Jesus interacted with people who merely had knowledge of God. They had grown up hearing their elders recount the history of the nation of Israel. They had been taught the law and prophecies. Yet they did not have a heart that longed to hear, to see, and to obey.
Jesus spoke of situations that were common to the time. But His message was not always accepted by His listeners. They heard only the words they wanted to hear and saw only the evidence they wanted to see. Just like Isaiah had prophesied many years before:
You will indeed hear but never understand and you will indeed see but never perceive. For the people’s heart has grown dull and with their ears they can barely hear and their eyes they have closed lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.
Scripture was written for a particular time period and a specific purpose. Yet it is the living word of God. Because the Holy Spirit inspires us, it speaks to us today with the same clarity and meaning as in the time it was first written. The foundational truths of God’s words never change. However, depending on our individual moments in time, we may each be impacted differently.
Nothing exemplifies this more accurately than the parables of Jesus. For this series, Perspectives on the Parables, we will be using a different format. Four writers will respond to the various parables. Hopefully, this will awaken our minds to engage with Scripture in a new way. We will begin next week with “The Trilogy of the Lost.” We pray that each devotion will bring us closer to an understanding of God’s will.
Let the one who has ears hear.