John 16:25-33
Jesus Talked to His Disciples Figuratively
25 “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. 26 In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 27 No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.28 I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
29 Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. 30 Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.”
31 “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. 32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.
33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Matthew 13:1-43
Parable of the Sower
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”
31 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”
33 He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough.”
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”
36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.
It is often possible for us to look at something and still not see it...And it is possible for us to hear something and still not hear it...Our minds are often preoccupied with other things on them, and we fail to see, hear, or remember things that we have seen and heard...Also when we do not believe things or do not believe in something, we may fail to see or hear that something, because we do not believe in or want to believe in what we see or hear...
I used to think for a teacher to be a good teacher, his or her students must understand them...And the more that a student understood their teacher about the subject the better the teacher was...A teacher who is always teaching their students about things that they do could not understand and comprehend, maybe was not a good teacher (or so I thought)...What happens when the Teacher knows all things and is trying to explain a complicated subject to one's whose knowledge who is limited like this author's?...
What Jesus taught about life on earth and what we believe in and live for here -He turned upside down...And Jesus is unlike any other Teacher...He teaches the eternities...The eternities are a difficult subject, to say the least, and one man knows very little about...And it was like Jesus was teaching very young children these stories and parables about God and heaven...Not only did many non-believers not understand Him, His twelve chosen students often (I suspect) were asking among themselves, if one or two of the Disciples understood what He was talking about...Yet, Jesus while seemingly while criticizing the non-believer, He very much stands up for His Disciples on the understanding issue...And while the Good Teacher is One who can explain things in great detail so the student understands, the good student or good disciple must ask when he does not understand something and ask for an explanation...Nowadays I believe, that when one has great faith in their Teacher and loves Him, that that factors so much into what a student is learning...Something in the way Jesus handled Himself, and the way He humbly went around and doing His deeds and actions, and did miracles, and all the other things He did -make Him the Greatest of Teachers...And the very way He taught and when we listen or read about Him creates a Divine Mystery and a Sacred Holiness that still surrounds Him today...That very much overwhelms how much we understood and understand what He taught and teaches about God and heaven and the eternities...So now I view the understanding portion part of the Teacher a little differently, than I used to...
For me, Jesus is at many times is hard to understand...He speaks so differently, and He knows so much about God and heaven, and I know so little...Jesus frankly (I believe) just spoke differently...Jesus used the term that He spoke "this kind of language.", which to me means He was telling everyone that He was speaking differently...So He said He used "this kind of language" maybe to let us know that He was speaking of stories of seeds and weeds -so we might interpret the best we can of what He said...No doubt His stories are to be studied...His stories often have more than one meaning...He was always speaking in parables and proverbs, and telling these stories of seeds and weeds -so we could learn about God and the Kingdom of God...The Disciples ask Him, maybe because they always did not understand Him why He spoke in parables...He said this is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand...In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving...For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes...Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’...But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear...For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it...Jesus spoke this way for a reason and I think He defended His Disciples for seeing and hearing, because they believed in Him...Those who did not believe in Him could not see or hear Him, but the Disciples who did believe in Him could see and hear Him...But this is not made perfectly clear in the gospels...But I believe this statement is less about understanding Him and more about faith in Him, and trusting to believe in things that we do not understand...
Jesus defended His Disciples and said blessed are their eyes and their ears for they see and they hear...And as they listened intently to Him explain the parable of the sower, I wonder if they understood His final explanation...As He continued to speak they frankly ask Him to explain to them the parable of the weeds...And as in the parable of the sower, Jesus goes into detail to explain the parable of the weeds...I personally think, that the love for a teacher and their love for their Teacher is one of the most important things, as well as the trust and faith one has in their Teacher as critical in learning...Jesus questioned the reality of how we live our lives...The Disciples listened and believed, others did not listen, nor did they believe...Students who are willing to seek the Truth, follow that Truth, and find that Truth to the end, have been taught by a Great Teacher...