And 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. . . Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Matthew 13: 10, 11, 13, NKJV.
Heavenly Father, please teach us Your will in a way that we will not only understand, but be willing to obey. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray. Amen.
Today as we continue our studies on the kingdom of heaven, we do this with the understanding that whenever we say “kingdom of heaven,” we are referring to the “kingdom of God.” We are also going to be observing the method Jesus used the most in teaching about this kingdom: that of parables. However, before we comment on these parables, let us wrestle a while with our Scripture for today. Jesus seems to be saying to His disciples, that it is their privilege only, to understand the “mysteries” of the kingdom; and that the reason He is speaking in parables, is that, those who are not His followers would neither see, nor understand, these mysteries. Would Jesus purposely hide information of the kingdom from some while revealing it to others? Does not Scripture say of Him that, “God shows no partiality. But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him” (Acts 10: 34b, 35)? Emphasis supplied.
If this is true – and it is – then, the gospel of the kingdom of heaven is always offered to, “whoever” will. Whoever is willing to know, whoever is willing to come, whoever is willing to fear (revere) Him. Whoever will, can understand the mysteries of the kingdom. In our very first study on the kingdom, I said that when we do not understand what God is doing, “the secret is in knowing what is His will!” Well, the other half of that secret, is, that in order for us to both know and understand His will, you and I must be willing (John 7: 17). We must be willing to know, willing to learn, willing to do. Let us not forget that, in the kingdom of heaven, things are not always what they appear to be! With this thought in mind, let us continue our study. The first parable that we will look at, is the Parable of the Sower.
“Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: ‘ “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13: 3-9)!
It was right after Jesus gave this parable that His disciples asked Him the question in our Scripture for today. What can we learn about the kingdom of heaven from this parable of the Sower? We have already clarified the fact, that, God, who is the Sower, does not show partiality. This is clearly seen in this parable. The gospel of the kingdom, is “preached in all the world as a witness” to all people! Wherever you are, and whatever situation you are in, the message of the kingdom can reach you; and depending on what you do with the message, or more precisely, what you allow the message to do to you – you can be blessed by it – or not.
A vital item of interest is to be found in the message of Isaiah, quoted by Jesus in His explanation to the disciples: ” ‘ Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; 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 (14, 15). Emphasis supplied.
In the kingdom of God, there are blessings and healing for all! Whoever wills to be blessed and healed, will be blessed and healed. It is our hardness that has dulled our hearts. The closing of our eyes has kept us from seeing. And we have become hard of hearing by choice. Therefore, we are unable to understand the mysteries of the kingdom, and therefore robbed ourselves of innumerable blessings. Today the Sower is still saying: He [or she] who has ears to hear, let him [or her] hear!”
We will continue.