Matthew 13 and Luke 8

Matthew 13 and Luke 8

Why did Jesus use parables? He tells the disciples that they “are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.” Why is that? Those people don’t understand because they are not listening. In fact, he tells them that “even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

This morning, I listened Pastor Matthew Hagee from Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, TX. He preached from Proverbs 1 about the importance of listening. In verse 23, God says, “Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.” I think this is the type of listening to which Jesus referred here in Matthew -- listening and putting what you hear into action.

Jesus makes reference to the prophecy of Isaiah about people whose hearts are hardened, whose ears cannot hear, and whose eyes cannot see. Have you ever known anyone with a hardened heart? When confronted with truth, they deny it. They are not willing to step away from the wall they have built around themselves and even entertain any other ideas but their own. Only God can soften those hearts through his Holy Spirit.

Jesus’ parable of the seed-sower talks about where the seed falls. If you have ever gardened, you can easily see the truth in this parable.

It seems that in this time in which we live, it is very hard to get away from all of the noise, whether it people electronic devices, people, regular duties, etc. These can all keep us from sitting in quiet before the Lord and listening to what he has to say. Let’s try more listening and less frantic activity.

Tomorrow, we’ll read Matthew 8:14 – 34 and Mark 4 - 5.

Until next time…