Jesus' parables, like his cross, divide the world and bring salvation.
This passage begins with the parable of the sower. But I'll put off any explanation of the parable of the sower until the next passage, where Jesus himself explains the parable.
Instead I'll take up the question Jesus' disciples ask: why do you speak in parables at all?
His answer has to do with the condition of the crowd he's speaking to. "Seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear." They are spiritually blind.
You might think, then, that Jesus would use the parables to get hard concepts across to these people in a simple way. Many people assume that parables are illustrations.
But Jesus' explanation is different. His parables aren't illustrations: they are riddles. They aren't meant to clarify concepts. They are meant to sift listeners. "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."
For some listeners, parables act as instruments of judgment, deepening their blindness.
For others, they edify, strengthen, build.
This might give the impression that Jesus' parables never bring people over from one condition to another. But that's not quite right. The parable of the sower speaks of seed that lands in good soil for the first time and sprouts. For some hearers, a parable may be such a seed, which brings them to salvation.
Now, while Jesus was using parables to bring deserved judgment on people who were spiritually blind, he was also headed toward a judgment of his own. But the judgment that fell on him at the cross would bring salvation to the world. In his death, Jesus took away his people’s sin. In his resurrection, he opened the door to eternal life.
Jesus' cross is like his parables. The Apostle Paul said, "The wisdom of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." And the resurrection, like the cross, divides the world. Some find it laughable: others find life in it.
Now, you, reader, have special privileges which the crowds who heard Jesus' parables did not enjoy. You don't just get to hear the parable: You get to listen in on the conversation between Jesus and his disciples. You also know about the cross, and you have heard about the resurrection. You have more information about Jesus available to you than the disciples did when Jesus said, "Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For 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."
Do you see it?
Pastor Nate Jeffries