Jesus
was a master storyteller. He imparted spiritual truths in the fabric of the
tales He told. He loved to use illustrations that were pertinent to the age in
which He lived. He could weave a tale that kept people on the edge of their
seat, and coming back for more.
Some
of His stories were hard to comprehend, however; and they sent the listeners
home scratching their head and mumbling to one another. Some of His instruction
was too convicting for carnal people to accept (Matthew 19:21-22).
At
times, Jesus even needed to explain the meaning behind His carefully crafted
prose to His disciples. Most of them just had no concept of how truly
magnificent their leader was, and how much He had to offer to them.
Jesus
rarely, intentionally prevented people from learning truth from His parables. He
really wanted them to profit from His wisdom. However, His meaning was often so
couched in His superior knowledge of the ways of God, that they did not
appreciate His Truth.
Jesus
said, "For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is
concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear,
let him hear." (Mark 4:22-23). Not having spiritual ears to hear is the
whole crux of the problem of not understanding.
Jesus
listeners had not yet taken the time to develop their spiritual ears, so they
did not understand. Jesus often felt frustration over His disciples' lack of
compression, or their lack of belief in Him and His Words (Mark 9:19).
Over
the three years that Jesus spent with His disciples, their perception improved;
but it was not until He ascended back to Heaven, and sent His Holy Spirit to
them (Acts 2:2-4), that their understanding of spiritual truth actually dawned
on them.
Prayer:
Father
God, the disciples were so carnally minded, that they did not recognize the
truth in the stories that Jesus told to them and to the multitude of the crowds
who followed Him, or who gathered to listen to Him wherever He went. We often
have the same problem in understanding His Truth behind His words.
The
more intimate our union is with You, however, the easier it is to walk in Your
ways. Thank You for Your Holy Spirit who teaches us all things (John 14:26). We
could not survive in this world without His constant comfort, clear words of
instruction, and His divine inspiration and guidance. We want to spend every
day yoked with You in constant fellowship in order to learn from You (Matthew
11:29).
Thought
for the Day:
Jesus
only did what He saw our Father doing; and this can be our focus in life as
well; as we decrease, then He will increase when we walk in the Spirit rather
than fulfilling the desires of sin that formerly dominated our life.
-
Romans 5:15-25
