“The disciples came and said to
Him, ‘Why do You speak to them
in parables?’ 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’”
(Matthew 13:10-11)
Most of us have heard the saying, “A
picture is worth a thousand words,” and it’s true
– You can SEE things in a photograph or a painting that
helps you understand. I love the paintings of Jesus.
Oh, I understand that He really didn’t LOOK like that,
and even the settings of the pictures probably aren’t
accurate, no matter how hard the painter tried, but I
like them because they convey the emotions present at
that time.
I remember one painting, a silk
screen reproduction that showed Jesus walking with large
strides toward a forest while the disciples trailed next
to Him, listening intently to His every word. His hand
was lifted into the air, index finger pointed high, as
He revealed something like a parable to them. His
intensity and theirs seemed very real, and I thought as
I looked at the painting: “It must have been like that!”
God understood the importance of
pictures long before cameras were invented, before
paintings were even thought of by mankind; before time
itself. Yes, He paints wonders in the sky, in sunsets
and in the clouds, but His “pictures” are also made of
words. He has given us “parables,” word-pictures that
are intended to make His people UNDERSTAND, deep in our
hearts and minds.
Today’s Scripture is a statement
Jesus gave to His disciples after He “spoke
many things” in “parables”
to a multitude of people (Matthew 13:1-3). He talked
about a “sower” who “went
out to sow” seeds in the ground (Matthew
13:3-9). The seeds would either produce bountiful crops
or not, depending on the ground they were planted in.
The point? – WE are that ground. God is planting the
good seed of the Word of God within us. If it doesn’t
produce a good “crop” for God, WE are the problem.
Notice the two-part nature of the
parables in God’s Word, as revealed in our Scripture for
today: “It has been given to
you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but
to them it has not been given’” (Matthew
13:10-11). The multitudes Jesus spoke to (Matthew 13:2
& forward) could not understand, but His disciples would
understand. Was God being unfair?
To answer that charge, we must look
to His Word, for He is very clear about who He is and
what He expects from us. First off, He “desires
ALL (mankind) to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”
(1 Timothy 2:4). Paul, the writer of 1st
Timothy, tells us both the way and the method of
salvation: “There is one God
and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all” (1
Timothy 2:5-6). There is no favoritism or partiality
with God: He gave His Son, Jesus Christ, as the Way, as
Ransom, as payment in full – to ALL humanity! God’s
gift is extended to you; to all.
ALL who receive Jesus Christ are
filled with the Holy Spirit of God. This is seen in
places like Acts 2:38, where the Apostle Peter cried out
to the Jewish people, “Repent,
and let every one of you be baptized in the name of
Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you SHALL
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” How is it
that the disciples could understand the parables that we
see in Scripture and the others could not? Because of
the Spirit of God.
Jesus said to them, “The
Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My
name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your
remembrance all things that I said to you” (John
14:26). “For whoever has
(the Spirit), 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”
(Matthew 13:12). If you have the Spirit of God, you
have everything, now and forever. If you do not have
Him, you actually have nothing and will lose –
everything!
Paul the Apostle was an angry,
“super-religious” type who hated the people of God (Acts
9:1-2), but then, continuing in Acts Chapter 9, we
discover that he found the grace of God in Christ
Jesus. He later wrote these words: “If
you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe
in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you
will be saved” (Romans 10:9). If we accept the
Lord, His Holy Spirit is given to us, and we are saved,
in His strength, not in our own.
There has never been anyone who
even remotely comes close to the fairness, the justice
of God. He “hates” INjustice: “Acquitting
the guilty and condemning the innocent – the Lord
detests them both” (Proverbs 17:15). There is
always a price that is paid for the actions of the
guilty, and none on earth are innocent. Byron said, “Who
on earth could live if all were judged justly?”
The answer is, of course, that NONE could live. You and
I have no hope at all, except for the grace and mercy
freely given to us in Jesus Christ.
When we have Him, when we are given
His grace, His mercy fills us in the Person of His Holy
Spirit and we KNOW the truth found in God’s Holy
Scriptures.
It is interesting that much of the
historical material in the Bible is also meant as a
parable, a picture for our understanding. Abraham, a
real person whose life is recorded in the Book of
Genesis, is “the father of all
those who believe” (Romans 4:11). The Holy
Spirit enables you to look at Abraham in Scripture, and
SEE, in word pictures made from his life, what faith is
all about. He is the model for all who believe.
Many in the Old Testament are
“types” of the Christ who was to come. Isaac, Moses and
Joshua each show us something of the Lord who was to be
born. Their lives were real. They were historical
people who breathed, ate, worried, made mistakes,
struggled with unbelief and ultimately trusted in the
Lord. Often more than one person within a historical
context is presented in Scripture as a parable for our
understanding. King David made many mistakes and yet he
is a picture of repentance and faith in the Lord. King
Saul, who lived at much the same time, reveals the
subtle nature of unbelief.
What “picture” are you presenting
to the world? In the analogy of the seeds, what kind of
“ground” are you? Open yourself to the Lord completely,
that you might be given “the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.” Let’s
pray: Lord, I trust in You. Fill me with Your Spirit
and let my life be a “picture” of faith in You. In
Jesus Name. Amen.
