Mark 4:22 - Printer Friendly

ESV: For nothing is hidden except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret except to come to light.

NIV: For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.

NASB: For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light.

CSB: For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed, and nothing concealed that will not be brought to light.

NLT: For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light.

KJV: For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.

NKJV: For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.

In the parable of the sower (Mark 4:1–9), the "seed" is Jesus' parables. His parables contain truths that until this time have been hidden. Some of those truths include who the Messiah is, what the Messiah has come to do, and how God plans to save His people. With the coming of Jesus' ministry, it is time to uncover those secrets.

Jesus' intent for how the truth is to be made manifest is specific: not by demons (Mark 1:24–26, 34; 3:11–12), not in the wrong time (John 2:4; 7:8), and by apostles who have been specially chosen and trained (Mark 3:13–19). The disciples will not be able to reveal too much until Jesus has been resurrected (Mark 9:9). Some of the secrets, like that salvation is also for the Gentiles, will stay hidden until after Jesus' ascension (Ephesians 3:6).

At this time, the Roman Empire is inundated by "mystery religions." These are belief systems that initiates learn gradually as they rise through the ranks of the organization. Examples include the Cult of Cybele, the Mysteries of Isis, and the Mithraic Mysteries.

While mystery religions only reveal their secrets to the faithful, Jesus is just waiting on timing. His followers won't understand He is the Messiah until they see His miracles. They won't understand salvation until after the resurrection. They won't understand the church until after His ascension. And they won't understand that salvation is for all people until they see Gentiles converted.

In the church age, the light to be revealed is Jesus (John 9:5) and we are commissioned to shine that light (Matthew 28:19–20). We will meet persecution, but refusing to obey God is worse than death (Matthew 10:26–28). Unlike the pagan religions, Jesus' mysteries are available for anyone who wants them, in any degree they wish to understand (Mark 4:24–25, 33).

Mark 4:21–25 is Jesus' explanation of what makes for good learning conditions. Jesus has previously revealed why some people accept His teaching while others don't (Mark 4:1–20). ''Light'' is the truth of Jesus that should be let free to reveal the secret of the gospel. But it will only provide illumination for those who pay attention and come with a deep desire to understand. Next, Jesus will tell the disciples their responsibility in spreading the gospel (Mark 4:26–29) and what reaction they can expect (Mark 4:30–32). Luke also records this story in Luke 8:16–18 while Matthew touches on the themes in Matthew 5:15–16 and 10:26.

Jesus speaks in parables to the assembled crowd, giving them an opportunity to decide how much spiritual truth they want to absorb. The disciples, wanting to learn more, ask Jesus to explain the meaning of the parables He has taught. As Jesus explains these ideas, He demonstrates that a person's spiritual knowledge is based on their willingness to pursue truth. After describing Jesus' teaching in some detail, the Gospel of Mark describes how Jesus calms a storm on the Sea of Galilee.

Mark 3 explores the different ways people react to Jesus' teaching and miracles. They either follow Him, use Him, hide Him, or destroy Him. In Mark 4, Jesus explains why people react the way they do. He uses parables to explain who is serious about learning from Him. The softer a person's heart is, the more truth God will reveal. Soon, the twelve will also spread Jesus' message, although they will not be responsible for the spiritual growth of those who believe. The following chapter returns to depicting Jesus' miracles, including two of His most famous.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.