SECRETS OF THE KINGDOM AND PARABLES
~ Robin Jacob ~
Jesus spoke in parables so that his disciples alone could understand their meaning. Some
people claim that Jesus did this because God chose only some people for His kingdom and
not everyone. But is that true? How can God be partial? Let's look at the verse in
Luke 8:9-10. When the disciples asked Jesus what the parable meant, He replied, "The
knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others, I
speak in parables so that, 'Though seeing, they may not see; Though hearing, they may
not understand.'
This verse talks about the secret of the Kingdom, not the Kingdom
itself. There is a big difference, but some are chosen to know the secrets so that God
can use them to share the good news with the rest of the world, and it's no longer a
secret. This is why Jesus says, "For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed,
and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open" (Luke 8:17).
For example, it's like a pilot who knows how to navigate a flight, but the purpose is to
take the passengers on the flight. Similarly, people elect one person as Prime Minister,
but the purpose is to represent the rest of the people in the country. This is why God
says, "Many are called, but few are chosen" (Matthew 22:14), which means only a few are
chosen to represent Him to the rest of the world so that everyone can be saved.
The harvest is plenty, and the workers are few (Matthew 9:37). We need to focus not only
on the word "few" but also on the word "plenty." We should pray for more people with
understanding and clarity, so they can spread the good news and make more workers for
the harvest. We should be aware that there are a lot of people waiting to be saved, and
God says they are the harvest. So it's not only a few but plenty. God uses the words
"plenty" and "many" because He wants us to believe that the "many" or "plenty" will be
everyone. Our job is to believe that everyone will be saved out of compassion towards
others, just like Christ had compassion towards us (Matthew 9:36).
Jesus spoke in parables purposely so that His disciples alone could understand and not
others, but why? The answer is within the verse: they are chosen. Yes, they are chosen
for the job of spreading the Good News to the rest of mankind. Because when Jesus'
disciples went out, they never used parables. In fact, Jesus says what you heard in
secret should be shouted out to the public from the rooftops (Matthew 10:27, Luke 12:3).
Jesus wanted the disciples to carry the Good News, and He most certainly chose them to
carry the Good News after He was gone. If everyone understood what Jesus was telling
them at that time, it would void the purpose of discipleship. These disciples were known
for traveling with Jesus, so whoever listened to the news from them certainly knew that
it was from Jesus the Messiah. The purpose of choosing the disciples is that through
them, He can choose the rest of the world. They were called to be fishers of men.
Jesus clarifies this in the following verse,
Luke 8:16-18
16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead,
they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. 17 For there is
nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known
or brought out into the open. 18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever
has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be
taken from them.”
Jesus knows people will take this verse completely in a wrong way.
“‘Though seeing, they may not see;
Though hearing, they may not understand.’
So he clarifies it in very next verse by comparing the Good news (Gospel) to the Lamp.
He explains, who will hide the Good News by saying who will put a lamp under a bed?
Because that completely destroys the purpose of the Good News (Lamp).
He says this so we do not miss the purpose of the Good News.
And the same Jesus who said the secrets of the Kingdom is given to chosen people says
“For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed,
and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open ‘And he also
instructs us to listen to it carefully so we don’t misunderstand things,
which will block our understanding of the whole purpose of the Good News.
So some are chosen by God to lead the rest to salvation.
But
ALL WILL BE SAVED.