Kingdom Secrets

I am continuing my study of things related to the Kingdom of God, and this morning I felt like reading from Matthew 13:10-23 NIV:

[10] "The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

[11] He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

[12] Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. [13] This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. [14] In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. [15] For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

[16] But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. [17] For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

[18] “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: [19] When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. [20] The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. [21] But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. [22] The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. [23] But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

The key verses that caught my attention this morning were verses 11 and 19, this whole story is about the Kingdom of God. Jesus is speaking about the secrets of the Kingdom, and the parable is specifically about a message about the Kingdom. When Jesus is explaining the parables, He is providing key insight into Kingdom realities.

In essence His whole message is concerning the proclamation of the Kingdom, and our reception of it, having eyes to see and ears to hear, and not letting our hearts be callused, so that we can respond. The message is about the Kingdom of God, being present and being real. It is possible to totally miss this message or to have this message produce an abundant blessing in our lives, and it depends on how we listen and respond.

How we listen and respond is affected by two things, time and pressure. The longer we hold onto the message about the Kingdom of God, the better the chance of it bearing fruit. Secondly, the more we are able to embrace the reality of the Kingdom, the more we are able to resist the pressures of the world. This is such an important truth, for we want to live in a simple and logical world, and the Kingdom is Spiritual, and as such requires a different mindset to embrace it fully.

The rules of the Kingdom, and the operation of it flow along relational lines and we must learn to see ourselves with the right identities to fully embrace the message and become fruitful. Jesus says the one who hears and understands the message will be fruitful (Mt 13:23), and the Greek word that is translated 'understands' literally means to put together the pieces in one's mind. I like that image of taking the components of the message and putting them together in my mind. The primary components in this case relate to our identity (His son's and daughters), God's present sovereignty, and our ability to walk in His Authority, representing Him.

In the preceding days, Jesus had demonstrated His authority over demonically possessed (Matt 12:22), creative miracles (Matt 12:13), and had the Apostles demonstrate that His authority was transferrable by sending them out to heal, cast out demons, raise the dead, and cleanse lepers (Matt 10:8), and had called anyone who did the will of His Father in Heaven His brother, sister and mother (Matt 12:50). He had shown them His kingdom authority, and shown them that because of their relationship with Him, they too could minister with the same authority. The hearing and understanding is about this simple message, we become representatives of the Kingdom when we join ourselves to Him.

Thus, the secrets of the Kingdom that Jesus was revealing have to do with these same realities. We are called and invited to demonstrate to the world the reality of the Kingdom of God, and it all flows out of relationship with Him. Our fruitfulness will depend on our own understanding and embracing this reality, and mindset. Amen Lord, help us!