Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
Before we move on from the Parable of the Soils (or Souls) in Mark 4:1-20, there is one further aspect of it that needs our consideration. We read the following in verses 9-13: “And He said unto them, ‘He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.’ And when He was alone, they that were about Him asked of Him the parable. And He said unto them, ‘Unto you is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.’ And He said unto them, ‘Know ye not this parable? And how then will ye know all parables?’” An unthinking person might accuse Jesus of callousness here, of a casual dismissal of many human souls. Such an interpretation completely misses the point. First, Jesus did not teach exclusively from parables. Often He more fully explicated Old Testament doctrine, and He frequently responded to specific questions (often from critics). At other times, He spoke to individuals about their particular needs. Thus, His teaching was expansive, not exclusionary. Second, His use of parables was designed to intrigue people. Modern movies, television programs, and novels use what is called a “hook” to draw folks into the story. Jesus used this method millennia ago to interest people and to get them to think. All anyone had to do was what the disciples did in verse 10 – that is, ask Him for a detailed explanation. Any person who responded even slightly to Jesus received more information; those who chose not to respond at all were indicating their complete lack of interest. The same principles hold today, for Jesus does not change (Hebrews 13:8).