:14-17). “People
saw (feedings and other miracles) and heard (parables and other teachings), but
they did not perceive who Jesus was (1:27; 4:41)” (Woodward, “The Place of Mark
4:10-12 in the Second Gospel, 57). Thus ‘seeing’ and ‘hearing’ are implicitly
the faculties that expose the inability to understand. IF only parables (or explanations)
are in mind then one would expect ‘seeing’ to be omitted entirely or placed
second in the following Isaian quote. This other suggests that much more is
included than merely hearing parables or public teaching. Further, seen probably
reflects an acted מָשָׁל and accounts for its inclusion. The expansion to ‘all
things,’ then, suggest either that the disciples’ question is more profound
than originally conceived or that Jesus takes the initiative in expanding the
answer in conscious awareness of both the spoken and acted מָשָׁל /παραβολη. The spoken and acted מָשָׁל /παραβολη is to outsiders noetic riddle.
They lack the ontological-functional capacities of salvific wisdom. (Donald
E. Hartley, The Wisdom Background and Parabolic Implications of Isaiah
6:9-10 in the Synoptics [Studies in Biblical Literature 100; New York:
Peter Lang, 2006], 265-66)
