“That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the
sea. And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and
the whole crowd was standing on the beach. And He spoke many things to them in
parables, saying….” (Matthew 13:1–3a, NASB95)
“And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak
to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know
the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
“For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance;
but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
“Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see,
and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matthew 13:10–13,
NASB95)
“All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and
He did not speak to them without a parable.” (Matthew 13:34, NASB95)
A parable is placing one thing beside another. It is a
comparison or analogy used to illustrate a point often told through story. In
this way parables often begin with ‘x’ is like ‘y,’ and then the person sharing
the parable goes on to talk about ‘y.’ And if the person is able to make the
connection between ‘y’ and ‘x’ then the meaning of ‘x’ is more clearly
understood.
In Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7 Jesus
spoke clearly and to the point. Following the sermon, we find Jesus performing
many miracles and Him even empowering His disciples to go out only to the Jews
to perform miracles and to declare that the kingdom of heaven is at hand
(Matthew 10). He instructed them to go where they were welcomed and to speak to
those who would listen, leaving all others behind. He warned them of great
rejection and the likelihood of great persecution. As Jesus became more well-known,
both He and His disciples grew as the object of attack. Some would hear and
listen, but many would not. And it was to those who would listen that they
went.
As we enter chapter 13 Jesus begins speaking to people using
parables—stories and analogies—such that many did not understand their point.
In Verses 3 through 9 of Matthew 13 we find the first of this series of these
parables—the parable of the sower. After he had shared the parable with the
crowd His disciples came to Him and asked why He had not spoken more clearly to
the crowd. To this Jesus responded that those who were given to understand they
would be given much, but those whose eyes were calloused and whose hearts were
hardened would not understand. In a sense the parables were a way of speaking
such that His followers understood and His enemies shook their heads in
bewilderment.
Over the next several blogs we will look at these parables
and the rich instruction which Jesus gave in them. As we do this it is my
prayer that our hearts might indeed be softened to His instruction and that our
eyes might clearly see and understand. But having said this, there are many
even today whose eyes remain as the listeners then who reject both Christ and
His message. To them much of what they hear sounds like foolishness. Paul wrote
in 2 Corinthians, “Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we received
mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of
shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the
manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the
sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are
perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the
unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ, who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ
Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God,
who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our
hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:1–6, NASB95)
Jesus was not being deceptive, nor was He attempting to keep
people from growing in the knowledge and understanding of God. In speaking in
parables He knew that there were those whose hardness of heart would continue
and that they would reject both the message and the messenger. He also knew
that in speaking this way that others would have their hearts pricked; their
eyes opened, and would either understand or like His disciples stop and ask
more questions.
We see this clearly in the chapters before these parables
when many came to Jesus believing that He had the power to heal. These are the
ones who understood His power and His authority and who trusted that He was able
to do the most incredible of things. In Matthew 5:5-13 we read of the centurion
(officer in the Roman army) who came to Jesus seeking healing for his servant.
Jesus told the centurion that He would go to his home to heal his servant, but
the centurion responded to Jesus that He had no need to do so. The Roman
officer understood the power of authority, and He knew that Jesus had the
authority to heal whether He went or commanded such from where He stood. Verse
10-13 record what happened next, “Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and
said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such
great faith with anyone in Israel. “I say to you that many will come from east
and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom
of heaven; but the sons of the kingdom will be cast out into the outer
darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” And Jesus
said to the centurion, “Go; it shall be done for you as you have believed.” And
the servant was healed that very moment.” (Matthew 8:10–13, NASB95)
And just as the Centurion believed and his servant was
healed, many others saw those same miracles and continued in their unbelief. Having
seen the power of God they still chose to reject His salvation. In 1
Corinthians 1:18 we read, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those
who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1
Corinthians 1:18, NASB95)
Paul was one of those whose eyes were blinded to these words
of Jesus. But when Jesus later confronted him we read, “And I said, ‘Who are
You, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. ‘But get up
and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you
a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also
to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish
people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so
that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to
God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those
who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’” (Acts 26:15–18, NASB95)
So, while others might be shaking their heads at us, we need
to be mindful that while there are still many mysteries that we do not understand
and that we still have much to learn about our God, God has and will continue
to reveal Himself more and more to us as we look to Him and worship Him. As He
revealed to the prophets of His coming salvation and His restoration of the
rebellion of Israel, He also reveals Himself to us and to those who seek Him.
To the prophet Jeremiah He said, “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will
tell you great and mighty things, which you do not know.” (Jeremiah 33:3,
NASB95)
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