10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”
11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. 13 That is why I use these parables,
For they look, but they don’t really see.
They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,
‘When you hear what I say,
you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
you will not comprehend.
15 For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.’
16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.
Read Matthew 13:10-17 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Sandwiched between a parable and Jesus explaining what the parable means is probably one of Jesus’ most unfair statements in the entire Bible. This statement and idea possibly shocked the disciples so much that we have it shared in three of the four gospels – and Jesus shares this idea because the disciples simply asked Him a question they had been wondering about.
As this passage opens, the disciples pull Jesus aside after He had just finished sharing a parable, and they ask Him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” (v. 10)
This is a simple question – but Jesus’ response is both prophetic and in some ways insulting. Jesus responds by saying, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.” (v. 11)
Other gospels share Jesus directly transitioning into a quote from the Old Testament to explain what He is doing. Jesus then quotes from the prophet Isaiah who said,
“When they see what I do,
they will learn nothing.
When they hear what I say,
they will not understand.
Otherwise, they will turn to me
and be forgiven.” (Mark 4:12 [Isaiah 6:9-10])
Now if we look at this response and this statement, this is incredibly unfair. Not only does this make Jesus look unfair, it makes God look unfair. This prophecy makes God look like He is blesses some people with knowledge, and others He slams the door on.
However, what I believe is missing from the surface level reading of this passage is an open mind – or in other words, the freedom of choice for those listening.
If the people listening to Jesus came to Him with an open mind and a humble heart, I believe God is ready and willing to reveal truth to them. But most people are neither open-minded nor humble. In my mind, if someone comes to Jesus with preconceived ideas about Him, or if they come looking for ways to help validate an idea/opinion they already had about Him, they are not coming with an open mind or with a humble heart, and while they may listen intently and hear His words, they will learn nothing.
In this response, Jesus clearly states that He plays favorites. “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.” (v. 11)
Jesus tells His followers – those who have placed their hope, faith, trust, and belief in Him – that they are permitted to understand the secrets of God’s kingdom. However, those who have rejected Jesus and those who have closed their minds to Him are unable to learning from Him – making them unable to be healed or forgiven.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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