And he said, unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God,.... The doctrines of the Gospel, which to have spiritual knowledge is a special and peculiar gift of God. The Vulgate Latin and Persic versions read, "the mystery", in the singular, as in Mark: "but to others in parables"; that is, the doctrines of the Gospel are delivered in a parabolical way to others; to such as "are without", as the Evangelist Mark expresses it, who are strangers and foreigners, and not children, who are not the favourites of heaven, and the disciples of Christ: that seeing they might not see, and hearing, they might not understand; what was delivered to them; see the following notes. See Gill on Mat 13:11, Mat 13:12, Mat 13:13