10The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"
- P70
11He replied, "Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
12Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.
13This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
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15For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.
17For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
- P71
Jesus, the master teacher, uses a simple yet profound parable about a sower, seed, and soil to illustrate deep spiritual truths. His listeners, familiar with farming, can easily picture the scene, but not everyone will grasp its full meaning. The disciples themselves ask why Jesus speaks in parables. - P72
Jesus does this to reveal the mysteries of God’s kingdom to those whose hearts are open while concealing them from those whose hearts are hardened. God’s Word is like the seed, and our hearts are like the soil. - P72
The way we respond to His Word reveals the condition of our hearts. When we receive the Word with humility and obedience, it takes root, grows, and bears fruit in our lives. - P72
In this passage, Jesus explains why He teaches in parables. To those whosehearts are responsive to God, His parables reveal the secrets of the kingdomof heaven. This knowledge is hidden from those whose hearts are hardened.
Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah, describing people whose hearts are cal-loused, whose ears are deafened, and whose eyes are blinded to the realitiesof God. The problem is not intellectual but spiritual-a refusal to turn andbe healed. - P72
Understanding the things of God requires more than curiosity;It requires surrender. With the help of the Holy Spirit, our eyes willears will hear, and our hearts will understand Him. Those who humbly seekGod will find that He graciously reveals Himself to them. - P72
"To ignore, neglect, minimize, or avoid the word of God is to ignore, neglect, minimize,
or avoid God himself." - Marshall Segal - P72
I sometimes fail to see what God has saved me from because I have not hadan outwardly radical change like that of the apostle Paul, who shifted froma life of visible opposition to God to a life of visible surrender to Him.
I sometimes forget that I have been radically changed from the inside eventhough it might not have been as outwardly apparent as a Paul-like conversion. Spiritually, my life, like theirs, shifted from being shrouded indarkness to being transformed by the light ofChrist. - P73
All who have chosento follow Jesus, whether from childhood or adulthood, with a radical out-ward change or a radical inward one, must remember that we are blessedto believe in the Lord because we have been granted the ability to see God‘struth with our eyes and hear it with our ears. Praise God for this - P73
Dear God, thank You for Your living Word. - P73
Help me to receive it with an open and humble heart. Remove anything that hardens my heart or distracts me from hearing Your voice. May Your Word take root in me and bear fruit that glorifies You. In Jesus’ name, amen. - P73
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