Mysteries, Secrets and Intimacy with God*
When Jesus had taught the parable of the sower and the seed, He ended the parable by saying, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." His twelve disciples had asked Him about the parable: "And he said to them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables." (Mk. 4:9-11). The Lord had multitudes that followed Him, and He had the seventy who followed Him, but then He had the twelve disciples who had the more direct and intimate relationship with Him. It is to these twelve that Jesus said that it was given to them to understand the mysteries of God's kingdom. The word "mystery" used here is the Greek word mysterion which means "hidden thing, secret, mystery, the secret counsels which govern God in dealing with the righteous, which are hidden from ungodly and wicked men but plain to the godly." God's secrets are with the righteous, rather than w...