In the early centuries following Jesus there were secret societies called Mystery Religions. Like something out of a Dan Brown novel, they met in ancient temples and their initiation rites and path to renewal were closely guarded secrets. Their beliefs were often centered on the cycle of the seasons, or of life itself woven into the fabric of myth of gods or goddesses that lead to a mystical experience centering on the emotional satisfaction of its members. What many don’t know is that Jesus too had a secret, knowledge that only his closest followers were privy to.

He said, “You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that although they see they may not see, and although they hear they may not understand.” – Luke 8.10

Just what was this “secret of the kingdom” Jesus referred to? Is there a mystery that the church has kept secret for centuries? There is only one way to find out: study the Bible, and start with the immediate context.

In the first 15 verses of Luke chapter 8 Jesus tells a parable about seed sown in a variety of environments. Following the parable Jesus announces that they have special knowledge, a secret. The Greek word used here is mysterion where we get the word mystery from and means “things that should be held in confidence”. He then explains the parable to the disciples. The focus of the story is on the seed which Jesus explains is the word of God. This is an important clue to discovering the secret.

Our journey of discovery next takes us to the one other use of the word mysterion. Of its 28 uses in the New Testament three of them are in this story (it is told in Matthew, Mark as well as Luke) and 21 or them are used by the apostle Paul. According to Paul one of the great mystery of the ages is the church, the other is God’s wisdom and plan (Rom 16:25; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 3:5, 9) for the salvation of man which was established before the ages and was revealed at the appropriate time (Romans 16:25; and again 1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 3:5, 9). This second mystery, the greatest of them all, is not secret knowledge but rather a person, identified in prophecy as the Messiah and revealed after the resurrection to be none other than Jesus (Colossians 1:27; 2:2; 1 Timothy 3:16).

This is all fine and good, but Paul wasn’t writing to explain Luke 8.10. Can we use Paul’s revelation about the mystery to explain our passage? Using Scripture to interpret Scripture is an age old practice, but only when there is some relationship between the two or reason to believe that the subject matter is similar. In this case we have a word, which by itself is not enough to link the two passages together. Jesus’ explanation of the parable, however, makes perfect sense in light of Paul’s use. After all, Jesus said the seed represented “the word of God” and one of the names of Jesus in the Scriptures is the Word of God.

There is more evidence, however. The secret is progressively revealed throughout the book of Luke through the life and teachings of Jesus, culminating in the great reveal at his resurrection. The word of God that comes to the various soil types of the earth is none other than Jesus, whom some will reject, some will accept and first and later reject, and some will accept and cling to for eternal life. This is the secret Jesus kept, but only for a time so that the fullness of the revelation might come with evidence of its truth. A truth the disciples knew quite personally, as do we.