Mark 4:2

And He taught them many things in parables, and in His teaching He said,

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses a large crowd gathered along the shore beside the sea while seated in a boat. He opens His instruction by introducing a sequence of parabolic teachings.

The words — ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) carries the literal sense of ongoing action, "He was teaching." παραβολαῖς (parabolais) specifies the medium, translating literally as "in parables."

The thread — This parabolic method appears in Matthew 13:34, where Jesus addresses crowds exclusively through illustrations, and in Mark 3:23, where He initiates a parabolic discourse on spiritual opposition.

Why it lands — The text places the teaching method before the message, requiring the reader to attend to how truth is delivered. It demands that the audience recognize the structured nature of divine instruction before receiving its content.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

καὶkaiAnd ἐδίδασκενedidaskenHe was teaching αὐτοὺςautousthem ἐνenin παραβολαῖςparabolaisparables πολλὰpollamany things καὶkaiand ἔλεγενelegenHe was saying αὐτοῖςautoisto them ἐνenin τῇtēathe διδαχῇdidachēateaching αὐτοῦ·autouof Him;

King James Version

And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine,

Cross-references

Matthew 13:34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable.
Mark 3:23 So Jesus called them together and began to speak to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan?
Mark 4:11 He replied, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those on the outside everything is expressed in parables,
Psalms 49:4 I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle with the harp:
Psalms 78:2 I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the beginning,
Matthew 13:3 And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed.
Matthew 13:10 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”
Matthew 7:28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching,
Mark 4:33 With many such parables Jesus spoke the word to them, to the extent that they could understand.
Mark 12:38 In His teaching Jesus also said, “Watch out for the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, to receive greetings in the marketplaces,