Let's Try This Again

Did Jesus want us to not understand?

Again he began to teach beside the sea. Such a very large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat on the sea and sat there, while the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. He began to teach them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." And he said, "Let anyone with ears to hear listen!" When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that 'they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.'" And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold." - Mark 4:1-20

When Jesus was alone with a few who were around him and the twelve, they asked him about the parable and he got upset with them.

He has given the secret of the Kingdom of God to his disciples, and still, they don't understand the parables. How frustrating that must be for Jesus.

Commentators believe the parables are designed to reveal the truth to the believers while keeping the truth from the nonbelievers. 

To his enemies, he was simply telling fantastic stories that meant nothing, but to those who believed, these stories revealed something about God and the Kingdom.

So, imagine his disappointment when the apostles scratched their heads and said, "So, what does it mean?"

We like to think we are smart, that we understand the ways of the world and can make our own decisions in life. But how smart are we?

Jesus has to be so patient with us to put up with our ignorance. 

We have the wisdom of the parables. We know them by heart, and yet we come to him for help again and again, seeking his reassurance that we are doing the right thing.

And each time, he explains it all again.

God is with us. The Spirit of God lives in us. Jesus is always there for us. 

All that is left is for us to take acton.

More to come...