Monday, August 28, 2006
The Granting
Matt. 13:10-13. And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables? 11. And He answered and said to them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12. "For whoever has, to him shall more be given, and he shall have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13. "Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Mark 4:10-11. And as soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11. And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but those who are outside get everything in parable
Luke 8:9-10. And His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable might be. 10. And He said, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, in order that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
By divine inspiration, our gospel writers have broken chronological sequence to share the reasoning as to why Jesus has begun His parabolic teaching method. Jesus is speaking to the crowd from a boat throughout this discourse. Mark tells us: as soon as He was alone His twelve began asking Him about the parables. This would have taken place after the multitude had scattered and Jesus would have had opportunity to commune with His closest in an intimate environment.
With these verses we find two peoples; separate and distinct. There are those who it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom and there are those who are outside of this knowledge. Those who are outside this granted revelation get everything in parables. This is to say that Jesus’ parables make no impact upon this latter group.
It is quite clear, and will become even more so, that religious Israel had no use for the sovereignty that this “carpenter’s son” had to offer them. By rejecting Jesus, the perverted religious nation rejected the very God whom they professed to represent. The Jews envisioned a messiah king who would set up a nation to rule all other nations in which they would be highly favored. They did not understand that the kingdom would be one devoid of sin and one of eternal peace. Jesus did not fit the mold that the scribes and Pharisees had designed for God to deliver their king from.
Jesus is now teaching in parables about this mystery kingdom of God (heaven) that only certain ears could grasp. This was not an unfamiliar concept in the Gnostic realms of philosophy. The Gnostics believed that anything that had physical matter was evil and only that of the spiritual realm was good. Only the certain ones with special knowledge – gnosis – could understand spiritual things and therefore the Gnostics deemed themselves privileged and on a higher intellectual plane than others. Jesus is taking the opposite position in that He was not teaching philosophy (the wisdom of man) but that God; the Father would open the ears of His chosen to understand the mysteries of the kingdom. In the same context we view Acts 11:18 And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life." Repentance is the visible fruit of regeneration which is only born by the granting.
When we zoom out we witness the whole of Creation under God’s sovereign reign Ps. 103:19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens; And His sovereignty rules over all. This would include Satan and his demons, who are allowed certain freedoms for the present, but limited time. Rev. 20:1-4 And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3. and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. 4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Until Christ comes back, in the flesh, to set up His physical kingdom on this earth, He reigns on earth through His church as it is witnessed by His true subjects bowing to His Lordship. We view this in what we commonly call the Lord’s Prayer: Matt. 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. God’s reign now on this earth is over a spiritual kingdom which began with Christ’s rejection and subsequent crucifixion. This is known as the church age. The church – ekklesia – the called out ones, are the testimony to their King as they do His will on this earth. This present kingdom, in its truest form exists spiritually by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit of His subjects while the King is yet absent in the physical sense.
Mark 4:10-11. And as soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11. And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but those who are outside get everything in parable
Luke 8:9-10. And His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable might be. 10. And He said, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, in order that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
By divine inspiration, our gospel writers have broken chronological sequence to share the reasoning as to why Jesus has begun His parabolic teaching method. Jesus is speaking to the crowd from a boat throughout this discourse. Mark tells us: as soon as He was alone His twelve began asking Him about the parables. This would have taken place after the multitude had scattered and Jesus would have had opportunity to commune with His closest in an intimate environment.
With these verses we find two peoples; separate and distinct. There are those who it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom and there are those who are outside of this knowledge. Those who are outside this granted revelation get everything in parables. This is to say that Jesus’ parables make no impact upon this latter group.
It is quite clear, and will become even more so, that religious Israel had no use for the sovereignty that this “carpenter’s son” had to offer them. By rejecting Jesus, the perverted religious nation rejected the very God whom they professed to represent. The Jews envisioned a messiah king who would set up a nation to rule all other nations in which they would be highly favored. They did not understand that the kingdom would be one devoid of sin and one of eternal peace. Jesus did not fit the mold that the scribes and Pharisees had designed for God to deliver their king from.
Jesus is now teaching in parables about this mystery kingdom of God (heaven) that only certain ears could grasp. This was not an unfamiliar concept in the Gnostic realms of philosophy. The Gnostics believed that anything that had physical matter was evil and only that of the spiritual realm was good. Only the certain ones with special knowledge – gnosis – could understand spiritual things and therefore the Gnostics deemed themselves privileged and on a higher intellectual plane than others. Jesus is taking the opposite position in that He was not teaching philosophy (the wisdom of man) but that God; the Father would open the ears of His chosen to understand the mysteries of the kingdom. In the same context we view Acts 11:18 And when they heard this, they quieted down, and glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life." Repentance is the visible fruit of regeneration which is only born by the granting.
When we zoom out we witness the whole of Creation under God’s sovereign reign Ps. 103:19 The Lord has established His throne in the heavens; And His sovereignty rules over all. This would include Satan and his demons, who are allowed certain freedoms for the present, but limited time. Rev. 20:1-4 And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3. and threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. 4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Until Christ comes back, in the flesh, to set up His physical kingdom on this earth, He reigns on earth through His church as it is witnessed by His true subjects bowing to His Lordship. We view this in what we commonly call the Lord’s Prayer: Matt. 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. God’s reign now on this earth is over a spiritual kingdom which began with Christ’s rejection and subsequent crucifixion. This is known as the church age. The church – ekklesia – the called out ones, are the testimony to their King as they do His will on this earth. This present kingdom, in its truest form exists spiritually by the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit of His subjects while the King is yet absent in the physical sense.
