After Jesus told the parable of the sower and the seed to a large group of people, His disciples asked Him: "Why do You speak to them in parables?" (Matthew 13:10). <\/p>\n
"Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given," was His answer (verse 11).<\/p>\n
It is interesting to note that Jesus' first major teaching in parables followed the attempt of the Jewish religious leaders to link His divine miracles to the power of the devil (Matthew 9:34; 12:22-37).<\/p>\n
Jesus' disciples heard the same message as die the scribes and Pharisees, but their reaction was radically different. Jesus' disciples heard and believed, while the scribes and Pharisees heard and rejected.<\/p>\n
Jesus' parables therefore seem to have an element of judgment for those religious leaders who rejected Him: "For whoever has, 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).<\/p>\n
The prophecies of the Old Testament foretold a messiah who would deliver Israel – all Israel, not just the Jews – and establish a messianic kingdom on the earth. Jesus contemporaries, His fellow Jews, understood that. However, they did not understand that this messiah – Jesus – would first be rejected by His own people (John 1:11) and an entire age would pass prior to the establishment of the promised messianic kingdom. That message was included in the many parables that Jesus told His fellow Jews.<\/p>\n
They did not understand His message at the time, and nothing has changed in this regard in the last 2000 years.<\/p>\n
How thankful are we that we are privileged to know "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven"?<\/p>\n
With these thoughts I wish everyone a rewarding Sabbath!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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