Gtcotr/ws021121
Mark 4 NKJV
1 ¶
And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was
gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea;
and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea.
2 Then He taught them many things by parables …
Jesus shared about the sower and the four types of soil; about the candle on the lampstand; the kingdom of God; and the tiny mustard seed which grows to become the greatest of all herbs …
33 And with many such
parables He spoke the word to them as they were able to hear it.
34 But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples.
Jesus often used parables to convey truth. The word parable means to stand beside … like two ships ready for battle.
Parables offer people a chance to stand beside themselves and examine their hearts, their minds, and their deeds in the light of an illustrated truth. Parables are aimed at individuals even when they are standing in a crowd. It was the hope of Jesus that people would stand outside of the moment, beside themselves and see the truth so that they might judge themselves and not have to be later judged. The parables of Jesus are intended to help people find their way out of darkness and deception.
However, many people are apprehensive and don’t naturally like to see themselves in a bad light. The apprehension of individuals to expose themselves to such reflection causes many to not enter the parable but rather to avoid any truth they suspect will not confirm their current position. When a person refuses or rejects or rails against the light, things only get darker for them.
Parables serve a two-fold purpose of God – redemption and judgement. Redemption for the repentant sinner and judgment on the hardened heart. Parables are an opportunity to see ourselves as God sees us, but adjustments or changes of heart and mind are up to the individual.
Some hearers are ready to take a risk and enter the story and allow it to do its strange work and sweeten their experience with God. Others hold the story at bay and protect themselves from the light.
A parable tries to win a place for strange or unwelcome truth to burrow in the mind. It also guards the life of a truth until the truth can be received. Truth is the fruit of an encounter with God. Fruit has no value to those who have decided to not eat. Matthew Henry put is like this: “A parable is a shell that keeps good fruit for the diligent and from the slothful.”
The truth of God’s Word, like a seed, finds any crack in which to take root and bring forth its fruit. The key to making the most from the word of God is to allow yourself to enter into the story. This is the course taken by the Gentile woman who came to Jesus and asked Him to deliver her daughter.
Matthew 15 NKJV
22 And
behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying,
“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely
demon-possessed.”
23 But
He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, “Send
her away, for she cries out after us.”
24 But
He answered and said, “I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of
Israel.”
25
Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, help me!”
26 But He answered and said,
“It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little
dogs.”
27 And she said, “Yes, Lord,
yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”
28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.
This woman did the best thing she could have done. She found her place in the Word of God and saw her path to redemption. The parable gave this Gentile woman a chance to enter into the kingdom of God and access the grace which is available to all.
Jesus was not saying this to the woman to be cruel. You see, something happens to a person when they hear the truth. Whether the individual is in a crowd or standing alone, the truth knocks on the door of a person’s heart. What they do with the truth will determine their salvation or their damnation.
This woman was not offended by the Truth. She understood the Truth and her daughter was healed that very hour.
There is power in the truth. Power to save and power to offend. Jesus said: Blessed is the man who is not offended in Me. (Matthew 11:6)
No one likes to be called a liar but if you are, you are … offense over or avoidance of that Truth won’t save you. Light has come and this is the condemnation: That men loved darkness more than light and would not come to the light that their deeds might be manifest. (John 3:19-21) Those who shun the light will remain in darkness.
Truth has a way of hardening the heart or setting it free.
Take for example those men in John 8 who brought the woman who was caught in the act of adultery and threw her down before Jesus in the Temple. Jesus spoke a parable to them: “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”
When Jesus spoke this truth, even though these men were in a crowd and all agreed to the task, they, each one individually, began to be convicted and found their way out of the darkness and into the light.
Each man stood there under conviction, the Word of Truth knocking on the door of their heart, deciding if they would risk opening their hearts and minds and allow themselves to enter into the parable and let the truth shine its light so they could see themselves as God saw them. This is a scary moment.
Sometimes we hear the truth from a spouse or from a co-worker or from even a stranger and it knocks on the door of our heart asking permission to enter. Only you can open the door of your heart in that moment.
If you do not open the door, you will grow a little more hardened to the truth. But thanks be to the grace of God, that the parables of truth will not change because you do not receive them. Nor will they leave you alone but will come back to haunt you in hopes of setting you free. If a person continues to refuse the light, the hardness will one day turn them reprobate, (Romans 1:28). Reprobates are people who have a mind void of conviction and without the ability to judge between right and wrong. People who have convinced themselves they are right when they are so evidently wrong. This condition of the heart and mind is a process and does not happen overnight.
Tell yourself you are right long enough, and you will believe it. The Bible says open rebuke is better than secret love. Faithful are the wounds of a friend. It is important others see the light and experience the love of God when given a chance to repent and get right with God. We have been given the duty to be a light shining in the darkness of this crooked and perverse generation. Deception grows all around us.
Paul withstood Peter when Peter backslid and segregated himself from Gentile Believers because Peter didn’t want to appear unholy before the pious Jews who had come to visit. Peter later appreciated Paul saying he was a hard man but right. This was not Peter’s first time to be rebuked by a friend.
What
shall we do in light of these things?
1.
Stand beside yourself.
2.
Open your mind to the Truth.
3. Be a light for others.
Proverbs 26:9 As a thorn going up into the hand of a drunkard, so is a parable in the mouth of fools.
