phrase “lest they repent and be forgiven” (cf. Matt. 13:15). As Marcus (2000, 300) judiciously concludes, “When all is said and done, … hina in Mark 4:12 means ‘in order that,’ mēpote means ‘lest,’ and the passage speaks of a deliberate divine intention that some people should misunderstand and be impenitent” (cf. Evans 1989, 92–99). Mark is an apocalyptic text that envisions serious division between believers and unbelievers, even to the point of family members betraying one another (13:9–13). However,