Teacher 4

Matthew 13:10-13

When I worked at a local newspaper we had a language that was all our own. Terms like “kicker,” “cut-line,” “drop head,” “pull quote,” “grin and grab,” and “slug” were tossed around daily. To anyone not part of the staff it would seem as if we were speaking a secret code, and in many ways we were. Our terminology made work more efficient to those who understood it.

For the first few days the terms baffled me, but eventually I picked up on the jargon. It took some time and a little effort on my part. The words were not meant for everyone to understand, only those who needed to and who were able to learn.

Jesus confounded some of his listeners by the way he taught. He used parables, and to many of us today the short, familiar lessons make a great deal of sense. But at the time they were challenging.

What do the disciples ask? Who has been given the knowledge? What contrast is made between those who have understanding and those who do not?

This passage has been a source of mental wrangling in the past. How could anyone be confused by the parables when they seem quite plain? How could anyone not understand? Why does it seem here that Jesus is intentionally vague?

After reading in the book The Misunderstood Jew - The Church and the Scandal of the Jewish Jesus, by Amy-Jill Levine (Harper One), I have had a glimmer of enlightenment. To the Jewish listeners these parables could indeed be a source of confusion because the examples used and the characters in the parables carried a different meaning than they do to Christians today. One example is the parable of the yeast. To us, yeast simply makes bread rise; but to the Jew at the time of Christ, yeast not only worked in flour but also implied secretive work.

To hear the parables at the time of Christ meant to be confronted with ideas that were contrary to common beliefs. The usual way of thinking did not apply to the parables, or at least seemed contrary to the message Jesus was giving.

Why did he do that? Jesus’ response implies that to understand his teaching you had to accept a new way of thinking. You had to apply some effort in understanding. And if you were able to take on a new way of thinking more would be added to the richness of your life.

The teachings of Christ were not simple but asked for effort on the listener’s part. Those who hear the teachings of Jesus must invest themselves in understanding, just as we must invest ourselves in being part of the kingdom of God. At times we need to change our own way of understanding so that we may better understand our God.

DAILY CHALLENGE: Can you hear the teachings of Jesus with a new attitude?