Matthew 13:10-17 – Why parables?

Although Jesus had only told the parable of the sower, the disciples’ question was, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” Notice that the word ‘parables’ is in the pleural. Obviously, Jesus must have told them more than one parable. And from His answer to the disciples’ question, we can surmise the reasons why Jesus spoke in parables. 

He said that parables reveal mysteries of the Kingdom. The mysteries Jesus referred to are divinely encrypted messages concerning the Kingdom of Heaven. Specifically, the mysteries concern the realities of the rule of grace and glory of God. They are mysteries because they cannot be known through human abilities or ingenuities. They can only be known and understood as God reveals them. Furthermore, the Lord tells us that only people to whom God has granted the privilege would understand the message. Here Jesus is making a differentiation between His disciples and those Pharisees and people outside the Kingdom. Inability to accept divine revelation has something to do with how one responds to the past dealings of God. Persistent resistance and refusal to accept the things that God is doing would cause one to explain everything away. With enough regularity, one’s spiritual senses would become dull. And overtime the heart would be hardened, and resisting God’s dealings becomes a common response. By what they do, they keep nullifying the grace and gift of God.

 

Christ’s disciples who acknowledge the divine program in history and choose to believe in God, would be given the privilege to know. Not only that, they will be more open to more of God’s revelation. To those who did not seize the opportunity to respond to God, and accept what He had been revealing, even whatever privilege they have had would be taken away. They would lose the ability to see truth.

Referring to the Pharisees, who resolutely resisted and refused to acknowledge His message and the Kingdom movement, Jesus said that they were experiencing the prophecy of Isaiah in reality. They were seeing and hearing yet they could not understand nor fathom the truth. And the truth remained oblivious to them. Then the Lord quoted the words of Isaiah 6:9-10. It never was God’s desire to conceal the truth from His people and to prevent them from being healed. Speaking in parables is God’s grace. Parables challenge people to think and ponder deeper. With people who take things for granted, a truth explicitly spoken can quite easily sail over their heads. So speaking in parables will require listeners to engage their mind to think and deliberate. Truth be told, through parables, no one can say that the truth is forced upon them. Neither can anyone says that they are not given any opportunity, for in the parables there are adequate light to convince them of the truth.
 

Jesus commended His disciples for they saw the Kingdom program at work and chose to believe Christ and to flow with Him. They were more privileged than many in the past.  For they had desired to see and experience the Kingdom the way the disciples did, but were not given the opportunity. What do we make out of what the Lord is saying to us in this passage? Are we sensitive to the program of God? We must remain open to God’s timetable. We must pray and seek to know and recognize His moment. Don’t be so insistent that God must do it the way we think He should. Be careful, lest we fail to hoist our sail to catch the wind of God’s moment for now!