Mark 4:12

Mark 4:12. That, in order that. ‘When God transacts a matter, it is idle to say that the result is not the purpose' (Alford). This purpose is indicated here even more strongly than in Matthew. The object of the parable is Doth to conceal and to reveal the truth, according to the moral state of the hearers. Mark only uses the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10), without citing it directly as Matthew does. It was already partially fulfilled when the Jews hardened their hearts against the preaching of Isaiah, the Evangelist among the prophets; it was completely fulfilled, when they rejected the gospel itself as proclaimed by the Son of God. Their moral unwillingness preceded their moral inability, and the latter was a divine judgment on the former. So Pharaoh first hardened his heart before God judicially hardened him. Here, where a separation between Christ's followers, and those without, is first plainly marked, the point of discrimination is spiritual knowledge. This shows the importance of Christian truth, which implies doctrine.