10 Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered, “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 those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’ 14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says: ‘You will indeed listen, but never understand, and you will indeed look, but never perceive. 15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; so that they might not look with their eyes, and listen 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 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it. (Matthew 13:10–17 NRSV)
When Matthew writes in 13:3 that "he told them many things in parables, he probably was not restricting himself to those that he recorded in chapter 13. Many scholars think that this was Jesus' favorite way of teaching.
The stories made his points more vivid, because the listeners could relate to the scenes from daily life in which they were couched. They all knew what it was like to have some of their seed eaten by birds, and other parts wither under the heat of the sun. They all knew how frustrating it was to use good seed for sowing and yet find weeds growing up among the wheat as the seed germinated and put forth plants.
But using parables had another advantage for Jesus. We have seen how critics dogged his tracks, either to kibitz or to try to catch him in an error. These were malicious and dangerous men, against whom Jesus had to guard himself while simultaneously continuing his public ministry to the receptive people in his audiences. Parables enabled him to communicate selectively and to make himself immune from any serious charge by his critics, who could never prove what his intentions were by the stories. In verse 9 Jesus invites his sincere hearers to hear and understand, while insincere hearers will be baffled and unable to understand.
The stories made his points more vivid, because the listeners could relate to the scenes from daily life in which they were couched. They all knew what it was like to have some of their seed eaten by birds, and other parts wither under the heat of the sun. They all knew how frustrating it was to use good seed for sowing and yet find weeds growing up among the wheat as the seed germinated and put forth plants.
But using parables had another advantage for Jesus. We have seen how critics dogged his tracks, either to kibitz or to try to catch him in an error. These were malicious and dangerous men, against whom Jesus had to guard himself while simultaneously continuing his public ministry to the receptive people in his audiences. Parables enabled him to communicate selectively and to make himself immune from any serious charge by his critics, who could never prove what his intentions were by the stories. In verse 9 Jesus invites his sincere hearers to hear and understand, while insincere hearers will be baffled and unable to understand.
We can thank God for the honesty of Jesus' disciples. For if they had not come to him and asked questions about his teaching, we might never have his explanations ourselves!
When the disciples ask "Why do you speak to them—not "us"—in parables?" they imply that Jesus used parables more with the crowds than in the intimate circle of his loyal followers, the Twelve. The focus may be even narrower: since in his reply Jesus contrasts "you" with "them", the "them" may actually refer to the hostile and unbelieving critics in the crowds, not just to the crowds as a whole.
Jesus ornamented this basic answer with a proverbial expression—"to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away" (verse 12)—and a passage from the prophet Isaiah which had found fulfillment during Jesus' Galilean ministry (Isa 6:9-10).
It is uncertain if Matthew regarded the Isaiah passage as a prediction of the Pharisees or merely an example of a timeless phenomenon which accompanies every prophetic announcement of God's truth. What was true in Isaiah's day was true in Matthew's time, and remains true today.
But Matthew chose well the passage that he presents, for it closes with the words "that I should heal them." The context in Galilee during Jesus' ministry there was one of God healing individuals among his people selectively on the basis of their willingness to hear and understand. We can see already, before Jesus explains the parable in detail, that the first three kinds of soil represent the kind of individuals who also did not understand God's words to Isaiah and the other prophets, because their hearts were hard.
What makes people close their hearts to God's message today? Certainly part of the reason lies in the easy availability of substitutes: amusements and pursuits that can take our minds off the void in our lives that estrangement from God leaves. Entertainment remains today, as in earlier generations, one way to keep people from thinking hard about their lives. But ceaseless engagement with TV, the Internet, sports, sex, alcohol and career can only be effective so long. Sooner or later, in the privacy of a person's bedroom or study he/she will have to come face to face with the solitude of a life without God at its center, and with the uneasy sense that he/she has no relationship with God to give assurance of life beyond the grave. We, as the friends of such people, cannot know their inner lives—what it is that blinds or distracts them—but we can love them, pray for them, and continue to remind them of the love of Jesus shown in his life, his death and his resurrection from the dead. We are his voice to them, his hands to minister to them.
When the disciples ask "Why do you speak to them—not "us"—in parables?" they imply that Jesus used parables more with the crowds than in the intimate circle of his loyal followers, the Twelve. The focus may be even narrower: since in his reply Jesus contrasts "you" with "them", the "them" may actually refer to the hostile and unbelieving critics in the crowds, not just to the crowds as a whole.
Jesus ornamented this basic answer with a proverbial expression—"to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance; but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away" (verse 12)—and a passage from the prophet Isaiah which had found fulfillment during Jesus' Galilean ministry (Isa 6:9-10).
It is uncertain if Matthew regarded the Isaiah passage as a prediction of the Pharisees or merely an example of a timeless phenomenon which accompanies every prophetic announcement of God's truth. What was true in Isaiah's day was true in Matthew's time, and remains true today.
But Matthew chose well the passage that he presents, for it closes with the words "that I should heal them." The context in Galilee during Jesus' ministry there was one of God healing individuals among his people selectively on the basis of their willingness to hear and understand. We can see already, before Jesus explains the parable in detail, that the first three kinds of soil represent the kind of individuals who also did not understand God's words to Isaiah and the other prophets, because their hearts were hard.
What makes people close their hearts to God's message today? Certainly part of the reason lies in the easy availability of substitutes: amusements and pursuits that can take our minds off the void in our lives that estrangement from God leaves. Entertainment remains today, as in earlier generations, one way to keep people from thinking hard about their lives. But ceaseless engagement with TV, the Internet, sports, sex, alcohol and career can only be effective so long. Sooner or later, in the privacy of a person's bedroom or study he/she will have to come face to face with the solitude of a life without God at its center, and with the uneasy sense that he/she has no relationship with God to give assurance of life beyond the grave. We, as the friends of such people, cannot know their inner lives—what it is that blinds or distracts them—but we can love them, pray for them, and continue to remind them of the love of Jesus shown in his life, his death and his resurrection from the dead. We are his voice to them, his hands to minister to them.
In verse 16 Jesus reminds his hearers how privileged they are, because God has opened their eyes to understand the words of his teaching, turn in faith, and be healed. How seldom it is that we who do understand Jesus and listen to his teaching give thanks for this unusual privilege. In verse 17 Jesus points out that many godly individuals in earlier times—even prophets—would have given anything to be able to see the works and hear the words of the promised messiah. Imagine how delighted Noah, Abraham or Moses would have been to be allowed to belong to that band of Jesus' disciples! Or David! Or Elijah! Yet you and I have that privilege today every time we pick up our Bibles and read record of Jesus' teaching and his deeds. It is amazing how much we take for granted, when we neglect this unique privilege.
Check back on Friday the 23rd for the next segment of Matthew 13.
