#DailyDevotion Jesus Taught Them In Parables Because…

Matt. 13³Then He told them many things in parables.

There is a homiletical (how to preach) teaching in the last century that Jesus taught in parables because that is what the people could understand and so these sermon teachers were telling pastors to preach using story language. The problem with this is it simply isn’t true. Now Jesus often taught things straight forward as we see in the Sermon on the Mount and the Sermon on the Plain. But often times he often taught in parable. A sermon teacher of mine once said, “Think of parables as extended metaphors.” Well that didn’t really help me either.

Well what does Jesus say, because that is really all that matters? His disciples were wondering the same thing. This is what Jesus said, ¹³“I talk to them in parables because they see and yet don’t see, and hear and yet don’t hear or understand. ¹⁴In them more and more Isaiah’s prophecy is coming true: “You will hear but never understand; you will look but never see. ¹⁵These people have become dull at heart and hard of hearing and have shut their eyes, so that their eyes will never see, their ears never hear, nor their hearts understand, and they will never turn to Me and let Me heal them.”

Well that’s harsh. Jesus taught in parable so that people would not understand him and not see the truth. He teaches them in this manner because their hearts have become dull, they were hard of learning and they had shut their eyes to the LORD’s teaching in Isaiah’s day and it continued into Jesus’ day. That’s pretty far away from what these homiletic teachers were saying. Maybe.

I say maybe because perhaps the people to whom the LORD Jesus had sent his ministers to today have become like the people the people of Isaiah’s day and of Jesus’ day. Having been taught the word of God for centuries they have become weary of it. Their hearts have become dull and they have shut their eyes to God’s Word. They twist the LORD’s word to make it fit what ‘they’ want to do.  The word they do have has been taken from them. The LORD Jesus gives them, has been giving us, preachers no one can understand. It is the punishment for rejecting the clear Word of God that has been given them.

We should examine ourselves to make sure we are trying keep our hearts soft to the Word and our eyes open to see what it says. To the disciples and to us Jesus says, ¹¹“You are given the privilege to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven,…” If you hear, believe and practice what Jesus tells you, more will be given unto you he says. We are blessed because we have seen and heard what the prophets longed to look into and hear. It has been revealed to you through the apostles and their writing. You believed Jesus through their Word. You have been given Jesus’ light and understanding. Now continue to trust Jesus and do what he has taught.

Heavenly Father, you closed the minds of those who hardened their hearts against you and your word. We pray you always keep our hearts softened to hear, receive, believe and do all that you have taught us through your Son Jesus Christ in whose name we pray. Amen.