Matthew 13:10-17 Mark 4:10-12 Luke 8:9-10
Why did Jesus teach in parables? This is the question that Jesus answers in
today’s text. There were many different
people who heard Jesus speak. Not all
the people who were in the crowds that followed Jesus truly interested in
learning from Him. Some people were
curious and simply wanted to see the miracles He performed. They were following Jesus in order to be part
of the crowd and be entertained. Other
people were out to entrap Him. They were
just waiting for Him to do or say something wrong so they could try to
discredit Him. Finally, there were His
disciples that truly wanted to hear and understand His teachings. It was this final group that Jesus was most
interested in teaching. It was this
group that asked Jesus about His teaching methods. The answer Jesus gives is instructive and
should help us evaluate what kind of students we are. There are basically two reasons Jesus gave
for teaching in Parables.
TO CONCEAL TRUTH: The curious people and the conniving
people really had no interest in understanding what Jesus was teaching. Jesus was also not interested in teaching
them because of the hardness of their hearts.
They were either too lazy to listen or too indifferent because they
could not use these “stories” against Him.
Scripture had predicted that the Messiah would teach a deaf and blind
audience. Their lack of motivation and
dedication to understand Jesus left them in the state of condemnation before
God. These self-centered and
self-righteous people were not interested in a message of repentance and
transformation. They were blind to their
own lost state and deaf to the truth of God’s Word. Many people continue to be exposed to the
teachings of Jesus in the same way. They
are interested in God’s Word as an academic pursuit in order to satisfy their
curiosity. Others endure church services
because they feel obligated to attend a service in hopes of impressing other
people or easing their own conscience. They
don’t see a need for transformation or repentance. The truth is that this attitude can easily
sprout up in our hearts. We can just
start going through the motions of going to church or reading our Bibles
without truly engaging our hearts and minds.
TO REVEAL TRUTH: The disciples were anxious to learn from
Jesus which is why they were asking questions and striving to understand. They recognized their own need and believed
that Jesus was able to meet that need.
The parables would stimulate their thinking, capture their attention and
facilitate their memories. But Jesus was
not motivated to teach in parables as an exercise in effective
communication. His motivation was one of
transformation. When God’s Word is
heard, understood and applied to our lives, it will convict us of sin and
change our lives. This is the goal of
God’s Word and was the goal of Christ’s ministry. Every time we hear a message or open the
Scriptures we need to concentrate with our minds fully engaged. We also need to open our heats so the light
of Scripture can shine on our lives and show us where we are wrong and then be
committed to making the necessary changes in our lives. Attentiveness and humility are vital
prerequisites to the understanding of God’s Word.
APPLICATION: Protect our hearts from the laziness and pride
that will make God’s Word be ineffective in our lives. Pay close attention every time we are exposed
to the Word of God. Recognize our
spiritual need for transformation and humbly ask God to change our lives as we
hear and read the Bible.
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