1. Mark 4:11 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Who are those outside?

Mark 4:11 (ESV)

11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables,

Most likely these outsiders were all those who rejected Jesus, who refused to listen to his words and repent and believe (e.g., the scribes and Pharisees). They do not choose for Jesus and do not believe in him, although they do come to take advantage of his miraculous deeds. Parables are a judgment upon them, as the true people of God now begin to be reconstituted around Jesus Christ.1 In that way they become heathens, who are outside the kingdom. Only those who belong to Jesus, belong to God! All others are excluded.2