Stories that Revealed Great Secrets

-


Scripture:

Matt. 13:35 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet:
    “I will open my mouth to speak in parables;
        I will proclaim what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”

Observation:

Jesus had just completed an entire series of parables which helped the disciples understand that the spreading of the kingdom would be slow but methodical.  There would be seeds that would be scattered.  Some would take root.  There would be a field planted, but the enemy would come and sow weeds.  There would be a little yeast, but eventually it would be mixed throughout the entire dough.  And now, finally, our author decides to let us in on a little secret.  Jesus is talking this way on purpose.  He is using the parables or stories as a way to fulfill prophecy and to reveal great secrets.  It was Asaph the Psalmist who said:

Psa. 78:2     I will open my mouth in a parable;
        I will utter dark sayings from of old,

But there was a purpose in uttering the dark sayings, or in proclaiming the things that had been hidden.  Back in Deuteronomy we read, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to observe all the words of this law. " (Deut. 29:29)  Jesus was now standing among the people, declaring in stories the great secrets of God and inviting all those who would listen into an eternal relationship with the LORD.

Application:

Do we ever become frustrated because we just don't think that God is speaking to us clearly enough?  We wish he would just spell it all out there for us?  The reality is that he is trying to speak to us in ways that we can understand.  How arrogant might we be to think that we could understand all the mysteries of God the way that God understands them.  We are told in the word that his thoughts are higher than our thoughts.  There is no way in our limited human understanding that we could grasp all the intricacies of God's understanding.  Therefore God has chosen to speak to us in a way that reveals himself to us. 

There are those who would write-off Christianity as being simplistic and only for those who are uneducated.  Sounds like the scribes and Pharisees again, doesn't it?  They didn't want to stop and think about what was being revealed about the mysteries of God in the simple stories of Jesus.  Jesus was revealing to those who would listen the secrets which had been hidden from the foundation of the world.  Those very same truths are available to us today if we will simply take the time to listen to what he is really saying.  His stories reveal to us the great secrets of the LORD which empower his children to live according to his law which is now written on our hearts.   By the stories, by his revelation, Jesus is inviting us into a deeply intimate relationship with God, the Holy Trinity, in which the mysteries of God himself will be revealed to us. 

Our responsibility is to move from the periphery -- where the religious leaders were standing -- and move into a place of intimacy with the LORD and allow the stories to penetrate into our hearts, revealing the great secrets of God.  He loves and trusts us enough that he is willing to share his parables with you and with me. 

Prayer:
Lord, thank you for your love, the stories, and the secrets.  Amen.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Take Off Your Ornaments

-
Scripture: Ex. 33:4 ¶ When the people heard these harsh words, they mourned, and no one put on ornaments. Ex. 33:5 For the LORD had said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people; if for a single moment I should go up among you, I would consume you. So now take off your ornaments, and I will decide what to do to you.’” Ex. 33:6 Therefore the Israelites stripped themselves of their ornaments, from Mount Horeb onward. Observation: The people had sinned before God by making and worshiping the golden calf!  They had taken their golden jewelry — the earrings and other items they had gotten from the Egyptians and used them to create an idol.  Now, in an act of humility and repentance they were to take off all of their jewelry and ornaments.  It was a time of mourning over their sin and it included intentional action on the part of the Israelites.  Application: We don’t do all that well with humility and repentance!  It seems that we live in a ti...
Read more

Does God Value Boys More than Girls?

-
Scripture: Lev. 12:1 ¶ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying: Lev. 12:2 Speak to the people of Israel, saying: ¶ If a woman conceives and bears a male child, she shall be ceremonially unclean seven days; as at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. Lev. 12:3 On the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised. Lev. 12:4 Her time of blood purification shall be thirty-three days; she shall not touch any holy thing, or come into the sanctuary, until the days of her purification are completed. Lev. 12:5 If she bears a female child, she shall be unclean two weeks, as in her menstruation; her time of blood purification shall be sixty-six days. Lev. 12:6 ¶ When the days of her purification are completed, whether for a son or for a daughter, she shall bring to the priest at the entrance of the tent of meeting a lamb in its first year for a burnt offering, and a pigeon or a turtledove for a sin offering. Lev. 12:7 He shall offer it before the LORD, and make atonement on her ...
Read more

On Grief and A Flute Player

-
Scripture: Matt. 9:23 When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, Matt. 9:24 he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. Matt. 9:25 But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. Matt. 9:26 And the report of this spread throughout that district. Observation: This is a simple story which we have heard or read numerous times. Jesus heals the little girl and the people rejoice. But at the moment in which he arrives at the home he encounters the professional mourners. These are the flute players, the ones who have come to make a great noise about the child’s death. It is the flute player that testifies to the fact that she is truly dead. Also, flutes were generally employed when it came to the death of a child. The whole community would therefore understand that it is a child who has died in this home. The flute player is doing the job they have ...
Read more