The Secret Message Teaser

As I prepare for our next message series which begins tomorrow [Saturday], I thought I would write up a little teaser intro to the series. I’m really excited about this series because I love teaching from the Gospels and the fact that we’re focusing specifically on the parables makes it even better. Hopefully the following intro. will raise your level of anticipation for this series as well. 

In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus’ disciples ask him the question, “Why do you speak to them [referring to the crowds] in parables?” It’s a fair question given that Jesus has just told the Parable of the Sower and the Seed, providing little clarification for the crowd as to the exact meaning of the story and the impression is given from the way the text moves that there were some in the crowd who left a bit confused. Jesus’ response only adds to the mystery when he says, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” 

The word parable literally means “to throw alongside.” These short stories that Jesus tells throughout the gospels which comprise a third of his teaching in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark & Luke, deal with abstract spiritual truths by “throwing them alongside” the ordinary details of first century living. But for those who originally heard these stories and for many of us still today, we might be tempted to ask the question, “What exactly is Jesus getting at? What is he trying to communicate through these stories?” 

You get the sense when you read the Gospels that Jesus is OK with a little bit of mystery. He doesn’t panic when the crowds return a look of confusion. Instead, he seems to trust that in time, the meaning will be revealed… “To you it has been given to know the secrets… to them it has not been given.” 

These timeless stories do not treat the God of the Universe as an object to  be held, but a dynamic relationship to be experienced. They invite us forward in the journey of patiently and fervently seeking after truth with full recognition that whatever we find will only draw us even deeper into our search to know “the way, the truth, and the life.” The parables challenge and engage the assumptions we bring to the questions of our faith… assumptions about God, about humanity, and the relationship that God has with God’s world, and within these stories, Jesus goes so far as to tell his disciples that within them lies the secrets of the Kingdom of God. 

And if you want to uncover them… If you really desire to understand them better… Then, as you would with any good secret… you have to lean in close… to focus your attention and listen carefully… To open up your hearts, your minds, and your eyes to see God… to see yourself… and to see the world in a new way. 

Jesus said it this way, “Let anyone with ears listen!”

And for those who do… Jesus offers this word…

“blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.”

Related posts:

1. “Secret Message of Jesus” quotes
2. Relationships that matter…
3. Our next message series
4. Theology Quotes
5. Fall Message Series

Tags: parables

Category: Resources