The Parables Introduced

Transcript

GR 691
11/25/1984
The Parables Introduced
Matthew 13:1-3, 10-17, 34, 35
Gil Rugh

Matthew 13 is a very familiar chapter, and it is also a very important one. It is in a section of Matthew’s Gospel which forms a transition in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Jesus has been offering a kingdom to the nation Israel, over which He would personally reign, with its capital at Jerusalem. In this kingdom Israel would be the key nation and the Jews would be the key people. However, the nation is unwilling to have Him as its king.
This study will look at some details necessary to properly understand the interpretation of this chapter. Formerly I understood the interpretation of this chapter to be directed to Christendom, all those who profess Christianity, and encompassing the period of time in which we now live. However, as a result of my study of this book, I do not believe that interpretation stands in light of the emphasis of the Gospel of Matthew.
Please follow the details of this study very carefully since this will form the basis for the conclusions resulting from consideration of the individual parables in subsequent studies. Not only is my interpretation of this chapter different from the interpretation of most commentators that I have consulted, but my interpretation of some of the parables will also be different. After completing this study, some may conclude that I have become an ultradispensationalist. You may not know what an ultradispensationalist is, but I do not consider myself to be in that category.
It is important to see this chapter in the context in which it is written in Matthew’s Gospel. Most people study chapter 13 without having studied the first 12 chapters. But the context that builds up to chapter 13 enables one to interpret it. The immediate context, going back to chapter 10, is especially important in a proper interpretation of chapter 13. A quick review of some major points in chapters 10 through 12 is needed in order to pull some of these concepts together.
Jesus started talking about coming persecution in Matthew 10. At that point there is insight into the fact that the kingdom is not going to be established at this time. Rather than being welcomed and honored, Christ and His followers will be persecuted and rejected. Jesus said in Matthew 10:34: “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” The Jews understood peace. He is telling them that instead of establishing a kingdom of peace, they can expect a sword, a reference to the division that will occur between members of a household.
Jesus spoke in Matthew 11 about the rejection of John the Baptist, the greatest of the prophets. That was naturally followed by His own personal rejection by the nation Israel. By the last half of Matthew 11, Jesus is talking about judgment. “Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. . . . Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you” (vv. 20, 22). This shows the severity of judgment that will come upon the cities of Jesus’ day because of their rejection of Him. By this point the fact of His rejection is accepted as an unchanging reality. In Matthew 12 it is obvious that the leaders of Israel have set their minds to destroy Jesus who claims to be the Christ. “But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him” (Matt. 12:14). From here on their attention is set on how they can have Him killed. Matthew 12:31,32 is the great transition of the chapter which emphasizes the unpardonable sin, an indication that there is no turning back. It is important to understand that Jesus’ comments regarding the unpardonable sin occurred on the same day in which He spoke the parables of Matthew 13.

Jesus gives a clear prophecy of His coming death and subsequent resurrection in Matthew 12:39,40. “But He answered and said to them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the sea monster, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.’” By the time Jesus speaks these words, He has accepted the fact that the Jews will not have Him to be their Messiah. So the course of His ministry takes a turn, from offering the kingdom to the nation, to preparing His disciples and followers for the coming reality of His crucifixion at Jerusalem.
Matthew 12:50 indicates that physical relationships and family ties are not significant. The important thing is a spiritual relationship with Christ. At this point the emphasis on having Christ as the Jewish Messiah is relinquished for a time. Rather than emphasizing that Jews should believe in Him, the emphasis will be on Jews and Gentiles alike believing in Him.
With this as a background, Matthew 13 begins, “That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea” (v. 1). This is on the same day that Jesus has confronted the nation about the unpardonable sin, the same day He has talked to them about the sign of Jonah the prophet and His own coming death and resurrection, and the same day He has told them that spiritual relationships supersede physical relationships. On that same day in the context of His rejection, Jesus begins the parables of the kingdom.
Matthew 13:3 begins, “And He spoke many things to them in parables.” A question is raised in verse 10: “And the disciples came and said to Him, ‘Why do You speak to them in parables?’” A simple definition of a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. The Greek word translated “parable” is a compound word which means to place something alongside. A parable takes an earthly experience and places it beside a spiritual truth or reality so that the spiritual concept is illustrated by the physical reality. In other words, a parable is an illustration or a story in the human realm that portrays a spiritual or heavenly truth. While speaking to them in parables, Jesus will take everyday events from their lives and use them to illustrate the spiritual truth He is presenting. Christ had spoken in parables previously, but now the disciples see a difference in His approach. The substance of His ministry while addressing the multitude will consist of parables.
The response of Jesus in verse 11 to the preceding question gives the subject of the parables: “Jesus answered them, ‘To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (italics added), but to them it has not been granted.’” You should mark that phrase in your Bible, not just in your mind. The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven is the subject of Matthew 13.
The word translated “mystery” is used 27 times in the New Testament. A mystery in the New Testament is something which was not revealed in the Old Testament, a new revelation from God. A mystery in Scripture is not something secret and difficult to understand, such as the mystery of solving a puzzle, but is something that has not been previously revealed by God. It is something about which you would know nothing if God did not tell you. Paul used this word when he talked about the Rapture of the Church in 1 Corinthians 15:51: “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed.” Nowhere does the Old Testament tell about the Rapture of the Church. God revealed that information to Paul in the New Testament.
Jesus explains in Matthew 13:35 what a mystery is: “This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: ‘I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.’” He is saying that He has new and added information to give to them. He is going to “utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.” This truth has been hidden by God and not made known by Him until now.

The mysteries that Jesus is going to reveal have to do with the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 13:11 He is telling them that He has new material to relate to them regarding that kingdom in order to solidify in their minds what the kingdom of heaven is. This kingdom has been the subject of Matthew’s Gospel and of Christ’s ministry consistently since the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist in Matthew 3. A review of some of these references to the kingdom of heaven is in order to see the emphasis Matthew has been giving up to this point.
Matthew 3:1,2 tells that John the Baptist came preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” This could be literally translated, “kingdom of the heavens. ” The Hebrew word for heaven is always plural in the Old Testament, often referred to as the plural of royalty or majesty. Because of the greatness and significance of heaven, the Jews always spoke of it in the plural. That is why it is referred to as the kingdom of the heavens even though we would speak of it as heaven. John, the last of the Old Testament prophets, came announcing the coming of the kingdom of heaven. In Matthew 11 Jesus said that John came in the spirit and power of Elijah announcing the kingdom of heaven. The only kingdom that John the Baptist or other Jews knew anything about was the earthly kingdom prophesied in the Old Testament over which the Messiah would rule and reign from Jerusalem.
Matthew writes in Matthew 4:17, “From that time Jesus began to preach and say, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.’” Matthew also refers to Jesus’ proclamation about the gospel of the kingdom in verse 23: “Jesus was going throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.” The subject of His ministry is the good news regarding the kingdom.
Jesus referred to the kingdom of heaven also in the Sermon on the Mount. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” (Matt. 5:3). “Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 10). Verse 20 is going to be an important verse in this discussion. I will note it here and develop it later. “For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (v. 20). This is going to be important in interpreting some of the parables. Only if you meet God’s standard of righteousness, which is found in Christ, can you be part of the kingdom of heaven. Let me state the point here and develop it later that there are no people in the kingdom of heaven who are simply professors of salvation. Only true believers are being viewed as part of the kingdom of heaven.
Still talking about the kingdom of heaven, Jesus said in Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven.” This is the same kingdom John the Baptist talked about in Matthew 3. The requirements for being part of the kingdom of heaven include doing the will of God in the ultimate sense, that means believing in Christ as the Savior and the Messiah of Israel.
Jesus tells the Jews that He is still talking about the kingdom they associate with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob: “I say to you that many will come from east and west, and recline at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 8:11). This is the kingdom that they anticipated being a part of. But many of the sons of the kingdom, Jews who thought they would be part of the kingdom, are going to be cast out. Notice again in Matthew 9 that the subject of His ministry is the gospel of the kingdom: “Jesus was going through all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness” (v. 35).
Jesus continued to refer to the kingdom of heaven in Matthew 10. He told His disciples not to go to the Gentiles or to the Samaritans who were part Jew and part Gentile (10:5). He told them instead, “But rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (v. 6). The kingdom in the Old Testament centers in Israel. There will be Gentiles in that kingdom. In fact, the Church will be in that kingdom, but the Church is not that kingdom. The kingdom is Jewish in character, and everything is seen in the context of Israel and the Jewish Messiah ruling from Jerusalem, the capital of the world. In Matthew 11 and 12 Jesus again talks about the kingdom.
Clearly in all of these references, this is the kingdom prophesied in the Old Testament, the only kingdom of which the Jews had any concept. It is needful to stress this point because some people try to make the kingdom in Matthew a spiritual kingdom that exists only in the hearts of people. Many say that the kingdom exists as the Church today. If that is actually what Jesus was talking about, no one to whom He was speaking had any idea of that. Neither John the Baptist nor any of the disciples ever gave any indication of understanding from Christ that He was speaking of anything other than the literal kingdom as described in the Old Testament. In fact, John sent and asked Him if He was the Messiah. Jesus did not tell John in His response that John really did not understand what He was referring to when He spoke of the kingdom. Instead, Jesus said that He offered proofs that He was the Messiah who had come to offer the earthly kingdom as described in the Old Testament. That is why John was confused with the events of his day. So obviously Jesus was talking about an earthly kingdom.
There are many references in the Old Testament which speak of the kingdom, but for the sake of time, I will refer to a few from the Book of Isaiah. Isaiah wrote in chapter 2: “Now it will come about that in the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord will be established as the chief of the mountains, and will be raised above the hills; and all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that He may teach us concerning His ways and that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And He will judge between the nations, and will render decisions for many peoples; and they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, and never again will they learn war” (vs. 2-4). This is the kingdom the Jews were anticipating. It is Jewish in character, and Jerusalem is the focal point of the world. The Messiah rules and reigns, and all the nations of the earth come to learn from the Jews and from the Messiah of the Jews who rules the world.
Isaiah 9 gives the same emphasis: “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; and the government will rest on His shoulders; and His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this” (vs. 6,7).
The first part of Isaiah 11 talks about the Spirit of the Lord resting on the Messiah. The character of the kingdom is described beginning in verse 6: “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little boy will lead them. Also the cow and the bear will graze; their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea”(vs. 6-9). The mountain symbolizes a kingdom, speaking of the glorious kingdom of the Messiah. This glorious kingdom is also unfolded especially in Isaiah 60 and 61.
This is the background of the Jews to whom John the Baptist announced the kingdom and of the people to whom the Messiah Himself announced it. When they heard a kingdom announced, they obviously thought of the kingdom that had been promised by the prophets. As Jesus talked about the kingdom, He was obviously speaking of the kingdom prophesied in the Old Testament. This is how the disciples understood His message.
Later as Jesus was nearing His crucifixion, He took the disciples aside and explained to them that they were going to Jerusalem where He would be crucified and raised from the dead on the third day. “Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of Him. And He said to her, ‘What do you wish?’ She said to Him, ‘Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left” (Matt. 20:20,21). Their concept of the kingdom was a literal kingdom over which Christ would rule as He sat on a throne. Some would be seated on His right hand and some on His left in places of honor. Jesus did not say to the mother of these disciples, “Look, lady, after all of this time you still do not understand that the kingdom is only going to be in your hearts. ” Rather, He said it was not His prerogative to decide who sits on His right hand and on His left. Instead of telling her that she did not understand the nature of the kingdom, He told her that she was asking for a privilege the Father has reserved for Himself, the privilege of appointing the places of honor in the kingdom.
After His resurrection and preceding His ascension back to the Father in heaven, Jesus and His disciples were conversing regarding the future. The disciples asked in Acts 1:6, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” Jesus did not say, “Look, guys, there is no literal kingdom. The kingdom I am describing is in your hearts, so let’s get that straight! ” No, that is not what He said. “He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority’” (v. 7). He was telling them, in effect, that their understanding of the kingdom was accurate, but that they had no need to know when it would be established.
There is one other aspect of this expression, “the kingdom of heaven, ” which needs to be considered. From the study I have done, it seems that this expression is synonymous with “the kingdom of God. ” Matthew prefers “the kingdom of heaven, ” while Mark and Luke do not use that expression. They refer to “the kingdom of God. ” The kingdom of the heavens or heaven, the abode of God, is the kingdom of God. In line with his writing from the Jewish perspective, Matthew prefers not to use the expression “kingdom of God” generally, since the Jews did not use the name of God. The only time he used the expression “kingdom of God” is in Matthew 12 where he recorded Jesus’ words, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (v. 28). Jesus has been announcing that the kingdom of heaven is at hand and now says, “the kingdom of God has come upon you.”
Another reason to assume the expressions are synonymous is that Mark and Luke, in their references to these parables, refer to “the kingdom of God” while Matthew speaks of “the kingdom of heaven ” (Matt. 13:11). Mark 4:11 says, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God.” Jesus said in Luke 8:10, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God.” Some Bible scholars want to make a distinction between the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God, but in light of these uses and other study I have done, I can find no distinction between these two expressions which stands the test of Scripture. Therefore, in this study, the expressions are used synonymously.
The disciples raised the question in Matthew 13:10, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” The answer is found as Matthew continues his record in verse 11: “Jesus answered them, ‘To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.’”
Notice the contrast in verse 11 in the groups of individuals addressed, “to you” and “to them.” Jesus told His believing disciples, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.” But referring to those who were not His disciples, He said, “But to them it has not been granted” (v. 11). It is important to understand that one of the prime purposes of the parables in Matthew 13 is to enable His believing disciples to know and comprehend this additional truth regarding the kingdom that He will establish. The sovereignty of God is evident in this situation. He has granted to them the privilege of knowing this material. Later in this discourse, Jesus asks the disciples, “‘Have you understood all these things?’ They said to Him, ‘Yes’” (v. 51). After giving them the parables, they indicated that they understood what Jesus was communicating to them. That was the purpose of the parables, to enable the disciples to understand.
The parables must be interpreted in light of the fact that Jesus is talking about the earthly kingdom which the disciples would have understood Him to be talking about. That reveals one of the flaws of the interpretation that the parables of Matthew 13 are directed to the Church or to Christendom today. The disciples would not have had the foggiest idea of this interpretation because they were thinking in terms of the kingdom offered in the Old Testament. Yet Jesus says the purpose in His speaking in parables was so that they would understand. After He taught them the parables and asked them if they understood what He was saying, they indicated that they did understand.
Notice the other side of the reason for Jesus’ teaching in parables. The concluding phrase of verse 11, “But to them it has not been granted,” indicates that to the curious, unbelieving multitudes, God has not granted this knowledge of the kingdom. Therefore, there are two purposes in the parables-to give understanding and to withhold understanding. The parables were given to enable believers to understand the truth and to keep unbelievers from knowing it.
Jesus goes on to explain this in verses 12 and 13: “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Jesus is saying that the believers who have knowledge of Christ and understanding about the kingdom are going to have more knowledge added to them. They will gain new insights regarding the kingdom. But to those who do not believe, even what they have will be removed. This is illustrated in the parable of the soils where the Word of God is cast on hard ground and does not find reception. As a result the birds of the air come and remove the seed. This indicates that even what the unbelievers have will be taken away.
These Jews to whom Christ has revealed certain facts about the kingdom are going to lose what they have as a result of their not believing. Not only will they not gain new information, but also they will lose what they have had. They will become progressively more confused.
The Jews of today generally have less understanding about the kingdom than the Jews of Jesus’ day had. The Jews of Jesus’ day were anticipating a literal earthly kingdom with a literal earthly Messiah. As a result of not acting on that knowledge, the Jews lost even the small understanding of the Word of God they had at that point. That lack of knowledge is evidenced among Jews in general even today.
There is a further application of verse 13 with unbelievers today. An unbeliever may hear the truth presented regarding Christ, but he does not grasp that truth at all. All he hears is a story that he can relate, but he does not understand the spiritual truth that is being conveyed. Unbelievers see, but they do not perceive; they hear, but they do not understand. They hear a story about sowers going out to sow seeds, but they fail to grasp its significance. They do not understand the spiritual truth involved. Therefore, Jesus is giving the truth in parables to keep that truth from unbelievers.
There is an act of grace in God’s doing it this way. Jesus indicates in Matthew 11 that greater light brings greater responsibility. He said that it would be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for the cities of His day because the cities where He ministered had greater light and rejected it. It is an act of grace that God stops giving them added revelation which would only increase their guilt and condemnation before Him. It is also an illustration of what Christ said in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7:6: “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”
Jesus has clearly laid out the truth concerning Himself and His kingdom. The religious leaders have trampled it underfoot and are now looking for an excuse to destroy Him. Therefore, He will cease giving what is holy to dogs so that the truth will be withheld from them. This fulfills the prophecies of the Old Testament. Matthew’s intent has been to demonstrate through his Gospel that Christ is the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy regarding the Messiah. Matthew focuses on two Old Testament prophecies showing Israel’s response to the revelation of the Messiah.
The first quote in Matthew 13 is from Isaiah 6:9,10 and is based on the Septuagint Version, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament. “In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them’” (vv. 14,15). This emphasizes the stubborn, resistant unbelief of the nation Israel.
In the Hebrew text as Isaiah recorded it, the emphasis was on the judgment of God as a result of their spiritually hardened condition. But here Christ wants to stress their stubborn unbelief. They have become dull and do not hear with their ears. They have closed their eyes because they do not want to see. They do not want to turn to God and be healed, a reference to spiritual healing, the salvation of the nation. God puts all of the responsibility on them as He indicates they did not want this salvation from God. That is how God evaluates the sinful condition of fallen men, and it also shows how fallen mankind responds to God’s truth. Man does not want salvation from God.
Didn’t the nation Israel want God’s salvation? Weren’t they a religious people seeking God? God’s truth may have closed their eyes and ears. They want salvation, but they want their own kind of salvation, a salvation based upon their deeds and their religious activity. They are not willing to hear what God has to say on the subject and submit themselves to Him.
The people of Jesus’ day were no different from people today. People do not want to hear it, even as the word of the gospel is preached and they are told that unless they believe in the death and resurrection of Christ as the One who paid the penalty for their sins, they are destined for hell. Some say, “I have my own religion. ” Others tell you that they were baptized or confirmed, that they take the sacraments or belong to a good church or that they have been basically good all their lives. But those things have nothing to do with what God is saying. The reason they ignore what God says is because they have their eyes closed and their fingers in their ears. They do not want to turn to Him and be healed.
People do want their sins forgiven just as Israel wanted forgiveness. The Jews had many religious traditions, including meticulous little details which they scrupulously observed regarding how they washed their dishes, how they washed their hands, what they ate, what they did not eat, where they went and where they did not go. But those things are not the issue. Those Jews were no different from religious people today. There are churches, synagogues and other places of religious activity full of people every week who are religious, but who do not want to hear what God says. They do not want to be told that they are sinners on the way to hell with no hope apart from the gracious intervention of God. They do not want to be told that God has provided redemption for them in the death and resurrection of His Son. That is such a simple message that even a child can understand and believe it. But what is wrong with the adults? They have their fingers in their ears and their eyes closed! It is because they do not want to turn to God and be healed.
According to Matthew 13:34,35 Christ’s actions fulfill the quote taken from Psalm 78:2,3: “All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: „I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.’” Christ is speaking in parables, mysteries not before revealed by God, in fulfillment of what was prophesied in Psalm 78 concerning this glorious Messiah. He would speak in parables and in those parables He would reveal truth from God which had not before been revealed. So Christ is fulfilling that prophecy. For the multitudes the parables do not serve to illustrate truth but serve to blind them to the truth. When Jesus is with His disciples He can unfold what the parables mean, but He does not do that for the multitudes.
The unbeliever is being blinded to the truth. That is a scary fact when you think about it. Christ is saying that when people are exposed to the Word of God and remain stubborn in their unbelief, God often draws a curtain so that even the truth that has come to them is taken away and they remain in a blinder condition then they were. They are more confused and more hopeless. This is an awful condition, and therefore a solemn warning.
For those who are believers in Jesus Christ, they have a blessed privilege. God chooses to unveil and reveal His glorious person, His plan and work to those who indeed believe in Him and belong to Him through faith in Christ. Matthew 13:16,17 says, “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.” He is talking to those who have believed in Him. They have heard the glorious message of Christ and believed it.
The prophets of the Old Testament, and other righteous men in the Old Testament, longed for what the disciples in the presence of Christ have been exposed to. They looked with anticipation to the coming of the Messiah and the coming of the kingdom, but they didn’t see it. The disciples are standing in the presence of the Messiah of Israel. They have an honor that many would have loved but did not have. “All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13). The descendants of Abraham, for example, received promises regarding what God would do in Christ, but they did not realize the fulfillment of that.
This is also referred to in 1 Peter 1:10-12, “As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven-things into which angels long to look.” The days of the Messiah were anticipated by Old Testament prophets and righteous people but not experienced by them. But now the disciples of Christ were privileged to see and to know and to experience these things.
I believe that the purpose of this ministry of Christ carries on even today, and that the Word of God operates and works in the same exact way. The same principles of blinding and revealing are taking place today. That is why people become believers in Jesus Christ and all of a sudden they see things they never saw before, and in a short period of time there is a transformation. They understand that the Word of God is alive, they understand the purposes and plans of God. They see that it is God at work, that their salvation is focused in Him, and that their life is secure in Him. The unbeliever stands there dumbfounded as to all that is going on: “What does all this mean? What is the significance of it all? Why don’t you try something else? You don’t have to get into this religious stuff. There are a lot of things that could turn you on and excite you. ”
It has always been true that God’s Word involves revelation. God’s Word is only understood in the context of revelation and the ministry of God in the life of a person to enable him to understand it. Paul describes this revelation of God’s Word, referring to it as a mystery being revealed. In 1 Corinthians 2:7-10 Paul writes, “We speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; but just as it is written, ‘Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.’ For to us God revealed them through the Spirit.” Things that people did not come to understand through natural means, God revealed in a supernatural way. “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God” (v 12). It is God’s intention that we know, that we understand, that we grasp what He has revealed. Contrast that with a person without the Spirit of God in verse 14, “But a natural man (a man without the Spirit) does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.” This is the same kind of contrast that Jesus is talking about in Matthew between the believer and the unbeliever. The believer has the glorious privilege of knowing and understanding the truth of God, His plans and purposes. The unbeliever sits in blinded darkness.
If you are a believer, how often do you praise God for the glorious insight He has given you? Do you ever stop and realize how much you take for granted that you know and understand the eternal plan of God for redemption and salvation? And that it centers in Jesus Christ? As a believer, you understand the most significant event in all of history and all of eternity, the death and resurrection of the Son of God to provide redemption. I understand what that means!
I know its significance! I understand its importance for the salvation of the individual who will believe in Him, what a glorious privilege! I know what God is doing. I know I belong to Him and He is using me in the accomplishing of His purposes and preparing me for the glory of His presence in Heaven. I know that He is going to come and take me to be with Himself. I know that I am destined to share in the kingdom that He will establish and rule and reign with Him as a co-heir of Jesus Christ. Isn’t it amazing that I could ever be ho-hum about this? Did you ever stop and realize that the most brilliant minds in the world have not understood that truth. Men with fabulous, fantastic intellects have lived and died without ever appreciating or understanding what life in eternity is all about. How privileged we have been of God to be the subjects that He works with in revealing Himself. Amazing! Remarkable! We are unique, special, privileged people of the grace of God.
Where are you in light of that? Are you one of those who is blessed because you have eyes that see and ears that hear? Have you ever responded to the truth? You may sit here week after week after week going through all the motions, but
have you ever stopped and really understood that Jesus Christ died for you? Has the fact of the death of Jesus Christ become personal for you, meaningful for you? Have you really placed your faith in him, your trust in Him as the One who died for you? His resurrection is significant because it means that He is alive and gives new life to you because of your faith in him.
If you have not placed your faith in Him, I urge you to believe now. You are in a dangerous position. You are in a privileged position because you have been exposed to the truth of the Word of God. But if you reject that truth and do not believe, then you are in terrible danger. God may further harden your heart, blind your eyes and deafen your ears, and you may never understand again with the clarity you do now that Jesus Christ is the Savior who loved you and died for you.