questions which were Mark’s concern and to which this discourse as a whole offers an answer. That answer, however, is appropriately formulated not in prosaic propositions but itself ἐν παραβολαῖς—and as a result has presented commentators with rich scope for disagreement. That is the nature of parables! 11 The mention of a μυστήριον immediately sets the tone for Jesus’ response, but can easily mislead English readers who naturally think of a ‘mystery’ as something which is inherently hard to understand,