4:9
Jesus was teaching in an indirect manner, as He was using parables. He was effective calling on those whose eyes and ears had been opened to hear what Jesus said, to understand it, and to act upon it. As we know Jesus used parables a lot, and in a quite unique way. Sometimes people argue that we should use parables as well, or something like them. Now to sometimes use imaginative ways to explain things, but we should also note that in Acts and the in the letters we do not find the apostles using parables, but a more traditional way of teaching. So we should beware of drawing erroneous conclusions!
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear”. Jesus said something like this on several occasions. He knew that when He taught some would hear what He had to say and understand it, others would be totally deaf to it, like the seed that fell on stony ground. This is the way things are. Sometimes we think that if people are not hearing what we are saying then it is our fault and need to make it more “relevant” or “accessible”, or, worst of all, tone it down (ie dilute Biblical truth). Now we should indeed seek to communicate clearly, but hearing the word of God is a spiritual matter, not just an intellectual or emotional matter. A person can only truly hear God’s word if the Spirit opens their mind to do so.
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