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.)
When we discussed Mark 4:9-13, we considered a key issue that is also relevant to Mark 4:33-34: “And with many such parables spake He the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake He not unto them: and when they were alone, He expounded all things to His disciples.” At other times, as we studied previously, Jesus used different methods of teaching other than the use of parables. These verses are speaking about a particular emphasis on parabolic teaching at this time in Jesus’ ministry. For those who might try to accuse Jesus of unfairness in comparing His public and private instruction, it is clear that He was always willing to speak further with anyone who was interested in His words. It is also clear that the main idea of each parable was quite accessible without additional instruction. For example, even if a listener could not quite comprehend the details of the infertile soils of Mark 4:1-8, he would know that the key point was to be the good soil, spiritually receptive and spiritually productive. Similarly, the lamp parable (Mark 4:21-23) was so logical in revealing the illogic of covering up needed (and costly) light that no one could have failed to grasp the spiritual significance that light (truth, that which is right and good) must not be obscured. Likewise the two seed parables (Mark 4:26-32) were speaking of spiritual growth. Anyone could have understood the gist of the message and could have then sought out a detailed explanation and even engaged in a question/answer dialogue with Jesus. His willingness to teach both in public and in private is not at all unfair. Rather, it reveals that He was reaching out to all, drawing people to Himself.