Matthew 13:11 stresses the relationship between divine predestination and human responsibility. The crowd does not get the privilege granted to the apostles, which is why Jesus speaks to them in parables. This statement shows that for the disciples alone the parables would not have been needed. Jesus could have spoken to them directly and plainly about the kingdom, as he had already done and as he did in the explanations, but for the crowd, the parable was a final warning. They should have asked for the meaning, as the disciples did, but chose not to.
In Matthew 13:11, the relationship between divine predestination and human responsibility comes to the fore. The crowd does not receive the privilege granted to the apostles, which is why Jesus speaks to them in parables. This statement leads us to conclude that for the disciples alone the parables would not have been necessary. Jesus could have spoken to them directly and plainly concerning the kingdom, just as he had already done and as he did in the explanations. For the crowd, however, the parable was necessary as a final warning. They should have enquired with regard to the meaning, just as the disciples did. Yet they chose not to.1
11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.