…Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.
Matthew 13:8 ESV
The Purpose of Parables
Jesus’ use of parables was a distinctive component of His ministry. These teachings were either brief comparisons or longer narratives used to demonstrate a deeper theological truth. Parables contained a depth of teaching that only those who had a right relationship with God could comprehend. The ungodly could easily miss the deeper meaning because of their estrangement with Him. In Matthew 13:11, the disciples ask Jesus why He uses parables. Jesus answered them saying, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given” (ESV). Several verses later Jesus says “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matt. 13:13). How do we make sense of this? R.C. Sproul writes “The ability to understand God’s message, let alone respond to it, is the gift of God, distributed according to His sovereign choice” (1453). Just like the sower in Chapter 13 of Matthew, Jesus’ ministry and first coming was a time of spreading the good news of salvation to which, like exposed seed, met both resistant and receptive audiences. And this was the sovereign will of God. His Gospel is always distributed according to His sovereign choice. In fact, for those that have a right relationship with God, the parables bring clarity. For those that do not know Him, the parables increase their confusion. Sproul continues to write “To those who have a relationship with Jesus, parables deepen understanding and foster that relationship, but to those who do not, parables increase their confusion and ignorance. Thus the function of parables is both to enlighten and to conceal” (1454). This passage of Scripture can appear contradictory, when it’s understood that one purpose of parables is to conceal the truth. The “secret of the kingdom of heaven” (13:11b) is unknowable apart from God opening the hearts of man to receive it. Ben Dunson explains, “Jesus does not say that no one can ever understand the parables or that He intends to hide their truth from all people. Instead, Jesus explains that in order to highlight God’s sovereign grace, God in His mercy has enlightened some, to whom “it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven” (v. 11, emphasis added), so that they might understand the truths of God’s kingdom” (The Purpose of the Parables).
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ and the truth of the Gospel has been planted deep within the soil of your heart, understand that God’s mercy has been extended to you. Like many in the crowd to whom Jesus spoke to, you once ignorantly rejected God. But because of His sovereign will He opened the eyes of your heart to see the Truth. Continue to open your ears to what God wants to show you in His Word. Never allow the soil of your heart to become rocky ground but to remain soft soil ready for growth.
Resources:
Jacob Robertson 
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