The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in John 10:6,
"Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them."
Why was it that people could not understand the figures of speech Jesus used? The NIV Quest Study Bible has an interesting comment on this: "People who earnestly sought the truth could find profound spiritual insight in Jesus' figures of speech. For others, they were little more than fascinating but puzzling riddles. Those who were resistant to Jesus' message often misunderstood his meaning or, if they could infer what he intended, they rejected the implications."
In John 16:25 Jesus acknowledged to his followers that he was speaking to them figuratively as well, "Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father."
In Matthew 13:10, Jesus' disciples asked why he spoke to the people in parables. His answer is a fascinating one. "Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 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." Verses 11-12.
As a master communicator, Jesus often spoke openly but filtered his hearers by how he conveyed what he had to say! A master of communication! He then quoted Isaiah 6:9-10, "'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.' In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 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.'"
Although I do like the comment from the NIV Quest Study Bible, I think they missed this point a bit. At least at times, Jesus spoke openly, but masterfully targeted what he was saying by the figures of speech he used. In the John 10:6 passage, Jesus never intended the Pharisees to understand his figure of speech - what he told them was for us. I guess my thought here is that the Pharisees didn't understand Jesus, not because they were so dull (although the Isaiah passage speaks to that kind of issue), and that Jesus was unintentionally or unknowingly speaking over their heads, but rather that he intended they not understand him. His purpose was to communicate what he was saying to others.
I also suspect many things Jesus told his followers were not intended for the moment but for later. In this way he cloaked his message as well. An example of this might be the two angels explaining to Jesus' disciples who had gone to the empty tomb on that first Easter morning, "'He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: "The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again."' Then they remembered his words." Luke 24:6-8.
"Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them."
Why was it that people could not understand the figures of speech Jesus used? The NIV Quest Study Bible has an interesting comment on this: "People who earnestly sought the truth could find profound spiritual insight in Jesus' figures of speech. For others, they were little more than fascinating but puzzling riddles. Those who were resistant to Jesus' message often misunderstood his meaning or, if they could infer what he intended, they rejected the implications."
In John 16:25 Jesus acknowledged to his followers that he was speaking to them figuratively as well, "Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father."
In Matthew 13:10, Jesus' disciples asked why he spoke to the people in parables. His answer is a fascinating one. "Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 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." Verses 11-12.
As a master communicator, Jesus often spoke openly but filtered his hearers by how he conveyed what he had to say! A master of communication! He then quoted Isaiah 6:9-10, "'Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.' In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 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.'"
Although I do like the comment from the NIV Quest Study Bible, I think they missed this point a bit. At least at times, Jesus spoke openly, but masterfully targeted what he was saying by the figures of speech he used. In the John 10:6 passage, Jesus never intended the Pharisees to understand his figure of speech - what he told them was for us. I guess my thought here is that the Pharisees didn't understand Jesus, not because they were so dull (although the Isaiah passage speaks to that kind of issue), and that Jesus was unintentionally or unknowingly speaking over their heads, but rather that he intended they not understand him. His purpose was to communicate what he was saying to others.
I also suspect many things Jesus told his followers were not intended for the moment but for later. In this way he cloaked his message as well. An example of this might be the two angels explaining to Jesus' disciples who had gone to the empty tomb on that first Easter morning, "'He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: "The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again."' Then they remembered his words." Luke 24:6-8.
Here is an interesting example of Jesus making communication possible, not by his speech, but by manipulating minds. "Then he [Jesus] opened their [his disciples] minds so they could understand the Scriptures." Luke 24:45. Jesus could have opened their minds to the communication in Scripture any time during his earthly ministry, but waited until after he was resurrected. In this case he manipulated his disciples minds to communication (from the Scriptures) they were unable to access previously.
As believers, we benefit greatly from Jesus' ability to convey what he wants to say to us with a power and a skill no one has ever come close to. Our Master Communicator!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
As believers, we benefit greatly from Jesus' ability to convey what he wants to say to us with a power and a skill no one has ever come close to. Our Master Communicator!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
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