Though He comes to earth to die for the sins of the world, and He speaks to crowds numbered in the thousands, it is the twelve that are granted the time to understand the meaning of the message.
Read: Matthew 13
One of the most commonly occurring questions from readers of the New Testament is about why Jesus so frequently speaks in parables in the Gospels. Readers are astute to the fact that the parables bring an element of mystery to the overall message Jesus is attempting to preach, but some parables are more easily understood than others. Why then, does Jesus almost exclusively speak in parables for long periods of His ministry?
It seems that Jesus is really stretching the minds of His listeners. Parables are meant to stretch earthly thoughts toward heavenly truths. In each story, a spiritual truth which is unknown to the hearers is revealed by making a comparison to something that is known well. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus uses farming analogies, as these would be well understood by the people of the day. But the Kingdom of God is not easily understood, so Jesus must take time to ensure that the disciples are following along with what He says. Immediately after delivering the parable about the sower (Matthew 13:1-23), the disciples ask what it means. Jesus explains to them how to understand it, but also in that explanation, He shows them how to understand all of the rest of the parables. He tells them how to listen and what to look for as He proclaims the mysteries of the Kingdom.
Clarity was not Jesus’ goal in His use of parables. His intention was not to attract as many followers as possible with His eloquent rhetoric, charm, or clear storytelling. If that were His intention, His earthly teaching ministry would have been considered a failure.
If even Jesus’ most ardent followers cannot decipher the meanings of the parables without an explanation, what hopes do the common crowds have? Furthermore, Jesus only explains the meaning of the parables to those who are closest to Him. To the crowds, they are to “hear” if they have ears, but the disciples can go to the Lord after Jesus retreated from the crowds and ask Him to teach how to decipher it.
It becomes clear later that the discipling of the twelve is Jesus’ primary teaching mission. To them He is giving the full picture of who He is, what He has come to do, and what they must do in response. Though He comes to earth to die for the sins of the world, and He speaks to crowds numbered in the thousands, it is the twelve that are granted the time to understand the meaning of the message.
For listeners today, it is important to note a trait in the disciples worth modeling ourselves: when the disciples fail to understand something Jesus has taught, they aren't afraid to ask questions. Even after Jesus revealed the meaning of the parable of the sower, the disciples still have a difficult time seeing and hearing what Jesus expects them to grasp from His other parables, particularly the parable of the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30). And so they ask for another explanation: “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field” (Matthew 13:36). Jesus, ever patient with them, explains this parable as well.
Compare how Jesus answers His disciples questions to the questions asked by the Pharisees. Jesus knows the thoughts and intents of the Pharisees’ hearts, so He recognizes that the questions they ask are not genuine. He does not take the time to explain the complex inner workings of His message to those who have no interest in hearing Him anyway. He does not over-invest in those who are seeking to criticize or attempting to embarrass Him. Instead, He chooses to invest His time in those with whom He will be with “even to the end of the age” and beyond; into eternity itself.
True disciples do not merely accept the message without understanding. To know the mysteries of the kingdom requires more than passive assent. Disciples strive to know the depths of the knowledge Christ has revealed. They strive to discern the meaning of the mysteries and their own place within His kingdom. And they seek, expecting that in the end, they will find (Matthew 7:7).