Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus, “went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them. But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who has ears to hear, let him hear”, and in chapter thirteen and verse ten of his book, Matthew wrote how Jesus' disciples ask Him, “why do you speak to them in parables” where we read:
And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speak you unto them in parables?
The verse reads, “And the disciples came, and said unto him, ...” Matthew began with the words, “and the disciples” which means “and the students, pupils and attendants of Jesus” “came” or “approached and drew near to Jesus”, “and said” which means “and uttered, declared, proclaimed and asked” “unto him” or “to Jesus”. Matthew shared how the “disciples” of Jesus approached Him and asked Him the following question.
The verse continues, “... Why speak you unto them in parables?” Matthew added the word, “why” which means “for what reason and purpose” “speak you” or “do you talk, tell, and utter” “to them” which refers to “to the multitude of people” “in parables” or “with narratives which are fictitious but agreeable to the laws and usages of human life, by which either the duties of men or the things of God, particularly the nature and history of God's kingdom are figuratively portrayed and are earthly stories with heavenly meanings”. Matthew shared how Jesus' disciples wanted to know the reason Jesus “spoke” to the multitudes by using “earthly stories with heavenly meanings”.
When we meditate upon Matthew's words in this verse, we see the curiosity of Jesus' disciples. They did not know the reason Jesus taught the people in the manner He did, but they desired to know. God does not reveal everything to people, and that is His prerogative. These stories of Jesus were relative to the agrarian society in which He taught, and the people would easily understand the basic story Jesus told about the “seeds”, however, they would not know the “heavenly” meaning behind them. Students of Jesus should seek to discover all He has for them in His Kingdom, and as He reveals them in the next few verses, let all who read these words become not only followers of Jesus, but “disciples” of Him as well.
Next time Matthew shares how Jesus answered His disciples, “it is given unto you to know the mysteries”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
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