- Multitudes gathered to the sea shore to hear Jesus teach.
- Jesus tells the parable of the sower.
- He concludes with, "He who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
- The disciples ask, "Why speakest thou unto them in parables?"
- Jesus answers that He speaks in parables so that those who are ready can be taught and those who are not will hear and not understand and see and not perceive.
- He then explained the parable of the sower to the disciples.
Matthew 13 opens with many people gathering to learn from Jesus. Many of those who hear Him teach leave without really understanding what He as said. This is evidenced by the disciples who asked why Jesus taught in parables and what He meant.
This chapter of Matthew teaches an important pattern. When there are things that God would like to teach, but only to those who are ready to learn, He gives those things in some symbolic form. Jesus taught in parables. He used symbols like bread, water, seeds, trees and flowers. He taught on mountains, by the sea, in the synagogue, and in the temple where Israel was supposed to have been taught symbolically of their promised Messiah.
Like all symbolic teaching from the Lord, the parable is meant to be understood. Jesus invites those who have "ears to hear" to pay attention and learn from the parable. Parables, like all symbolic teaching, are not the plain and direct way to communicate. Rather, they are a way to teach so that when the time is right, those who have "ears to hear" will understand.
This chapter of Matthew teaches an important pattern. When there are things that God would like to teach, but only to those who are ready to learn, He gives those things in some symbolic form. Jesus taught in parables. He used symbols like bread, water, seeds, trees and flowers. He taught on mountains, by the sea, in the synagogue, and in the temple where Israel was supposed to have been taught symbolically of their promised Messiah.
Like all symbolic teaching from the Lord, the parable is meant to be understood. Jesus invites those who have "ears to hear" to pay attention and learn from the parable. Parables, like all symbolic teaching, are not the plain and direct way to communicate. Rather, they are a way to teach so that when the time is right, those who have "ears to hear" will understand.
Notice that the parable of the sower does have a specific meaning. It is not just an opportunity to free-associate and arrive at whatever meaning we want. Jesus was actually teaching something specific, as shown when He interpreted the parable for His disciples. I think that the story of Jesus teaching, and interpreting, the parable of the sower is an example of a broader pattern; that it is God who gives the interpretation of the parable. When there is symbolic teaching offered by God, it is God who will teach us the meaning.
We should consider the parable of the sower as we participate in ordinances that have significant symbolic meaning. For example, when we partake of the sacrament are we like those who heard the parable of the sower and then left wondering what Jesus really meant? Or, are we like the disciples who asked, in essence, "What does it mean?" Similarly, when we attend the temple, do we ask the Lord to teach us what the symbolic representations really mean? The Lord is speaking to us in a manner analogous to a parable when we worship in the temple. And, it is the Lord who is trying to communicate with us. Do we see and not perceive? Do we hear and not understand? Or, do we "hear the parable of the" temple symbols?
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