Tell Me the Stories of JesusSample

When the disciples asked Jesus why He spoke in parables, they were asking more than they knew—and Jesus’ answer gave them far more than they expected: “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matt. 13:11–13).

Jesus told them that, in an incredibly important sense, the world is divided into two groups: those who hear and understand the parables, and those who hear but do not understand. The Gospel of Mark underlines this divide when Jesus said to the disciples, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything is in parables” (4:11).

The disciples must have been shocked by Jesus’ answer, and if we are honest, we will sense that same shocking power today. The parables simultaneously reveal and hide. They divide their hearers into two worlds. In one world a parable makes known the secret of the kingdom of God. But in the other world, a parable remains only a parable, nothing more.

Now we see more clearly what is at stake in the parables and why Jesus used them virtually every time He taught. It turns out that our response to the parables reveals everything important about us, with eternal consequences. Every one of the parables is an explosive disclosure of the kingdom of heaven, so if we listen to a parable and hear only a story, something is wrong. Followers of Jesus Christ hear the parables with kingdom ears and respond in obedience with kingdom hearts, lest they be like those who see but do not perceive and those who hear but do not understand.

Prayer

Lord, thank you for using parables so that I can learn more about the kingdom of God. Help me to understand the parables and respond to them rightly as a member of your kingdom. Amen.