The Purpose of Jesus’ Parables - Matthew 13:10-17

Scripture Reading: Matthew 13:10-17

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; 15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn So that I should heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Introduction:Last week Pastor Kim spoke about The Parable of the Sower and how certain seeds landed on different soils.

· Some seed landed on the paths and the birds devour them.

· Other seeds fell on Rocky ground (this parable had to have happened in Spirit Lake) and just like our weeds here they sprout up quickly but soon the sun scorches them

· Still other seeds landed among the thorns and the thorns choked them out.

· And then some seed fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred full some sixty, and some thirty

Verse 9 says,

He who has ears let him hear.

Now today we come to The Purposes of Jesus’ Parables, and we see in verse 10: then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” Jesus is going to tell His disciples why He began to speak in parables.

Let’s jump into the text and learn from the Master Teacher today.

I. The Disciples Question – 13:11

The disciples approached Jesus to ask a question. Look with me at verse 11,

Why do you speak in parables instead of talking to them in a simple understandable way?

I can picture the disciples being confused and thinking to themselves why do you say anything at all?

The disciples have been hearing the straightforward, easy-to-understand gospel message, but now Jesus speaks in a parable. I can understand the disciples' confusion.

II. Jesus Answers the Question – 13:11-13

I believe we see the response of Jesus in verses 11-13. But let’s first take another look at verse 11. We read,

He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

At this point, I believe that Jesus provides a twofold reason for why He spoke in parables. These two reasons are found here in verse 11. They are:

The first reason we see in verse 11 is that it has been given to you (the believer of Christ). You the believer have been granted the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. (Rick, what is a mystery?)

The second reason we see is at the end of verse 11, But to them, it has not been given. Who is “them”? These are the unbelievers who have never placed their faith and trust in Jesus.

To the disciples, it has been granted to know these secrets, but to others, it remains hidden.

Have you ever noticed that sometimes when you share the gospel with others they look at you like you came from the planet Vulcan? Sorry for the Star Trek image but if you have shared anything about Jesus sometimes people will respond and sometimes, they just look at you as crazy!

You see, just like the disciples were questioning Jesus' tactic, we must understand that not everyone is ready to “hear” the gospel, but that should never stop us from sharing about Jesus.

We see here that parables serve as a filter: those with an open heart can hear the message. They can understand the mysteries of the kingdom of God while closed hearts remain blind.

Verse 12 reads,

For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

“For whoever has”: Refers to those who believe. Those who have received the gift of eternal life. These are the true citizens of the kingdom of heaven. These are the ones who have accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord. These are the ones who have accepted salvation from God. And to Him (The believer) we see further in verse 12 that to him more will be given. What more could be given? A greater understanding of the Bible, a greater understanding of the mystery of the kingdom. We understand the true light that is spoken of in John 1 verses 6-9,

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into this world.

Keep your spot in John 1 open.

We have received the true light. But the fate of the unbeliever is just the opposite. Because of his or her unbelief, he or she does not have salvation, and therefore even with the truth being shared and seeing the light of the truth their eyes are still not opened.

That is what Jesus is saying at the end of verse 12,

but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

Thousands of people heard Jesus’ teachings and still did not believe.

Thousands of people saw the miracles of Jesus and still did not believe.

These people saw God incarnate and yet they rejected Him.

Don’t let your heart be hardened further today by hearing the call of salvation and rejecting it!

Please do not reject Jesus today! Look with me at verse 13,

Therefore, I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Look back with me at John 1:10-12,

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know him, 11. He came to his own, and His own did not receive Him. 12. But as many as received Him, to them he gave the right to become children of God.

This was not just a problem for those who witnessed Jesus’ teaching and miracles. This is an age-old problem. Jesus is going to take us back some 700 years. He is going to quote from the book of Isaiah.

III. Fulfillment of Isaiah's Prophecy – 13:14-15

Turn back with me to Matthew 13:14-15. Here we read,

And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,

And seeing you will see and not perceive;

For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed,

Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their

ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’

These verses perfectly describe the unbelieving Jews of Jesus’ day. Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9-10 found here in Matthew.

Isaiah wrote during a time of sweeping judgment on Judah.

Isaiah had just announced a series of judgments on the people due to their unbelief. They knew the truth but instead decided to live in their debauchery, drunkenness, hypocrisy, and dishonesty. Isaiah was preaching a very difficult message to the people of Judah of their doom to come. During this time King Uzziah died and the nation was plunged into one of the darkest days all because of unbelief and continued rejection of the truth. The Jews refused to turn back to God!

Just like the days of Judah, the people around Jesus would not hear the truth. They rejected him and despised Him. This is where we see one of the reasons for the parables to CONCEAL the truth from the hardened hearts.

God Reveals the Truth to the Believers. Look with me at the end of this passage.

Verses 16-17,

16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Do you have eyes that see? Or ears that hear?

You see when someone chooses to believe in the Gospel and to trust in His grace. He gives them salvation (what a blessing that is, AMEN!) to this person, will be given the ability to understand the truths of God’s word. This is what Jesus is saying to his disciples, “because you have eyes to see and ears to hear”

Remember that a disciple is a follower of Jesus. We are blessed if we have eyes that see and ears to hear.

Do you fully understand how blessed we are as Christians today? Look again at verse 17. We read,

for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Not even the most faithful and enlightened saints of the Old Testament were given the insights that the apostles and every believer have since Jesus’ ministry on earth. We have the privilege and the blessing of having the written word of God fully and completely. We can better understand what the mysteries of the kingdom of God are.

There are many blessings for you and me today. This is promised to every believer who seeks to know God’s word and relies on the Holy Spirit.

We as believers not only have the Holy Spirit but we have the very author of the scriptures living inside of us to explain, interpret, and apply the truths of God’s word.

Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 2 beginning in verse 9,

But as it is written:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,

Nor have entered into the heart of man

The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

Conclusion:In closing, I want to challenge you today with these six thoughts:

1. Are you seeking God today?

2. Do you care to understand the word of God more deeply?

3. Does your heart desire the things that God wants you to do?

4. Do you desire that your family and friends know Jesus as Savior and Lord?

5. Don’t be discouraged when you share with others, and you see no response.

6. Be encouraged when you get to be a part of the work of God when a sinner comes to a place of repentance.