The Kingdom of God!

A Parable is often defined as “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” It is true that in His parables Jesus used earthly things as illustrations of spiritual truth about the kingdom of heaven. He talked about seeds and harvests and weeds and treasure to teach those who would be His disciples. But virtually all those who heard His parables failed to understand them. By most standards, Jesus wasn’t a very good teacher! People in the crowds who followed Him liked the miracles He performed and appreciated the healing of their physical diseases and even the casting out of demons, yet almost all of them failed to grasp what He was telling them. They were “in the dark” about spiritual things, as most are today. So why did Jesus speak in parables and then explain His meaning only to a few of His closest disciples? Because that was God’s will! You will never understand the Bible or rejoice in God’s amazing grace until you realize that we who receive God’s gift of eternal life in His kingdom through faith in Jesus Christ are, as Peter calls us, “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession” (I Peter 2:9). We who confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, living by the power of His Spirit within us, are saved by grace from beginning to end. God has opened our eyes and our ears to see and to hear what those without the Spirit cannot see and hear, the promise of God that whoever believes in Jesus as the Christ, the Savior, the Son of God, has eternal life through faith in His sacrifice on the cross. To these Jesus says, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear!” (Matthew 13:16).