Can You See It?

Recently I had an operation for a cataract in my eye. It was a simple procedure and very speedy, but the difference it made in my vision was staggering. By the next day I could see so much more clearly. There were amazing contrasts, and all the colours were brighter. I just hadn’t realised how very dull my eyes had become, and how little I was seeing. It made me think of Jesus saying, ‘seeing you will see and not perceive.’ I had been seeing but hadn’t really perceived the truth of what was before me.

Jesus’ comment, in our scripture today, was part of a longer answer to an important question from His disciples. ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ This part of Jesus’ reply doesn’t immediately seem very helpful, does it? But Jesus has started explaining in the verses just before these. He tells them, ‘It has been given to you to know the mysteries, the hidden truths, of the Kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given’ (Matthew 13:11). He is explaining to them that their spiritual senses have been awakened by the Holy Spirit, so it is possible to receive spiritual truth. They can ‘see and hear’ spiritually and so comprehend the deeper meaning in the story. Jesus goes on to explain ‘For whoever has to him more will be given and he will have abundance but whoever does not have even what he has, will be taken away’ (Matthew 13:12).

A parable is a story intended to appeal to the listeners but contains a deeper spiritual truth; a truth that you can only receive if your heart is open to it. My recent experience with my physical eyes has reminded me how easy it is to fail to realise that you aren’t getting the full picture. The same is true for spiritual seeing. In fact, Jesus says it clearly, some people will hear the story but fail to get the real message even though they think they have understood it. They may have only received it on a superficial level. He further warns that such people may become increasingly closed to spiritual truths. They may lose what little understanding they had.

So, if there are people who don't understand them, then why tell parables? My experience is that people who are rigidly fixed in their opinion that God’s truth is not relevant to them, can react badly to being challenged in a straightforward way. In fact, should you confront them directly, they often become angry and subsequently even more entrenched in their own opinion and unbelief. Clearly this head on approach can be counterproductive if we desire to reach their hearts with the life-giving truth. Jesus understands people so well that He used parables to tell deep significant truths so that those whose hearts were open received the life-changing understanding, but those whose hearts were, at that time, closed, were not made more hard-hearted and stubborn. How clever is that?