But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you believe my words?”
From Abraham to Christ, Genuine
faith is Key
that waters the love that brings redemption
(gifted through Grace, no less)
and the
Central Achievement of Scripture
Jesus' disciples,
including at least the Twelve
(Matthew 10:1–4)
And perhaps Others, have Come to Him
about the Parables
He is teaching the crowds. It is likely
this conversation
takes place after Jesus has finished teaching
the crowds
while sitting in the boat on The Sea of Galilee
(Matthew 13:1–2).
The disciples have asked Jesus
why He is speaking to the people in parables.
When Jesus uses them, parables often
take the form of small stories.
These are meant to symbolize larger
truths
about the kingdom of heaven.
Jesus' answer shows how differently
He sees the motives of the
large crowds
that come to hear Him,
as compared to His own disciples.
Jesus tells the disciples that it has
been given to them to know the secrets of the
kingdom of heaven.
It has not been given to those in the crowds,
the general population of Israel, at large. Jesus
wants His disciples to know that
a) He expects them to understand the parables
and the
secrets of the kingdom of heaven,
b) their understanding of those things is
a gift to them,
not a result
of their own effort or wisdom; and
c) that others in Israel have not been given the same gift.
What are the secrets
of the kingdom of heaven?
Jesus' parables were intended to reveal
how the kingdom of heaven worked
and what it was like.
The following verses will describe
more specifically what
these secrets are
that are given to some and kept from others.
Jesus is preaching to a huge crowd of Israelites.
He is teaching them in parables: small stories used
to illustrate truths
about the kingdom of heaven
(Matthew 13:1–3).
The disciples come to Him and ask why
He teaches the people this way
(Matthew 13:10).
Likely, they are asking why
He is not more straightforward
about what He means, as He was during
the Sermon on the Mount
(Matthew 5—7).
Jesus has told them that the secrets
of the kingdom of heaven
have been given to them and not to the people
(Matthew 13:11).
Now He adds that more will be given
to the one who has,
but from the person who does not have,
even more will be taken away.
In this context,
what is given and taken is knowledge
about the kingdom of heaven.
By extension, this also implies the
ability to participate in the kingdom.
In the arrangement of Matthew's gospel,
this follows Christ's statements in the previous chapter
about the coming judgment for
"this generation" of Israelites.
This was due to their lack of repentance
and rejection of Him as the Messiah.
The disciples'
commitment to Jesus as the Messiah
results in them being given more and
more understanding
about the
coming kingdom of heaven.
Israel's rejection of the Messiah,
as a nation, has resulted—and will result—in
being given less and less understanding.
Much as with God's approach to Pharaoh
in the Exodus
(Exodus 4:21; 8:32; 14:4),
those who resist God will have their
hard-headedness amplified,
as a judgment of their disbelief.
In this passage, Jesus states clearly
that He is teaching in parables both to put
the truth in front of the people and to keep
them from fully understanding it.
He says that though seeing they
don't really see
and that though hearing they
do not really hear.
In short, they don't understand
the secrets of the kingdom of heaven
even though He is presenting them
in the form of these
small stories and descriptions.
This is both because of their own resistance,
and God's intervention.
Taken out of context, this might seem cruel,
as if God
is deliberately withholding information
from those who are sincerely seeking it.
However, in the previous chapter Jesus condemned
the Pharisees and "this generation"
of Israelites for their unbelief.
Most people express a shallow, superficial interest,
not a truly repentant, submissive faith
(Matthew 7:13–14).
During the Exodus, God responded to
Pharaoh's stubbornness
(Exodus 8:32)
by making him even more stubborn,
as a form of judgment
(Exodus 14:4).
Jesus is presenting a picture of
understanding the truth
being both rejected
by the people of Israel and
kept from them.
Israel, through her religious leaders and
the nation as a whole,
has rejected Jesus as the Messiah.
At least part of this is because He did not fit their
conception of what Messiah should do in the
kingdom He should establish. Rather than submit
to what they see and hear, they resist.
So, Jesus says He will keep
the religious leaders and the people
from understanding.
This, also, fulfills prophecy,
as explained in the following verses
(Matthew 13:14–15).
But if you do not believe his writings,
how will you
believe my words?”
There are times when critics of the Bible will
make an appeal to proof,
especially in the form of a miracle.
"If God would only 'prove' Himself,
I would believe,"
these skeptics say.
Typically, this means by some personal,
custom miracle.
In this verse, Jesus finishes a complete demolition of this claim.
The Bible never calls on us to express blind faith--
in this passage
Christ has given three lines
of evidence supporting His ministry.
The problem is not in the evidence we have,
but in whether or not we are
willing to accept conclusions we don't like.
In the case of the local Jewish religious leaders, they
simply refused to believe in Christ
(John 5:39–40).
Evidence is meaningless
to those who
willfully resist the truth.
According to the Bible, every single person
is given enough evidence
that they have no excuse for not seeking God
(Romans 1:18–22).
Those who won't seek God in an honest,
open way aren't going to
believe the truth, regardless of what
they may say.
This verse expresses the same point
as the story of the rich man and Lazarus from
Luke 16:19–31.
There, Jesus made the point that
those who reject the
written Word of God aren't going to accept anything.
Even when shown a miracle,
even when seeing a resurrection,
they will find some excuse to
turn it away.
This is human nature.
Israel witnessed God's miracles
first-hand, but still disobeyed
(Numbers 14:20–23; Nehemiah 9:16–17; Psalm 78:11–12).
Thomas doubted despite his own experiences
and the testimony of his friends
(John 20:24–29).
Judas was a personal friend
of Jesus, but rejected Him
(Matthew 26:24–25).
Simply knowing is not the
same as trusting,
and knowledge is not the
same as faith
(James 2:19).
Those who reject
the Son of God, ultimately, will have
no excuse for their disbelief.
They do not believe because they will not believe.
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