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!
If there is a verse included in the gospels that describe why I write these blog posts and why I push myself to find multiple insights in each event, that verse is tucked away within Matthew’s gospel. The verse is found in a response Jesus gives to His followers when they asked Him why He spoke in parables.
In His response, Jesus says, “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.” (v. 12)
This single verse, and the idea it communicates, pushes me to keep writing insights and ideas from the gospels. I’ve been at this for many years, and I know there are many more years of insights awaiting me as I keep looking at events and the details the gospel writers include.
While Jesus was alive on earth, His followers and the crowds had the privilege of being able to listen to Him personally. All you and I have is a collection of events that have been passed down through the centuries and assembled together in a book known as the Bible. When Jesus tells us to “listen” to His teaching, I believe He is telling us to pay attention to it. Sure, we can listen to someone reading it aloud, either in person, or perhaps as an audio recording, but often we can hear something but not really be listening to it.
To listen to someone means that we pay attention to what they are saying, and in this passage, Jesus promises those who pay attention to His teaching more understanding and an abundance of knowledge. For those who don’t listen, even the little understanding will be taken away. This is why I focus on the gospels and on uncovering insights, because the more I do this, the more Jesus promises to show me about Him!
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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