These two verses tell us two major things: wherever Jesus was, a large crowd gathered around Him; and, Jesus liked to tell them stories in the form of parables. My brother, my sister, do you get annoyed when a preacher tells stories? Do you sometimes have the feeling, that the story the preacher is telling is insignificant? You see, that’s the point of today’s meditation. The stories Jesus was telling the people were always comparing something or a situation that was familiar to the crowd to something or a situation that was unfamiliar… but the aim of these stories was to help people understand spiritual truth! Yes, through His parables, Jesus compels us to discover the truth, while at the same time concealing this same truth to those who are too lazy or stubborn to see it.
My friend, only those who are truly and honestly searching the truth will clearly see it in the Word. The difficulty comes when we approach the Word with our worldly or personal disposition of spirit. Therefore we must always be careful not to read too much into the parables or too much into the verses, forcing them to say what they don’t mean. Especially, in regards to the parables, each of them has a central meaning, unless otherwise specified by Jesus.
You know, as true as your faith in Christ is a miracle of God’s Holy Spirit working in you to accept, believe and hope, getting into the revelation of the Word is also a miracle of God’s Holy Spirit opening your eyes and your ears to see and hear what the Lord wants you to understand. Yes, when speaking in parables, Jesus was not trying to hide the truth from sincere believers, because those who were receptive to spiritual truth understood His illustrations. But for others, who were not ready or not receptive to spiritual truth, the parables were only stories without meaning. This brings us back to the title and to this question: are you honestly and truly searching the truth? Jesus IS the truth! So, if you still don”t understand what He says in His Word, may be it is because your walk in Him is not yet focused on Him. New year, new resolution: allow Jesus to become your main reason for being a believer! Stay blessed in Jesus’ name.