Hidden in Plain Sight

Series: Say What?! The Hard Saying of Jesus

 “Hidden in Plain Sight”

 Message @ Jericho Ridge Community Church – Sunday, Sept 13, 2020

Text: Matthew 13:10-17 // Series: Say What?! The Hard Sayings of Jesus    

 

Hello.  Welcome, friends into this online space and new this week, an in-person space together at Jericho Centre for our first ever watch party!  My name is Brad and I’m part of the teaching and leadership team here at Jericho and I’m so glad you’re participating in our community in this way. 

 

Today we are launching into a new series here at Jericho entitled “Say What?!’ where we explore the hard or difficult sayings of Jesus.  We’re going to see as we move through September & October that some of the things that Jesus said are “hard” because they are difficult to understand. Others are “hard” because the demands they make on our lives are only too clear but we may or may not be in a space to listen and obey. 

 

It’s a bit like 19th century American humorist Mark Twain is reported to have said “it’s not the parts of the Bible that I don’t understand that bother me.  It’s the parts that I DO understand.”  The Bible is a challenging book and the parts about Jesus are no exception.

 

This summer, I was reading through the Gospel of Matthew – one of the written down accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry in the first century that we call gospels and form part of the text of the New Testament.  And I was struck but how many of the things that Jesus said and the stories Jesus told that I paused and puzzled over. Even after having studied theology!

 

People like to think of Jesus as a pretty straightforward kind of guy, but He said some pretty obtuse and confusing things.  So much so that in John 6:60 it is recorded that “Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?”

 

Now, granted, some of these hard to understand things are easily explained by a bit of deeper reading or research into the culture of history of the early first century world.  There are people who are really good at this.  People like Megan Larissa Good or people like biblical scholar and theologian Dr. F.F. Bruce, who’s book forms the inspiration for the title of the series.

 

So if you need or want to do some deeper digging into what we explore here today, Mike Ryder will be leading a study and discussion on Monday nights in a small group format.  So if you want to take that next step and go deeper, register now online or in app for that group.   

 

One of the things you will notice as you read through the gospel accounts is that much of Jesus’ ministry is recorded in a series of sayings or short stories called parables.  A parable is kind of like an illustration or with a spiritual truth and a moral point to it. 

 

But sometimes, Jesus leaves the story unfinished.  Some of the stories of Jesus feel like an illustration without a main point.  They read almost like a kind of a riddle.  I’ve often wondered why God, in God’s infinite wisdom didn’t just make things a bit easier for us.  Why in the world do so things about the Bible have to feel well, confusing and for some people, hard. 

 

It’s good to know that I am in good company and you are in good company if this is how you are feeling when you read the gospels.  Because Jesus’ original listeners and even his original followers felt this way as well. 

 

Turn with me in your Bible or on your device to today’s text in Matthew 13.  In this chapter, Jesus tells 8 stories or parables almost back to back to back.  But interspersed with the parables is a great question by some of Jesus’ bewildered or bemused followers.  Let’s start reading in Matt 13:10 (I’m reading from the New living Translation).

 

10 His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” 11 He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets [mysteries] of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.

 

12 To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. 13 That is why I use these parables, For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.

 

Now here’s the ironic thing about this text.  Even Jesus’ explanation is hard to understand. What in the world does he mean but the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven?  What does he mean that people who only get it a bit will have that taken away from them?  I mean, if Jesus is trying to get people to follow him, to believe in him, why doesn’t’ He just say stuff clearly.  Why is he being so obtuse about things?

His disciples seem to be pushing him for clarity as well: “just say what you mean, Jesus!  Why tell a story about farming and seed scattering?  Why a story about a mustard seed or yeast or wheat and weeds or hidden treasure or fishing nets.  Why not just give us data. Just the facts, Jesus.”

One of the things to consider in this conversation is that as human beings, we are actually wired up as narrative creatures.  Sociologists tell us that we create meaning in our world through the stories we tell ourselves.  We are not always as convinced by the simple, straightforward facts as we think. 

The current conversation around vaccines is highlighting this for us yet again.  Scientists lead with data and people counter with stories that challenge the data.  But public health is unaccustomed to speaking to us in the language of story – they use the language of spreadsheets, which is why their messaging doesn’t always land the same way for different people.  People tell themselves different stories about what is true and untrue.

What can end up happening is that you can talk to someone until you are blue in the face and they can hear you, but they may not understand you.  And this is what Jesus is getting at in his response: Hearing is not the same thing as listening.  As any parent or teacher can attest to, people can hear something but they may not understand it.  Jesus says For they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.  What is going on here?

Jesus says there are secrets or mysteries with respect to the kingdom of Heaven, that are hidden from some and revealed to others.  Now, before you say “wait a minute – that sounds a bit unfair, Brad!  Is Jesus playing some kind of hide and seek?”  The term “mystery” or secret is used some 28 times in the New Testament and it is always used to indicate something that was previously hidden or unknown but which is now revealed and apparent. 

What Jesus is getting at is that there’s an unveiling of truth to people who are seeking, who are working to understand.  By speaking in parables, Jesus is hiding truth in plain sight.  He is creating the conditions necessary for a person who is listening to gain understanding.  But he is also creating the conditions whereby a disinterested non-listener can hear what he said, and walk away thinking ‘that was an interesting story’ but not actually catch what Jesus is saying.  Hearing is not the same as listening.   

And this is not a challenge unique to Jesus.  It is very possible and in fact easy for any of us to experience the same thing… How many times have you read the Bible in the morning and forgotten what the passage was by the time breakfast is finished.  Or you’ve listened to amazing Christian teaching or podcasts and forgotten what you heard 15 minutes later.  Or you come to church and engage with a small group and not actually experience transformation in our lives. 

Hearing is not same thing as listening.  You can hear but not really listen or understand.  I have gone through this personally – both on some days and in some periods of my life.  I am taking content in, but not really allowing God to speak to me.

It is also important to be clear that Jesus did not hide things on purpose so that they were impossible to discover.  Every single time someone approached him or asked Jesus to explain himself further or give them insight into the meaning of a parable, Jesus was more than happy to oblige.  Every time someone said ‘what do you mean?” Jesus took care to pause and explain what God’s heart was and what he was trying to say in the parable. 

But even when he spoke the truth, people were non-receptive.  Let’s keep reading in Matthew 13 where Jesus gives his inquirers a history lesson:

This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says, ‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand. When you see what I do, you will not comprehend. 15 For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and they have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see, and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.’[b] 16

Isaiah was an old testament prophet, a person who spoke out to the people what was on God’s heart.  And he has a long but pretty barren ministry…. People mostly ignore or openly scorn what he says.  So God tells Isaiah – “Hey - don’t take it personally, Isaiah.  This isn’t about you.  Even when I speak to YOU, there will be things that overwhelm you.  And then when you try to share those things out to others, especially those who have hard hearts, who have chosen to close their ears, who have chosen to close their eyes in unbelief – they will miss what is hidden in plain sight. 

And Jesus himself experiences the same thing.  Think about that for a moment – the second person of the Trinity had people who heard the very voice of the divine in human flesh speaking and said “meh” and walk away!  Every time that Jesus spoke there were those got it and who pressed in and those who ignored Him and walked away.   So why should you and I think that when we share our faith that it should be any different for us.  There will always be those who are hearing but not listening.  Those who are looking but not really seeing.     

So why is any of this important for you and me?  The first thing that I want us to consider is that if there is a trajectory, both to belief and also to unbelief.  Mennonite Brethren sociologists and anthropologist Paul Hiebert wrote about this in his book ‘centre set vs bounded set’.  Hiebert was a missionary who began to ask when it comes to faith “who’s in? who’s out?”

A Bounded set church is a kind of place that delineates the lines of who belongs very strongly.  If you are like us, you are ‘in’.  If you belief the right things and act the right way. You are in.  This is a more conventional way of ordering things.   But Heibert began to ask “was that true for Jesus?”

But Hiebert asked “Why not build a church by defining the center rather than patrolling the boundaries? Why not place the person of Jesus at the center of the church’s life and practice, inviting everyone to reorient their lives around Him?”  Here the question becomes more ‘what direction are you moving in?”  Are you on a trajectory toward belief or on a trajectory  toward ever-increasing unbelief?  This is a question of the responsiveness of your heart & my heart.  So let me ask you “what trajectory are you on?” 

Some of you have identified as Christians for many years but your trajectory is not one that is currently leading you deeper toward God or toward others.  You are growing hard and cold.  But the good news is that that if you are listening to this, then it’s not too late to make a trajectory adjustment.  In Matt 13:15, Jesus says that the result of turning toward Him is healing. And blessing.  Friend, this is our deepest desire for you.  You make that turn today by simply saying to God “I’m sorry. I choose to turn. I need you.  I want to open my heart and my life up to you. I want to learn. Teach me. I was wrong. Forgive me.  I am sorry.”    

That can feel hard but the text in Matthew 13:16-17 closes with a short encouragement: “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.

What we see here is that the blessing of understanding comes in stages and phases for all of us.  The thing that strikes me about Jesus’ words is that many prophets ands righteous people pressed in to see and hear but they didn’t’ see it.  They longer to hear what you and I hear, but they didn’t hear it. They would have LOVED to have a Bible written down in the language of their heart so they could pursue a deeper connect with God but they didn’t have it.    

You see friend, none of us get to the place of full revelation on this side of heaven.  Oh sure, there are things we can get clarity on that are revealed in the Scriptures but there is also a need for you and I to build into our faith space for mystery and for wonder.  Space to say “I am still not sure about that and I want to learn more.”  If we get to the place of arrogance where we say “I totally see.  I totally understand -

You see truth can illuminate you or it can blind you.  When he speaks in parables, Jesus is not being mysterious for the purpose of creating mystique or confusion.  He is inviting you and I and the original listeners into a learning environment where we have to do some work. 

So that’s the invitation that is extended to you and I in this season of our lives.  Are you willing to put some work in to create some space in your life so that you can listen, really listen, to what God is saying to you?  I know that this can be hard with all of the buzz and the noise that comes with starting up again into a fall that is unlike any Sept we’ve experienced in our lifetimes. 

But for all ages, all stages of spiritual development, does your fall include some intentional time to listen to God?  Maybe that is getting up a few minutes earlier so you can spend time in prayer.  Or maybe that includes making space in your calendar for a small group.  Or a silent retreat where you spend time quieting your soul so that God can speak. 

This is also one of the blessings of worship in song.  That it can be like a prayer…. Ron and the team are coming now and you may want to take this time and instead of singing along, just take some time to reflect and say “God, would you speak to me.  I am listening” I want to hear.  I want to respond. 

Let’s pray together.  “God of the prophets and truth-tellers, Spirit of Truth who speaks through unexpected voices, Jesus: The one who works mighty deeds from fragile possibilities, we desire to know Your presence and to listen for Your truth. We listen in Your presence. We listen for You.” 

Benediction - by Joanna Harader, and posted on Spacious Faith.
In the darkest valley, at the banquet table;
in the hard work of life, at the moments of ease;
in our day-to-day reality, at times set aside–
like this time, now– for worship, for listening, for paying attention;
with every step we take: goodness and mercy follow us;
Let our eyes see you, let our ears hear you. Let our cups overflow.

 

Why did Jesus speak in parables? Like some of his original listeners, people today find Jesus’ sayings hard. Some sayings are “hard” because they are difficult to understand. Others are “hard” because the demands they make on our lives are only too clear.

Speaker: Brad Sumner

September 13, 2020
Matthew 13:10-17

Brad Sumner

Lead Pastor

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