Hide And Seek- With Jesus
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10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 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. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
Miracles vs. parables. If you see a miracle performed by a human, you begin to realize the human may be more than merely mortal. But you wouldn’t expect that response to a really good story. But Jesus’ disciples did.
His stories were that good. And they knew who he was by the time they wrote them down anyway.
Note that the question is not why parables?.... it is why do you speak to them in parables? He is noting the difference in believers and non believers, followers and non followers.
They don’t ask what the parables mean… they ask why he speaks to the crowds this way. (Please note that along the way in each of the gospels, Jesus does in fact explain his parables to his disciples… and later they will ask him for explanation on the ones they don’t understand.
So Jesus’ replay to the question , “WHY do you speak to THEM in parables will focus on the fact that revelation is given to some and not to others and WHY it is given to them. (vs.11-17)
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. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
One of the functions of parables is to conceal the truth- at least to veil it.
Secrets of the Kingdom-secrets are certain eschatological realities being revealed. Please note, the matter is not to reveal who Jesus is, or who god is, or the power of love.... it is to reveal the “Mystery of the kingdom is the coming of the kingdom into history in advance of its apocalyptic manifestation.”
That God would bring his kingdom into the world is not the secret. Rather, the kingdom which is finally to come as Daniel revealed, has in fact entered the world in advance in a hidden form in the person of Jesus to work secretly within and among people.
13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Jesus speaks in parables because the people are spiritually insensitive. They see, but they do not really see.
The parables intention is not to harden peoples hearts- rather it is to challenge hearers to hear their message. Perhaps it was to soften the hard heart and grow the receptive one. (The parable of the sower clearly shows this in the receptivity of the soil to the seed. The ssoil determines the growth of the seed.)
14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’
Jesus quotes Isaiah 6.9-10… the reference is to the exile, but the events surrounding the exile are seen as a paradigm… the classic case of rejection of God and the resulting judgment. repeated in Jesus’ generation on a new level and so fulfilling the words of the prophecy.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Consider and see that Jesus is putting the crowd and his disciples/followers in 2 groups. those that see and those that hear and those that do not see or hear.
Jesus says you, my followers, are in the line of the prophets and righteous people that have been longing for the day, looking for the day when this woulld happen.
Remember Simeon in Luke. It is worth a visit to Luke 2.25-35
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said, 29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation 31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” 33 And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed 35 (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.”
Or how about Anna? in Luke 2.36-38
36 And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, 37 and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.
34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
Jesus here quotes, and fulfills the prophecy of , Psalm 78.2
2 I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,
But why was this necessary? It has nothing to do with the story teller- it has everything to do with the story listeners..... their hearts to be specific.
Repeating myself, Jesus has quoted Isaiah 6.9-10 in explaining why he was using parables. Let’s look at it a moment:
9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
The hearts, ears, and eyes of the people had become dull, hard, and blind.
Jesus wanted to wake up the curiosity of the concerned- those who really wanted to know the truth.
At the same time, He would not cast his pearls of truth before swine. (Matthew 7.6)
The parables would never keep people from learning the truth; rather, they would excite interest and encourage people to learn.
Remember Matthew 11.25
25 At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children;
In other words, even Jesus can’t help those who think they are so smart they don’t need help. That’s otherwise called pride.
or arrogance.
But Why?
The reason can be found in Matthew 13.34-35
34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
The truths of Jesus’ parables, specifically in Matthew 13, are a secret kept hidden from the foundation of the world. You and I would call them “mysteries”.
Hidden mysteries kept secret since the beginning of the foundation of the world…but they are now revealed. Don’t look for these truths in the Ot- they aren’t there. God is now revealing the mystery through Christ/ His servant.
You’ll find it in His life ( and death), but for the moment I’d ask you to consider the following in Ephesians 3.1-12
1 For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles—
2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God’s grace that was given to me for you,
3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly.
4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ,
5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
7 Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power.
8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things,
10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.
11 This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord,
12 in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him.
And then Paul prays for them spiritual strength to not only possess the mystery as their foundaion, but also to have it in its fulness… see Ephesians 3.14-19
14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
The mystery is Christ’s love for them- and for us.
Do the parables make you think? Make you hungry for more? It all starts with knowing the mystery of God- hidden for ages, but revealed in Christ- and now revealed through us.