Joel M Bradshaw

10Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.14Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 15For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.’

16But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.–Matthew 13

There are two factors at work regarding your understanding of the Bible. The first is internal and the second is external.

1. INTERNAL. You hear but aren’t listening. You take in but aren’t understanding. This is because of your hard heart. You therefore are like a person who fulfills Isaiah’s original prophecy. In your stubborn rejection of Jesus you have closed your eyes and ears, as it were.
2. EXTERNAL. Jesus quoted Isaiah 6, God’s commissioning of the prophet to go and speak. In that context, there was a tension. Isaiah was to preach to a people who weren’t going to understand. His preaching was going to be a part of that lack of understanding. Their hearts were closed and they were also going to be closed. God’s sovereignty was at work there. Not every heart was going to be able to receive the message. Some hearts would stay closed.

Jesus taught in parables because they required God working within the listener to make the soil of his heart ready to receive the seed and grow a fruit. God is sovereignly in control of how you receive the Bible as you read it or listen to it. The Holy Spirit works in you to believe. So it is good to pray to God for a soft heart, for good ‘soil’. It is wise to put into practice the Bible. But just remember that any faith response in you first begins in the sovereign work of God.

We know this because Jesus said so in our chapter today, with emphasis.

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.

God is sovereign over how anyone receives his Word, the Bible. But you and I don’t know how God is at work inside a person, so we continue to preach, to teach, to proclaim, to share. Focus on your own heart. Is it growing hard where it was once soft? Are your ears still listening or are they just hearing?–JMB