Grounded in Synthesis

Jesus was extraordinarily focused on His mission. Matthew—like the other gospel writers—was extraordinarily focused on Jesus. This hyper focus provides the details we need, but not always the details we want.

Case in point: As Matthew 12 transitions to Matthew 13, we are left with unanswered questions.

Matthew 12 closes thusly:

Matthew 12:46–50 NKJV

46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” 48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

And Matthew 13 opens thusly:

Matthew 13:1–2 NKJV

1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

Did Jesus go see His family that had come to see Him? We don’t know. We want to know, but we don’t need to know. Reflecting broadly on all four gospels together, there aren’t that many instances where interactions between Jesus and His family are recorded.

There is an implicit trust between author and reader. We understand that all authors have to decide what to include and what to exclude. We trust them to include what we need. They trust us to follow what they included and not become derailed over information necessarily left out.

It shouldn’t be that big a deal. But I have met people who become distracted to the point of unbelief by what was left out of the Bible. The question is do we trust God the Holy Spirit—who is ultimately the author of Scripture—to have included what we need to know and to have appropriately excluded what we might like to know but ultimately don’t need to know?

Let’s face it: reading the whole Bible is already a heavy lift.

Some people just cannot—or will not—trust that they have everything they need. Instead of mastering what the authors of Scripture provided, they are always looking for the details they didn’t.

We can actually see these people in Matthew 13.

The Parable of the Soils, 13:3-9

Matthew 13:3–9 NKJV

3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

A couple of quick notes here because we want to stick with the flow of Matthew’s record:

Parables are earthly stories with heavenly meanings. We might also say physical stories with spiritual meanings.

The parable of the soils, as presented, could be used to illustrate several truths. We could definitely use this parable to teach earthly or physical truths. But that is not its purpose!

There is no immediate explanation of the parable to the crowd. Jesus will explain it shortly to His disciples. But that is what prompted the next question.

The Question of Parables, 13:10-17

Matthew 13:10–17 NKJV

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.

The Gift of Knowledge, 11

The gift of knowledge was, and is, given to Jesus’ disciples who believe Him and believe in Him. It is not given to the crowds who merely follow Him and are just curious about Him.

Which is not to say that you cannot move from the crowd to the disciples. You definitely can and should: we all start somewhere. As you make that move, you receive this gift.

But what is the gift?

The Difference of Understanding, 12-13

Jesus uses three words that explain

Mysteries, 11

A mystery is something that is not known

Mysteries are not unknowable

Know, 11

Factual knowledge

Acquirable knowledge

seeing

hearing

learning

Forgettable knowledge

There are many ways to acquire knowledge

There are an equal number of ways to lose (forget) knowledge

We have all forgotten things we used to know

Understand, 13

understanding is a deeper level of knowledge

the word translated understanding comes from the word that also gives is the word synthesize

synthesizing knowledge is learning a fact that we are able to integrate into our system of knowledge. It is not just understanding a fact, it is understanding where that fact fits with everything else we know.

We will learn more and more when we are able to synthesize what we are learning. But we will learn less and less when we don’t or can’t. So what Jesus describes is natural on our part, not nefarious on God’s part.

The Fulfillment of Prophecy, 14-15

God has always understood that some people would not understand. And it is an issue of willingness, not ability. It is not a matter of we can’t learn. It is a matter of we don’t and won’t learn. That has always been the case. Jesus quotes and applies Isaiah 6:9.

The Blessing of Experience, 16-17

On the one hand, there was a unique blessing these disciples had to see and hear and understand Jesus

On the other hand, there is a universal blessing all disciples have to see and hear and understand Jesus through their record

Jesus knew that the crowds would not understand the complexities of the truth He taught because they did not want to understand. So, He gave them parables: truths they could understand. Some clearly grasped for more, and got it. Most were content with what they received.

The Explanation of Soils, 13:18-23

Matthew 13:18–23 NKJV

18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Jesus presents us with four categories of people:

Those who don’t understand, 19

This is the same word as above. If you won’t figure out where the Gospel fits in your world, what you hear of it won’t hang around long.

Those who need to earn it, 20-21

The word translated receive implies receiving as a self-prompted action. This is analogous to the ground believing it can produce a plant: it can’t the power of the plant is in the seed, not the ground.

Those who have competition, 22

The implication is that the seed produces a plant, but the plant is malnourished and doesn’t produce fruit.

Those who get clearly get it, 23

Categorizing thusly, we understand the first group clearly missed it and the last group clearly got it. The two groups in the middle are a bit harder to track what is going on. That is true in the parable, in the explanation, and in our experience. There are people in the middle that you just don’t know about. Jesus communicates that.

Conclusion

What are we to make of all this?

Understand why some people get it and some people don’t

Understand why some people seem to understand a lot and some people don’t

Understand what it will take if you want to understand more. Less competition for resources and more work adding facts to facts will enable you to understand more and be more fruitful