PARABLES
Mark 4
9Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12so that,
" 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'[a]"
God is violently opposed to the simplicity and packaging of religion, as the Pharisees did to their faith, ritualising and codifying into a series of steps and actions. In the New Testament, Jesus presents a hostility and animousity to the Pharisees who had done just that, simplified and tainted the concept of faith and truth into Religion. In the Old Testament, God, through the whirlwind, also "condemns" Job's friends led by Epliphaz, who attempted to simplify their faith.
The parables were used a means of filtering those who were insightful and committed enough to probe the unclear for the clarity of the truth. After all, in a Gospel meeting, many will hear the blessed message preached, and many will leave feeling good, but how many will have encountered the living Christ? In the passge of Mark 4 where Jesus quotes Isaiah 6, we see this clearly.
The passage sets up a clear line between inclusion and exclusion, referring to those who are "outside" as opposed to "you", who we assume, are the direct addressees of Christ. How comforting it is to know that as we read these words of truth, we too, as His disciples, are those on the Inside if we "perceive" past the words that we "see" on the page! 1 John 5:13 "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."
The passage also sets up the idea that "someone might turn and be forgiven" which some may interpret as God's desire to deliberately exclude some from being saved. the Bible reads that He desires that "none may perish". However, He does desire that those who desire to follow Him draw near and make their choice clear.As such, the parables become a method of filtering and separating the willing from the unwilling, who will see but not perceive, hear and not understand. For if they do, they might be saved- the closing lines of the passage seem harsh and unkind. However, an alternate reading suggests that they have that chance and opportunity if only they pay close attention to the message of the gospel.
will your eyes merely see or will they perceive? will your ears merely hear or will they understand?
9Then Jesus said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."
10When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12so that,
" 'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'[a]"
God is violently opposed to the simplicity and packaging of religion, as the Pharisees did to their faith, ritualising and codifying into a series of steps and actions. In the New Testament, Jesus presents a hostility and animousity to the Pharisees who had done just that, simplified and tainted the concept of faith and truth into Religion. In the Old Testament, God, through the whirlwind, also "condemns" Job's friends led by Epliphaz, who attempted to simplify their faith.
The parables were used a means of filtering those who were insightful and committed enough to probe the unclear for the clarity of the truth. After all, in a Gospel meeting, many will hear the blessed message preached, and many will leave feeling good, but how many will have encountered the living Christ? In the passge of Mark 4 where Jesus quotes Isaiah 6, we see this clearly.
The passage sets up a clear line between inclusion and exclusion, referring to those who are "outside" as opposed to "you", who we assume, are the direct addressees of Christ. How comforting it is to know that as we read these words of truth, we too, as His disciples, are those on the Inside if we "perceive" past the words that we "see" on the page! 1 John 5:13 "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life."
The passage also sets up the idea that "someone might turn and be forgiven" which some may interpret as God's desire to deliberately exclude some from being saved. the Bible reads that He desires that "none may perish". However, He does desire that those who desire to follow Him draw near and make their choice clear.As such, the parables become a method of filtering and separating the willing from the unwilling, who will see but not perceive, hear and not understand. For if they do, they might be saved- the closing lines of the passage seem harsh and unkind. However, an alternate reading suggests that they have that chance and opportunity if only they pay close attention to the message of the gospel.
will your eyes merely see or will they perceive? will your ears merely hear or will they understand?
posted by leb at 9:18 PM
1 Comments:
i had another thought.
in isaiah, the voice of God says go and make the eyes of these ppl heavy, make them tired, etc etc. which at first reading suggests that god doesn't want them tto be saved. an alternative reading suggests however, that god is simply predicting, almost in a bitter and mournful tone, that the ppl who hear the message will simply, NOT BE INTERESTED. it is a prediction of the prophet's inefficacy instead of an instruction. and how true! look our generation of pulpit warmers who sleep in sermons and doze through the examinations of God's truth by his messengers. the hardness of man's heart remains as iron clad as it does today as it did in the prophet Isaiah's time.
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