The Meaning of Matthew 13:11: The Mysteries of the Kingdom Not Given to All?

Yet, incredibly, most of what Christ taught was not fully understood or comprehended by those who heard it. 

Why was that?

The use of parables

One of the primary ways Christ taught was through stories. He often used them to illustrate important truths about the Kingdom of God, with each story highlighting a different aspect of it. 

These stories are known in the Bible as parables.

In these parables, the characters are not real people but represent different types of individuals, both in the physical and the spiritual sense. (For a deeper exploration of parables, read our article about the “Parables of Jesus.”) 

In verses 3-9, Christ told a parable about a sower who sowed seed on four different types of soil, but only one yielded crops.

In verse 10, the disciples then asked Him why He spoke to the multitudes in parables. Christ answered in verse 11: “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.”

But why were the people of Christ’s day, and most people today, unable to understand?

In verses 14-15, Christ quoted the prophet Isaiah, showing that the reason was not God’s unwillingness to give understanding, but the people’s unwillingness to truly listen to and accept His instruction.

Becoming separated from God

When God made a covenant with the Israelites at Mount Sinai, they said they would listen and obey His commands (Exodus 19:7-8; 24:7-8). 

Yet when the mountain was covered with smoke and quaked with peals of thunder and flashes of lightning, symbolizing God’s presence, the Israelites became afraid of God and wanted to hear God’s words through Moses instead of God Himself (Exodus 19:18; 20:18-19). 

Contrary to what many believe, Christ said that these parables were not meant to make the meaning clearer, but rather to make it less clear. And rather than obey God’s commands as they had promised, these ancient Israelites repeatedly chose to ignore the teachings of God and His prophets. 

Unfortunately, their fear of God’s presence eventually turned into distrust of Him and His promises. Because of their lack of faith, which actually limited God, that generation was denied entry into the Promised Land (Numbers 14:11, 22-23; Psalm 78:40-41).

Although the next generation generally submitted to Joshua’s leadership, the generations that followed soon ignored God’s teachings and became separated from Him.

Paul wrote about this spiritual blindness, even quoting another similar prophecy from Isaiah in Romans 11:7-8, 25. Stephen likewise pointed out that the Jews of his day were much like the Israelites of old—they resisted God and did not truly want to follow Him (Acts 7:51-52).

Just as Adam and Eve became separated from God because they listened to Satan, so humanity as a whole has been spiritually blinded because of Satan’s evil and deceptive influence (2 Corinthians 4:4).

God the Father chooses who can understand

Paul, along with other biblical writers, compared this spiritual blindness to a veil covering people’s eyes (verse 3). It is this spiritual veil that prevents people from understanding the truth of God and the mysteries of the Kingdom.

Throughout human history, however, God has chosen a few to understand the mysteries of His Word and His Kingdom. He intentionally removes that veil for these few so they can assist Him in carrying out His plan for humanity.

When Jesus Christ came to the earth, He said that the Father would personally choose who would be freed from spiritual blindness and empowered to understand the truth.

Notice John 6:44: “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”

Before choosing His disciples, Christ first prayed to the Father, seeking His will in determining whom the Father was calling to be part of His work (Luke 6:12-13). 

Christ told those disciples they were privileged to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God—to have knowledge that those presently separated from God cannot understand (Matthew 13:11).

To this day, the Father continues to call individuals to help Him accomplish His will.

To learn more about God’s calling, read “The Meaning of John 6:44: Must the Father Draw Us to Christ?”

The parable of the sower and the seed

The parable Christ gave in Matthew 13 about the sower and the seed is about the Father removing the spiritual veil from some people in this age. 

As Christ explained, there are four main ways people respond after coming across God’s message (Matthew 13:18-23):

• Some never truly understand or internalize the truth revealed to them, and Satan quickly distracts them and snatches it away.
• Others eagerly receive God’s message but lack the commitment needed to endure and follow through over the long term.
• Still others allow the cares of this world and the pleasures of physical life to take priority over the way of life and the future God offers.
• The fourth group, those who become true disciples, respond positively and bear spiritual fruit.

Answering the Father’s call

When those who respond positively to the Father’s calling repent and are baptized, the Father gives them the Holy Spirit to help them grow in spiritual understanding and overcome the pulls of their own human nature, society and Satan’s influence (John 15:26; Galatians 5:22-23).

Those chosen by the Father are given the responsibility to do His will and help preach the good news of the Kingdom of God (Matthew 28:19-20). Because of the grace extended to them, God’s elect are now held accountable for what they know and for how they act on it (Luke 12:48; 1 Peter 4:17).

The rest—most who have ever lived—are still blinded spiritually. But even so, God’s ultimate plan of “bringing many sons [and daughters] to glory” has not changed (Hebrews 2:10).

In God’s time, Israel and the rest of mankind will come to understand. For now, however, the Father has chosen to limit who is given understanding—those He calls the “elect” (Romans 11:5, 7).

All will eventually understand

Even though the bulk of humanity is now spiritually blind to God’s ways, God will one day remove the veil so they can clearly see and understand.

But what few understand is that God is allowing this spiritual blindness for the ultimate good of these individuals!

Comparing this group to those God has called now (verse 30), Paul wrote, “Even so these [those now spiritually blinded] also have now been disobedient, that through the mercy shown you [the elect] they also may obtain mercy. For God has committed them all to disobedience, that He might have mercy on all” (verses 31-32, emphasis added).

God is allowing most of humanity to remain without full understanding so that He can extend mercy to them in the future. Because they are presently spiritually blinded and under Satan’s influence, God does not yet hold them fully accountable. If they were to understand God’s truth now, however, they would be accountable for what they know. 

For the present time, God is allowing most of humanity to remain without full understanding so that He can extend mercy to them in the future, at a time when Satan will no longer be able to deceive. At that time, they will have the opportunity to truly understand, receive the help of the Holy Spirit and ultimately inherit eternal life.

Yes, all humanity will eventually be given the opportunity to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. But the Father determines when that time comes for each person.

Being given this opportunity now does not make someone better or more deserving; it is an incredible privilege given through the grace of God.

Are you being called now? 

As Christ told His disciples, “But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear. For assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (Matthew 13:16-17).

Do you feel that you are being called now? Does the parable of the sower and the seed in Matthew 13 make sense to you? 

If so, how will you respond?

Date Posted: March 13, 2026