“Why are you speaking to them in Parables?” asked the disciples in Matthew 13:10
I always wondered the same thing, why did Jesus speak to the crowd in Parables?
Matthew 13 is full of these parables, and they are not really easy to understand.
Throughout the gospel, big crowds would follow Jesus for his miracles (Matthew 12) or maybe for the free meal (Matthew 14) – he had a huge audience so why did he waste a teachable moment with parables.
Later Jesus gives them a long answer (Matthew 13:11-17). A part of it stood out to me:
“Because looking they do not see, and hearing they do not listen or understand” Matthew 13:13.
It struck me, many of them were just there for a miracle or a free meal, but not many actually cared much about what He said. I would like to imagine that if they did, they would have asked him the meaning and would have become His disciples.
As a church, and as “godly” people, we do the same thing—we act as the crowd. We want Jesus to come back, strike down our enemies, heal our hurt and just make our life easier. We claim to be a Christian country, but we fail to listen to His word (the Bible), pursue Him, and live out His message.
“‘These people honor me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
They worship me in vain;
their teachings are merely human rules.’[a]” Matthew 15:8-9
I include myself in the “we”. Many times, I make time to pray for a miracle, present him with a need, but don’t take the time or effort to pursue him. I will say I am a Christian but fail to share the gospel or I will say/act not very Christian-like
Don’t get me wrong it is expected that we sin, that is why God gives us unlimited grace.
However, it begs the question, do we spend more time as the crowd or as disciples? Are we pursuing Jesus?
Prayer:
Holy Spirit, I ask that you open our eyes as a church and as individuals. Let us know when we are not pursuing Jesus. When our hearts are far from Him, give us the push that we need to move closer. That our worship will not be in vain, and that we will follow God’s word, not human rules. We ask you in the name of your Son, Jesus. Amen
