{"id":668,"date":"2023-08-15T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-08-15T09:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/?p=668&2023"},"modified":"2023-08-10T18:00:13","modified_gmt":"2023-08-11T00:00:13","slug":"opening-our-heart-to-god-matthew-13-10-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reflectivebiblestudy.com\/gospeladventure\/opening-our-heart-to-god-matthew-13-10-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Opening Our Heart to God: Matthew 13:10-17"},"content":{"rendered":"
Focus Passage: Matthew 13:10-17 (NLT)<\/div>
\r\n

10\u00a0<\/sup>His disciples came and asked him, \u201cWhy do you use parables when you talk to the people?\u201d<\/p>

11\u00a0<\/sup>He replied, \u201cYou are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. 12\u00a0<\/sup>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\u00a0<\/sup>That is why I use these parables,<\/p>

For they look, but they don\u2019t really see.
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0They hear, but they don\u2019t really listen or understand.<\/p>

14\u00a0<\/sup>This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,<\/p>

\u2018When you hear what I say,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0you will not understand.
When you see what I do,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0you will not comprehend.
15\u00a0<\/sup>For the hearts of these people are hardened,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes\u2014
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0and let me heal them.\u2019<\/p>

16\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cBut blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17\u00a0<\/sup>I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn\u2019t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn\u2019t hear it.<\/p>\r\n

Read Matthew 13:10-17<\/a> in context and\/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!<\/p><\/div><\/div>\r\n

In an unexpected part of the gospels, Jesus shares a blessing on His followers who were present while He was teaching. It is a blessing and a privilege that most of us living today wish we could have had. In Matthew\u2019s gospel, He shares Jesus\u2019 blessing His disciples and followers first hand, because He was there to experience it.<\/p>\r\n

Matthew tells us that after Jesus shares Isaiah\u2019s prophecy in response to being asked why He always seemed to talk in parables, He tells His followers, \u201cBut blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn\u2019t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn\u2019t hear it.<\/strong>\u201d (v. 16-17)<\/p>\r\n

I am one who would have loved to have been present to hear Jesus first hand as He taught the crowds. Perhaps you can also relate. For thousands of years before Jesus arrived on earth, there were prophets and people who looked forward to the day. There were countless people longing to be present when God would send the Messiah into the world \u2013 but they all lived before Jesus\u2019 time.<\/p>\r\n

The people living in Jesus\u2019 day were blessed because they could be present to hear Him personally, but taking the rest of Jesus\u2019 response into context, it would seem that even being alive during Jesus\u2019 life could not change a stubborn heart. There were thousands of people who rejected Jesus because they didn\u2019t understand Him, because their minds and\/or hearts were closed to Him, or because they thought He set the bar way to high with many of the things He taught.<\/p>\r\n

We have an advantage living centuries after Jesus. We can look back and see how God worked through His life \u2013 and we can see the cross Jesus faced in the context that He went to the cross for you and me. This is something those present during Jesus\u2019 life, and those living prior to Jesus, were unable to connect together like we can connect these truths today.<\/p>\r\n

But to really benefit from Jesus\u2019 ministry at any point in history, we must be open to letting God lead our lives and open to obeying the truth that He has revealed to us.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n

This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus<\/strong> \u201cReflective Bible Study\u201d package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here<\/a> and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!<\/em><\/p>

Subscribe<\/a> to this blog and never miss an insight.<\/em><\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In an unexpected part of the gospels, Jesus shares a blessing on His followers who were present while He was teaching. It is a blessing and a privilege that most of us living today wish we could have had. 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