Just As He Said
What Grace!
The disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
He answered them, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but it has not been given to them. For whoever has will be given even more, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. This is why I speak to them in parables, because even though they see, they do not see; and even though they hear, they do not hear or understand. In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled which says, ‘You will hear clearly, but you will never understand. You will see clearly, but you will never perceive. Because this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are hard of hearing. They have closed their eyes. Otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, turn, and I would heal them.’
“But blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear. Amen I tell you: Many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you are seeing, but they did not see it. They longed to hear what you are hearing, but they did not hear it.”
Matthew 13:10-17, EHV
I love how God makes sure to record what we’re all wondering about anyway. His disciples verbalize it for us: “Jesus, what’s with all the parables?” Jesus tells us his threefold purpose in teaching this way. First, he was fulfilling prophecy. He was the master Teacher and Messiah that Isaiah spoke about. Second, he speaks an ominous judgment on the hearers who had continuously rejected his calls to repent and his offers of forgiveness and grace through him. Finally, he provided spiritual insight and growth for those who were searching for understanding and looking to him for answers.
In Matthew 13, we see yet another of the many prophecies fulfilled in Jesus. Here, he used parables as a way to teach the mysteries of the kingdom of God. There should have been no doubt that he was the Messiah spoken about for so many years. Generation after generation had been directed to know and search for these signs of the Savior. If they had been faithful in this, the descendants hearing him speak in the flesh would recognize him right away.
Unfortunately, there were many people who did not recognize Jesus and vehemently rejected him as anyone with authority at all. Jesus had been showering them with truths about the kingdom of God and giving them abundant opportunity to respond in repentance and faith. Instead, they continued to reject him out of feelings of hatred and hostility to the point where God finally gave them what they wanted. They could have their unbelief, and they would never understand. They could wallow in their self-righteousness, and they would never see their need for the Savior’s righteousness.
This is a warning for me too. If my faith remains stagnant and is no longer growing and seeking to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, I could be at risk of losing the one thing needful: Jesus. If I seek wisdom from other places apart from God, I am walking away from the only source of truth and am no better than one of these Pharisees. Thankfully, Jesus came for sinners like you and me.
What grace he gives to those who were looking to him for understanding and a desire to know more! What grace he gives us! It’s not that we are smarter or better predisposed to “religion”—no! If the Holy Spirit had not opened our eyes and allowed us to see the light of truth, we’d still be walking around in
the darkness of unbelief. Through the Word and sacraments, he’s given us faith to trust in him and his promises.
When we struggle to understand something that he tells us, we don’t have to panic and start googling it or hire a life coach. We can pray for the Holy Spirit to give us insight through his Word. We can study this Word in the Bible classes our church offers, where we have immediate access to our pastor (or can shoot him an email) so that he can help answer our questions. We can utilize our church library, which has been carefully curated to offer reliable books on spiritual topics. We can surround ourselves with spiritually strong friendships where conversations naturally turn heavenward.
Prayer:
Now to him who is able to strengthen you—according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was veiled in silence for long ages past, but now has been revealed through the prophetic Scriptures and made known to all the Gentiles, in keeping with the command of the eternal God, resulting in the obedience of faith—to God, who alone is wise, be glory forever through Jesus Christ. Amen (Romans 16:25-27, EHV).
Written by Rachel Halldorson
Provided by WELS Women’s Ministry