Matthew 13:12 For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
Jesus said that whoever has will receive more and whoever does not will loose even what he has. This seems like a pretty important teaching, so we would do well to understand what Jesus was saying. In the context of this passage Jesus has just finished telling a parable and His disciples have come to Him and they ask Him why He speaks in parables. He tells them that they have been given the secrets of the kingdom, but these mysteries have been withheld from the crowds. He then tells them that whoever has will be given more than enough, but whoever does not will even loose what they do have.
William MacDonald writes in The Believers Bible Commentary, "The disciples had faith in the Lord Jesus; therefore, they would be given the capacity for more. They had accepted the light; therefore, they would receive more light. The Jewish nation, on the other hand, had rejected the Light of the world; therefore they were not only prevented from receiving more light, they would lose what little light they had. Light rejected is light denied."
We can see this truth lived out by the Pharisees of Jesus day, and the nation of Israel as a whole. They were given the oracles of God (Romans 3:2), they were the God's chosen people, but when their Messiah came, they refused to believe and they rejected Him. As a result they were hardened and the gospel was taken to the gentiles (Romans 11:25).
Dr. J. Vernon McGee says that "this is His reason for speaking in parables. Those who don't want to hear will not under stand them." He goes on to say, " The Lord drew His parables from commonplace things, things that were at the fingertips of the people in that day. He gave them great spiritual truths illustrated by things they knew and could see.." But if they refused to "hear" they would not understand.
The ability to understand spiritual truth is a gift from God, don't ignore it. Apply what He teaches you and even more will be given to you. Jesus promises an abundance to those who do!
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Jesus said that whoever has will receive more and whoever does not will loose even what he has. This seems like a pretty important teaching, so we would do well to understand what Jesus was saying. In the context of this passage Jesus has just finished telling a parable and His disciples have come to Him and they ask Him why He speaks in parables. He tells them that they have been given the secrets of the kingdom, but these mysteries have been withheld from the crowds. He then tells them that whoever has will be given more than enough, but whoever does not will even loose what they do have.
William MacDonald writes in The Believers Bible Commentary, "The disciples had faith in the Lord Jesus; therefore, they would be given the capacity for more. They had accepted the light; therefore, they would receive more light. The Jewish nation, on the other hand, had rejected the Light of the world; therefore they were not only prevented from receiving more light, they would lose what little light they had. Light rejected is light denied."
We can see this truth lived out by the Pharisees of Jesus day, and the nation of Israel as a whole. They were given the oracles of God (Romans 3:2), they were the God's chosen people, but when their Messiah came, they refused to believe and they rejected Him. As a result they were hardened and the gospel was taken to the gentiles (Romans 11:25).
Dr. J. Vernon McGee says that "this is His reason for speaking in parables. Those who don't want to hear will not under stand them." He goes on to say, " The Lord drew His parables from commonplace things, things that were at the fingertips of the people in that day. He gave them great spiritual truths illustrated by things they knew and could see.." But if they refused to "hear" they would not understand.
The ability to understand spiritual truth is a gift from God, don't ignore it. Apply what He teaches you and even more will be given to you. Jesus promises an abundance to those who do!
2 comments:
i am not a Christian, but this particular line has been an inspiration. My Guru told me that what implies is that one should be grateful for what they have and if they keep saying they don have anythin they want this and that , then god will keep taking things away from them. The thing i refer to here is the mind, they will be robbed by their mind. and for those who are content, their mind will be stablised and gratitude and love will flow from their life...
It's the attitude of gratitude that is so important. Even on a bad day, finding one thing to be grateful for can reset your thinking. Thank you for the insight as to why Jesus spoke in parables. I've always wondered about that. In my youth, my mind was closed to his teachings and I never learned. As I have opened my mind, his teachings continue to unfold like a carpet of jewels.
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