Matthew 13:10-17 KJV
And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
The disciples demonstrated a natural and reasonable concern that some people could not understand the teachings of Jesus Christ. Every Christian should long that every man know and understand the message Jesus came to give. How could a Christian ever be so heartless as to know the saving grace of God and not care that another does not know it?
Jesus' response to them is not what the Calvinist would have us to think; that God callously gives the truth to whom He would and denies it to those He would have to be cast into hell. Rather Jesus simply declares the fact that some will hear and receive His teachings and others will not. It is not heartless but realist. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. His love extends to all the world so that whosoever shall call upon the name of The Lord shall be saved.[1] He would have all men to be saved.[2] But He is not stuck in a cycle of endless ineffectiveness because many do not get saved. He would have all men to be saved, but saves those men who come to Him.
Once Jesus had given the parables the Bible says His disciples asked Him to declare unto them, or explain to them the parables. The multitudes went away but His disciples stayed for more.
- He would have explained the parables to any who longed to understand His Word, but only did explain it to those who stayed near to hear the explanation
- He would have taught them all, but He didn't get discouraged and quit teaching them because most went away without an explanation
I know many people I would love to see saved and growing in Christian faith. But I am not going to quit serving the Lord waiting on them. I have many loved ones I pray will be born again. But I am not going to quit trying to win others until they are born again. There are dozens of people I pray will one day be faithful in coming to church. But I am not going to quit thanking God for and enthusiastically preaching to those who do faithfully attend.
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