<p>4:10- see on Mk. 3:14.</p><p><i>And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked him about the parables</i>- The Lord&rsquo;s grace to His men is reflected in Mark&rsquo;s record of how the twelve were confused by the Lord&rsquo;s parables. He responds that He speaks in parables so that &ldquo;them that are without&rdquo; would not understand; but His followers would, He implies, &ldquo;know the mystery of the Kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables&rdquo;. And yet it&rsquo;s immediately apparent that the disciples were equally confused by the parables. We sense the Lord&rsquo;s frustration with this: &ldquo;Know ye not this parable? How then will ye know all parables?&rdquo;- i.e. &lsquo;If you don&rsquo;t understand this parable, it means you won&rsquo;t understand any of them, which makes you equal with the crowd of those outside of Me, whom I&rsquo;m seeking to leave confused&rsquo;. And we note how straight away Mark notes, perhaps in sadness and yet marvel at the Lord&rsquo;s grace: &ldquo;But without a parable spake he not unto them the disciples: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples&rdquo; (Mk. 4:10-13,34). Mark, or Peter writing through Mark, could look back in wonder. They the supposed disciples, learners, of the Lord Jesus had been as dumb as the crowd; but by grace alone the Lord had privately explained the parables to them. And our understanding of true Bible teaching is likewise a gift of grace, when we are every bit as obtuse as the people in darkness who surround us.</p><p>This question is understandable if this was the first parable the Lord spoke; see on Mt. 12:1. They were taken aback by His changed method of teaching, probably noticing that the eagerly listening multitudes had not properly understood it, overhearing all kinds of wild guesses at what the Lord was maybe driving at.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>