He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” Matthew 13:11-13 NLT
Read Matthew 13:1-23.
Jesus often spoke in riddles, or at least that is how it seemed to the average curious bystander. What in the world do these stories mean?
In reality, Jesus taught using parables knowing that most people would not be able to understand. Was He trying to rub it in that they were clueless to the principles of the Kingdom? Was He being mean or rude? Of course not, but Jesus knew their hearts. He knew who was truly listening and who had a heart to understand the secrets of the Kingdom.
Many of the bystanders did not care to listen, and their spiritual eyes were covered with blinders. That is why Jesus said, “Jesus answered them, ‘To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.’” Matthew 13:11-12 NASB
I used to think that was so harsh! How could Jesus take away from those who don’t have and give more to those who already have plenty? Even Robin Hood understood an opposite principle of taking from the rich to give to the poor. Is this fair? It will help to understand this in context.
Jesus was talking about how much understanding one has of spiritual concepts, not material abundance. Some were not permitted to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven because their hearts were not in the right place. And, whatever understanding they thought they had was so twisted that even that will be taken away from them. Jesus explained their plight more clearly in verse 15:
“For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.” Matthew 13:15 NLT
You see, they did not have a problem of being intentionally left out of the loop, but they had a heart problem. They refused to listen for understanding because they had hard hearts. They were unable to process what Jesus was saying, so He spoke in parables so that only those who would truly listen with their hearts would be able to understand. That is why those who had an abundance would be given more. That is what Jesus meant!
Let’s take a quick look at the first parable Jesus taught.
This is the famous parable about the farmer sowing seeds. This speaks to me because as a minister of the Gospel, I realize that not everyone receives the message in the same way. Not everyone who scrambles to the altar to be saved is going to have the same experience. As I look at all the people who accepted the invitation to come, I understand that each will fall into one of the categories Jesus described.
There will be some who listen to the Word but don’t understand it. They get frustrated and just give up. Satan is right there to plant doubts and stir their frustration so that they will not be primed to receive the Gospel.
The next group receives the Word with joy and enthusiasm. They may seem so on fire for the Lord! However, the don’t grow deep roots, and they never seem to grow up. When persecution, or difficulties of life come, they quickly fall away.
The third group represents those who receive the Word, but they are so tangled in the cares of this world that they never bear any fruit. They never really make a separation from this world, and they are often too focused on worldly ambition or striving for wealth to be of any effect to the Kingdom of God.
However, this final group is the group that makes it all worthwhile! Their hearts and primed and ready to receive the Gospel, and they make a whole-hearted commitment to Christ as the Lord of their life. This group will bear much fruit and become world changers for the cause of Christ! What an awesome harvest that awaits this group!
How about you? How is the soil of your heart?
