There came a time in the ministry of Jesus, especially in the region of Galilee where he had performed many mighty miracles and expounded his doctrine; that despite his demonstrated power, authority and his fulfillment of every messianic prophecy, that the hearts of the people toward him still remained hard and callous as was prophesied (Isa. 6:9-11). 

In Matthew 12:24 the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub the prince of devils, thus indicating that the religious leadership of Israel had definitively rejected him and his teachings.

In response Jesus indicated that they had committed an unpardonable sin by attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to the work of Satan. He made it clear that their speech had revealed their evil character and that they would have to give an account of every word that they had spoken on the day of Judgment.  

When they asked him for a sign, He called them an evil and adulterous generation that sought for signs but no sign would be given them, except for the sign of Jonah the prophet. In addition the men of Nineveh who repented at the preaching of Jonah, and the Queen of the South who traveled from a great way to hear the wisdom of Solomon, would condemn them, for they had before them a greater person. 

Then he made the listening crowd understand that those who heard and did the will of his Father were his mother, sister and brother. 

This exchange between Jesus and the religious leadership clearly marked a turning point in Jesus’ ministry as far as Matthew was concerned and brings us to our chapter of study. 

Before this Jesus had been speaking clearly about the Kingdom of Heaven and the necessity for repentance.  But now it became clear that they were not really paying attention and were not listening and so he would have to speak to them in a new way, a way that would motivate them to open their ears and listen carefully.  At the same time his technique would give them a constant warning.  

So Jesus began to teach in parables so the deep spiritual truths of the kingdom would be veiled from the unbelieving heart, and they would be thereby rebuked; (John 8:43-47; Isa 29:10-13; 2 Thes 2:10-13).  Note his assessment of them:

In Matt. 13 Jesus began for the first time to speak in parables.  Before that Jesus never really spoke in parables in the sense of speaking in stories in which there was a hidden spiritual message. It was in parables that he now spoke about the mystery of the kingdom of heaven. 

There were eight parables in this one chapter, all dealing with the mystery of the Kingdom, starting from:

-the beginning of the Kingdom, then dealing with

-Satan's counterfeit, then

-the extent of the growth of the Kingdom,

-   the secret of the growth of the Kingdom, the value of the Kingdom,

-   the need for searching,

-   the responsibility involved by those in the kingdom, and

-   edification that was necessary in the kingdom.

It is therefore most prudent for us to pay particular attention to these parables, devoting time to the diligent study of the deep truths they contain. 

It is considered by some that the passage we will now study contains “the key to history”, that is, the great principle upon which God determines human events.  One writer comments:

“It is not only the principle by which God Judges nations and determines the course of international events, but it is the principle by which he governs what happens to individuals as well.” 

Let us not be fooled – parables are not merely earthly stories with heavenly meanings, or principles that simply help one through life. 

Before we consider the purpose of parables, let us briefly look at what a parable is.

The modern meaning of a parable (Aristotelian) would be a short fictional story with a double meaning, from which one could deduce certain things.   

The Biblical definition is somewhat more complex.  The word parable (mashal : Hebrew, parabole : Greek)  means to place one thing beside another, it is a similitude or comparison, its language is metaphorical or figurative.  

In fact parables can be used to describe the following forms of writing, as long as they are figurative and metaphorical - A proverb such as in (1 Sam. 24:13) a satire or taunt

(Psalm 44:11), a riddle (Psalm 49:4), a figurative saying (Mark 7:14-17), an extended simile (Matt. 13:33), story parable (Matt. 25:1-13) an example parable (Matt. 18:23-25), and even an allegory (Judges 9:7-20; Mark 4:3-9, 13-20), or even one-liners.  

Common to all these forms that a parable can take is the literary device of comparison, where known things are compared with unknown things, in order to bring understanding of the latter.  More specifically in the parables of Jesus, known or earthly things are compared to unknown heavenly things.  

This form of teaching holds deep truths, which are taught by using interesting illustrations and varying amounts of detail.  These parables in one sense are simple, but contain deep truths about the kingdom that only the spiritually discerning can truly grasp. We are warned that: “the carnal mind cannot receive the things of the spirit, because they are spiritually discerned”. 

Parables maintain anonymity, but are filled with realism.  Jesus’ use of first century Palestinian and Semitic characters, familiar settings and many other true to life images bring these stories to life, their imagery etched in the minds of his hearers. Hearers could intimately identify with the nameless characters and they could see themselves portrayed in the roles of these parables.    

This kind of teaching elicited very strong reactions.  It encouraged listeners to become involved personally in the story, and react. When Nathan told David about the theft of the poor man’s prized lamb, David became enraged. In the Song of the Vineyard, Isaiah invited the listeners to participate in the story.  

Jesus’ parables, like those in the Old Testament, were structured to jolt men into seeing things in a new way, to enlighten and persuade them, and bring believers to a deeper understanding of the kingdom. The form of the parable demands attention, insight, and sometimes an actual explanation. One writer says:

“The worth of parables as instruments of teaching lies in their being at once a test of character and in their presenting each form of character with that which, as a penalty or blessing, is adapted to it. They withdraw the light from those who love darkness. They protect the truth which they enshrine from the mockery of the scoffer. They leave something even with the careless which may be interpreted and understood afterwards.

They reveal on the other hand, the seekers after truth. These ask the meaning of the parable, and will not rest until the teacher has explained it. In this way the parable did work, found out the fit hearers and led them on. In most of the parables it is possible to trace something like an order.” 

In addition to this, parables give us great insight into the absolute sovereignty of God. 

From a heavenly perspective we see God’s sovereignty in the election of men to salvation, and from an earthly perspective we see the responsibility of man in responding to God.  The implications found in the study on the purpose of parables are far reaching; so it is vital for us to pay extremely close attention and respond accordingly.  Turning a deaf ear having heard the truth, and closing ones eyes having seen the truth; will leave you precariously perched on the edge of hell, where only the grace of God can keep you from falling in.

BACKGROUNG

The ministry of Jesus came at one of the darkest times in human history.  The social economic, religious and political institutions were in a state of immense upheaval.  Lawlessness and poverty were the order of the day.  The Gentile Roman army

were the occupying rulers and opposed by certain Jewish religious sects, tension seemed to run at a fever pitch.   

The Scribes and Pharisees only added fuel to the fire as they became more and more antagonistic to the idea of Roman rule.  These keepers of the ‘law’ had become so entangled with the political issues of the day and had drifted so far from the truth that they were prevented from seeing and accepting the true Messiah, the one for whom they had long awaited, though they spoke with him face to face.  

Leading into our Scripture text for today, Jesus was teaching his disciples, but as was now common, a multitude of people followed him and were also listening as he taught his disciples.  In fact the crowd was so large, that Jesus was forced to get in a boat and launch out a little way, in order that the multitude could hear him. 

Note, “Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable,” Mat 13:34.  Some commentators interpret this verse to mean that from this moment on, Jesus’ teaching ministry consisted of only parables, others say that it was simply characterized by parables.  While others contend that in this context it refers to this specific day; they point out that there are many instances after this point where Jesus taught without parables. 

The parables where interestingly arranged in pairs; where one would introduce a kingdom principle and the second would bring further light on that aspect.  Jesus did in fact give the interpretations of these parables, which would suggest along with the disciples request for the interpretation (Luke 8:9), that their meaning was not quite as simple or straightforward as it might first appear. 

This first parable of the Soils however, was a pivotal one and its understanding or acceptance would mark ones entrance into the Kingdom.  Ignorance and rejection of this teaching marked the point at which one would be barred form further Kingdom truth.  One would remain in a lost state.

THE TEXT

Verse 9.   As we begin to examine the purpose of parables and particularly Jesus’ use of parables, we note their importance within the pages of Scripture.  Parables are not to be thought of as quaint stories or fables, that loosely attempt to bring to life some underlying or analogous truth.  Parables actually teach some of the most profound doctrines of scripture, they are found in both the Old and New Testament and in our lesson today parables were used extensively to communicate truth to the people, as well as conceal further truth from those who had already rejected the light given them. 

As such Jesus’ use of parables as far as the unbeliever was concerned was an act of judgment and an act of mercy. Judgment because it kept them in darkness, since they choose to refuse the light they were being shown but mercy because this was a new technique Jesus was using to stop them rejecting the light. Meaning their curiosity should have been aroused, even as the disciples’ were.   

“…he who has an ear, let him hear…”.  This proverbial expression implied that it was every man’s duty to pay attention to what was spoken.  It stressed the importance of what was being said and was an appeal to both the external and the internal; to hear with the ear and understand with the heart. 

We can view this as a call to those who profess to have spiritual sensitivity, to take special note of the critically important issues involved in the truth of the Kingdom of heaven. 

The call was necessary, because their hearts had closed both eyes and ears, so that they could not see the kingdom of God right there coming upon them.  The heart was in a most unsatisfactory condition which Jesus later described as hard or shallow, distracted, or resistant.

 He was really telling the people that when he spoke the parable of the Sower and the Soil, they should immediately have asked him what that parable was intended to teach about the Kingdom of God and exactly what did he mean by this kind of teaching.  They should have insisted that Jesus explain to them what he was talking about and guide them into internalizing his message.   

They should have realized that since He had gone to so much trouble getting into a ship, sitting down in the ship, thus assuming a teaching position while the entire multitude stood on the shore, that what he was saying was critically important.  They should have been demanding further explanation.  But they did not.  Ends weekend consider this a warning of judgment impending.?????? 

But the parable of the Sower had described the state of their heart accurately. 

Jesus often taught in this manner to illicit and engage the people, and to create a desire for the word, in those who wanted to understand spiritual truth. 

Verse 10.   We see how different the disciples were from the multitudes, for their hearts were different, the soil was good soil, in contrast to the soil or hearts of the multitudes. The disciples noticed a definite change in his method of teaching; thus they enquired as to why he now spoke to the people in parables? 

It was not that teaching in parables was new to them, but rather that this form of teaching often required further interpretation or clarification in order that one may understand.  Now considering that Jesus was also addressing a great number of Gentiles concerning the things of the Kingdom of God, the disciples reasonably expected such a discourse to be as simple and as straight forward as possible. 

The disciples themselves required further clarification as to the meaning of the parable, (Luke 8:9).  Not only were they curious as to why Jesus was talking in this new way but they did not understand the meaning anyway and hence were completely puzzled. Luke makes it clear that they did not understand the parable, but they cared enough to ask what it meant and stayed to get the explanation. 

This was in contrast to the behavior of the crowd who did not understand the parable but did not care enough to ask what it meant, or to hang around long enough to have Jesus explain it to them. The disciples, despite their weaknesses, had a soft and receptive ‘heart’, while those who had a ‘hard heart’, also had closed their eyes and ears and did not understand. 

Let us note that understanding is an issue of the heart. 

Those who have a ‘hard heart’, do not really want to understand and cannot understand, for their eyes are closed, their ears are closed and they do not really want what God the lavish Sower has to offer.   

We pray that we constantly pant after God, making every effort to learn His Word and to meditate on his secrets, showing as we do, that our hearts are soft and receptive to Him, for we should mourn when we do anything that is against his Word. 

They might, as Jesus explained to the disciples, be people who are rendered momentarily thoughtful by the word of the kingdom, but they do not want to be bothered and shrugs off the passing impression, the devil snatching it out of their heart, it never returning to bother or to trouble them again. 

The devil takes care of that kind of person. 

Or they might be like those who have no depth in their life, with nothing going deep into their heart. They are shallow. They receive the gospel with joy, for they think it's great and they are enthusiastic.  But when the cold reality of tribulation and persecution come, the gospel day is no longer a warm, glorious day.  

The flesh takes care of this person.   

They are shallow, and the emotional responses to the stings of life make it impossible for them to receive the word of God in such a way that their hearts are really changed. They leave, are gone, and wither and die. 

Then also different from the disciples is the kind of soil found in a person who is interested in the gospel, can think deeply and is certainly not shallow, but who is interested in the finer things of life, trying to keep up with the Joneses, too wrapped up with the material things of this world and accumulating things.  This ‘soil’ or ‘heart’ wants everything that the world can offer but also want everything that God can offer.  That heart of course cannot please God for it is abundantly clear that one cannot serve God and Mammon at the same time. 

But the hearts of the disciples were clearly different, and they showed it. 

This demonstrates that contrary to popular opinion, parables were not stories concocted for the understanding of the simple minded.  Though parables contained analogies to everyday life that people could readily relate to, the nature of parables allowed people to interpret various aspects of them in such a manner, as to come up with something that sounds quite plausible, but still completely miss the central teaching.   

Unless guided by the Holy Spirit, people will gravitate to interpretations that satisfy the flesh not the spirit; the real truth goes unrecognized.

Verse 11.   Jesus now answers them as to why he has begun to teach in this manner.

“…it is given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.”   

Jesus identifies two groups of people, first are the apostles to whom he says the mysteries of the kingdom are revealed; secondly the crowd which was made up of Gentiles as well as Jews and was typically characterized by unbelief, though some were intrigued by his teaching and enthralled by his miracles. 

The Apostles however, whose hearts were genuinely Christian and who truly yielded to the Lordship of Christ, were actually being spiritually perceptive and given the special privileges of knowing the secret things of God, asked of their Master.  

They were being groomed by Jesus to continue the preaching of the gospel of the Kingdom, thus it was time for them to receive the greatest revelation of the kingdom, to the extent that not even the prophets before them were privy too.  However, these mysteries would remain hidden from those who wilfully did not believe.  

The word mystery in the bible is not used in the classical sense as to something that is unknowable; rather it is truth that had till now been concealed.  It does not mean that the thing was “incomprehensible,” or even difficult to be understood.  As one writer says:-

The thing might be “plain” enough if revealed, but it means simply that it “had” not been before made known. Thus the “mysteries of the kingdom” do not mean any doctrines incomprehensible in themselves considered, but simply doctrines about the preaching of the gospel and the establishment of the new kingdom of the Messiah, which “had not” been understood, and which were as yet concealed from the great body of the Jews. (See Rom.16:25; Rom.11:25; Eph.3:3-4, Eph.3:9.) 

One writer simply describes “secrets” or literally “mysteries” as follows:

“In Scripture a mystery is a truth which cannot be known by the normal exercise of human wisdom or knowledge.  It is a truth about life which, if we are to know it, God must tell us about it, because it could never be discovered by the exercise of human intelligence.  That is why these secrets, these mysteries, about the kingdom of heaven, and therefore about life, will never be found in science or literature or history or any other discipline of human knowledge or investigation.  They are simply not there.  And yet they are essential to the understanding of life.  They must be disclosed to us by God. 

This is why human wisdom is never enough.  We can discover many things about life and by our technology, we can invent a lot of useful implements and gadgets but we will never, never satisfy human life on those terms.  We must know more; and only God can tell us.  That is why these mysteries are of great importance.”

The gospel itself is one of these mysteries.  It's great secret, Paul says, is, “ Christ in you, the hope of glory,” (Colossians 1: 27). 

We can imagine how pleased the disciples were when Jesus told them that they were elected and given to know and that made them feel like a special ‘in’ group, the privileged few.  Their pride must have started to blow up to become pretty big. 

“…but to them it is not given…”  to the wise and prudent the Scribes and Pharisees and to the multitude in general. 

Verse 12.   Mark refers to them as those that are without; this was a common phrase among the Jews that generally referred to the Gentiles, as they were not a part of the covenant people. 

This declaration displays the sovereign will of God in the salvation of men, for He chooses to reveal to some persons what He withholds from others.   

But lest the disciples misunderstood him, and we misunderstand, Jesus declares a basic fundamental law of life, the principle on which God governed human history and human lives. 

Here we see the principle that light received will bring further light, but light rejected leads to darkness.  The man who by faith seeks further light and understanding, one who by God’s grace has received the testimony of Jesus as Messiah and Son of God; he rightly appropriates the light and will therefore be given further light and deeper spiritual truths.   

In other words, one must act on the truth in order to retain it. When God confronts a man or a nation with the truth and gives that man or that nation the truth, if he or that nation does not act on it and use what has already been given to him or to them, they will regress and not advance. If one rejects the truth or does not use it, it will be lost. 

That is how God determines whether individuals or nations advance or go backwards. The disciples, ordinary fishermen, tax collectors, or simple workers were called and when they saw the truth and knew it to be truth they acted, they responded when Jesus called them and followed him.  So God gave them the secrets of the Kingdom, while he hid it from others. 

Clearly then, our lack of spiritual progress is often caused by the fact that we do not take God seriously, obey him and put into practice the truth that we have been given. When we believe and obey what God has said, we will be given more and we shall have the truth in abundance. 

On the contrary, when we do not obey the truth, what we have will be taken away from us.  We see that when churches begin to preach error, the errors multiply; increasingly new and strange doctrines appear and disappear.  The shell might look attractive, but the word of God will be less and less in evidence. 

Nations often arise, follow truth less and less and inevitably and eventually fall because of inward corruption.  We should note that our nation face exactly that same possibility when they reject the truth about Jesus that they already know, pretend to obey it when they do not really believe it. 

…and he shall have more abundance:  the promise to the Apostles and to every believer; having received the light, he shall be filled with all the fullness of God and shall arrive to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ and his light shall shine more and more unto the perfect day. 

The man that was exposed to the light and rejected it, will find that light which he once experienced will be taken away and his wilful disregard for the truth will leave him groping in the darkness. 

Such was the case with this crowd and particularly the Jewish nation, for they had many opportunities to learn the truth.  God had set the Jews apart to be a peculiar people to Himself, yet they continually strayed and rejected God’s counsel.  Though some light remained with them, they became more and more gross and sensual.  Thus it was a just judgment that the light they possessed was removed. 

They held in contempt all the evidence that Jesus was the true Messiah for whom they had waited.  He taught with power and authority, healed the sick, cast out demons, gave sight to the blind and raised the dead.  He fulfilled prophecy after prophecy ascribed to the Messiah.  They rejected this light.  But note that because of the mercy of God, some in the nation were sensitive and responded in proper fashion. 

Verse 13.   ……“because seeing they see not…”,  Jesus applied this principle that God used to determine history by showing how it applied to Israel at that time. 

As far as the obvious or natural facts of the parable went, they were well aware of the agricultural implications of sowing seed in unprepared soil, on the rocks or among weeds.  But what they could not see was the spiritual significance to this parable.  They were purely in a carnal state of mind, having rejected the light and as such totally lacked the ability to grasp spiritual truth.

 “The carnal mind receives not the things of the Spirit, for they are spiritually discerned.”

If one refuses to believe those things that he can see, how then could it be possible that he believe the things that he cannot see?   

“And hearing, they hear not, neither do they understand”…,  The hardening of the heart had already set in, and thus all the other organs of the body  were affected negatively.  

It is not enough to simply listen with our ears, we must listen with our hearts; if what is in our heads does not reach our hearts, it is of no eternal value.  One must be a doer of the word and not a hearer only.   

It is blatantly evident that all these people physically heard the words of Jesus, the Scripture tells us that many were astonished at his sayings and even the Pharisees recognized that he taught with authority.  Their lack of understanding cannot be attributed to them not hearing the word, rather their spiritual ignorance and depravity was on account of their continual rejection of the light they already had. 

The desire to see spiritually is essential to clear perceptions of truth.

Verse 14.   Prophecy often has a present application and a future fulfillment and such was the case as seen here.  Isaiah prophesied that the rebellious and obstinate behavior of the people of his day, would also characterize the people at the time of Jesus.   And as they followed in their fathers’ faltering footsteps, if we today do not take heed we shall suffer the same fate as they.  

One writer comments:-

“In them is fulfilled - Is Again fulfilled: this proper meaning of the Greek word has been generally overlooked. The evangelist means, that as these words were fulfilled in the Jews, in the time of the Prophet Isaiah, so they are now again fulfilled in these their posterity, who exactly copy their fathers example. These awful words may be again fulfilled in us, if we take not warning by the things which these disobedient people have suffered.

By hearing ye shall hear - Jesus Christ shall be sent to you, his miracles ye shall fully see, and his doctrines ye shall distinctly hear; but God will not force you to receive the salvation which is offered.” 

It is of the utmost importance that we understand that God does not prevent people from coming to the truth of the word of God and salvation; rather, people hinder or completely cast away their salvation by rejecting the plain and simple truth of the gospel. 

Jesus’ use of parables served a dual purpose, it revealed truth to those who genuinely searched for spiritual truth, but concealed the mysteries of the kingdom from those who had no desire for the truth.   

Actually, note that in speaking parables, Jesus is beginning the process of taking away the truth from those who would not receive it.  It was time to begin to veil the truth.  The truth had been plainly declared before them but they did not act.  They would not act.  

It was not that God had dulled their hearts, stopped their ears, and closed their eyes.  As Isaiah said, they had closed their eyes and made their hearts to grow dull.

Verse 15.   The nature or effect of sin in a man’s heart without the restraining grace of God, leads to an increasingly hardened heart.  The people completely disregarded the word of God, they would not heed the warning of the prophets and they were engrossed in the things of the world and satisfying the cravings of the flesh.   

Waxed gross - literally, “has become fat.” This language is commonly applied to “the body,” but is also used to denote one who is obtuse and foolish in mind. Here it means that the people were so sensual and corrupt that they did not see or understand the pure spiritual principles of the gospel. 

The people had become dull of hearing, they physically heard the word, but when it should have pricked their conscience it had no effect; instead, when presented with the plain truth they deliberately covered their eyes and put their fingers to their ears. 

Every man, woman and child have been given enough light that they are without excuse.  The amount of light that God may allow one to reject before leaving you to your own evil devices may vary, but the darkness is a very terrible place.

“But they refused to listen, and gave a stubborn shoulder, and made heavy their ears from hearing.  And they made their hearts adamant from hearing the Law and the Words which Jehovah of Hosts has sent through His Spirit, by the former prophets. And great wrath came from Jehovah of Host”,  Zec 7:11-12.   

“…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."   

One writer explains what was really happening in the nation and we should note this because we often blame God, when we do not want to face up to what is happening in our hearts:

“ They understood what he was after and they sensed deep inside that he could do what he said he would do.  He could heal this nation, heal its hurt, its sickness and weakness, it's darkness and slavery.  But the amazing thing is that these people did not want but God wanted to give them.  They didn't want to be healed.  They sensed that, in the coming of Jesus, God was reaching out to them to restore them, to make them whole.  And in the terrible perversity of their hearts they didn't want it.  They preferred their own evil, weakness, and folly, because to be healed meant to confess and to acknowledge that they were wrong.  Their pride had to be humbled and they weren't ready to pay that price.

This is the terrible judgment that our Lord brings down upon history.  He said,

“ Light has come into the world and men love darkness rather than light,”.(John 3:19 RSV).

That is the condemnation. 

“ And because of that”, he says, “ I am going to speak to them in parables.  I will still tell them the truth, because I am truth.  I cannot speak anything else but truth.  But they will not hear it nor understand it.  Only those who are prepared to act upon what they hear will understand it.”.

That is the great lesson which forms the background of these parables.” 

Here we see juxtaposed, the sovereignty of God in the salvation of men and the responsibility of man to respond to the gospel.  Man is such a sinful creature that if God did not intervene; all mankind would be eternally lost.   

God is in no way obligated to give His light, we are all deserving of the darkness of hell; but to those who embrace the light, God promises to heal from their sin and sickness and give them salvation.  One writer comments concerning the fallen state of man :-

Lest they should see their lost estate, and be obliged to turn unto God, and seek his salvation. His state is truly deplorable who is sick unto death, and yet is afraid of being cured. The fault is here totally in the people, and not at all in that God whose name is Mercy and whose nature is love.

Verse 16.   Blessed are your eyes …  speaking to the apostles, Jesus communicates that it is God’s sovereign will that that should understand the spiritual meaning of these parables.   Their eyes and theirs ears were open conduits to the heart. 

The blessing in fact was only actualized in so far as they believed – for the multitude also saw Jesus and witnessed his miracles with their physical eyes, they heard his sermons and doctrine with their ears; but having done so they did not believe, they rejected the word and the truth never penetrated their heart.

“For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation.” Rom 10:10   

As one writer says of the disciples:-

That is, you are happy that you are permitted to see truth which they will not see.  You are permitted to understand the spiritual meaning of the parables, and in some degree the plan of salvation. 

Actually, the disciples were twice blessed as verse 17 indicates.  First, they were privileged to get the truth and because they embraced it, they would get more truth.

Verse 17.   The apostles were highly privileged, for they were called to service at a time that prophets had foretold and could only hoped to have seen - the times of the Messiah. 

The continual unveiling plan of salvation had come to a climax in the ministry of Jesus  and the apostles witnessed it first hand.

“About which salvation the prophets sought out and searched out, prophesying concerning the grace for you;  searching for what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ made clear within them, testifying beforehand of the sufferings of Christ, and the glories that should follow.   To them it was revealed that not to themselves, but to us, they ministered the things which are now reported to you by those who have preached the gospel to you in the Holy Spirit sent from Heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.” 1 Pet 1:10-12 

The patriarchs and the prophets did not get to witness the ministry of the Messiah first hand, as did the apostles.

“These all died by way of faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off. And they were persuaded of them and embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.  For they who say such things declare plainly that they seek a fatherland.” Heb 11:13-14 

The life of Jesus on earth therefore has corrected the errors accumulated over the centuries, and revealed truth the like of which man had never before seen. Jesus is the ultimate truth, and those that were privileged to see the unfolding of ultimate, perfect truth, the final revelation of truth from God, which was the solution to all the problems and troubles of life, were indeed most blessed. 

Having return to his heavenly realm, seated at the right hand of the Father, we who live now cannot behold Him with our physical eyes and ears, except through the pages of Scripture; but the promise stands firm – blessed are those who have not seen, yet believe.

CONCLUSION

Ironically, the fulfillment of messianic prophecies literally happened before their eyes, but they could not see. Their ears were filled with the doctrine of Christ, yet they could not hear.  

Let us note that we stand with those disciples today and we see what they saw and hear what they heard and along with them we are blessed. 

God has shown us the secrets of life and the magnificent and abundant blessings that we have from Jesus Christ.  We are told that in Jesus Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, according to Colossians 2:2-3. If we don't get it, we should blame nobody but ourselves. 

We must act on the truth that we have been given.  We should never ever say that we have learned great things and we will put them into practice some other day. We must act now.  We must follow Jesus now.  When Jesus gives us a command we must act on the truth now, or we will find that what we have been given will be taken away and we will be left with a hollow shell. 

Sadly, as was foretold, there would be some, though seeing, closed their eyes, and though hearing, would stop their ears.  

From these hearers Christ would remove his light, without which they would never see the kingdom of heaven or understand its mysteries, having rejected what they knew to be true.  

Parables manifest a dual nature, in that they reveal the secrets of heaven to those who believe, while hiding the ‘Treasures of Heaven’ from those who hear and see, yet refuse to believe. To them the meaning is hidden and the benefit to be gained is lost.   

Although simple in form, the parables of Jesus contain the most profound truths and their interpretation belongs to the highest order of Biblical exegesis that requires a great deal of spiritual knowledge and discernment.  

Those who responded by embracing the truth and turn to God would be blessed and would gain entrance into the Kingdom and further light; but those who saw the truth and rejected it, closing their eyes and stopping their ears, would face the judgment and wrath of God. 

The Sower of the Seed has sown the seed lavishly.  He has created us and he can break up the hard heart. 

All of us must ask our self the question that Jesus is asking us; “ What is my heart like when I hear the word?  What do I feel when I hear of the promises of righteousness and power  belong to the kingdom? 

Am I simply concerned about how I feel at the moment, busy amassing riches, preoccupied with the cares of this life, focusing on things instead of people?  Is my heart good soil, responsive, listening, thinking, acting, or do I forget the word once the speaker of righteousness finishes?