“In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them” (Mark 4:34, NLT).
It was almost as if much of Jesus’ teaching ministry consisted of riddles. He “hid everything in plain sight” by using symbolic language to convey His Kingdom truths. His goal was to lovingly provoke His hearers to dig deeper. His constant use of parables made it necessary to unearth nuggets of wisdom from within each story He crafted. He did not spoon feed His listeners; they had to actively engage with His material to glean from it.
Those with avid spiritual appetites must have gone home pondering on the underlying meanings of His illustrations. Jesus assured them that the hungry and thirsty ones craving righteousness would be filled. No doubt God met them in rich and meaningful ways, as they searched out what He was wanting to communicate to them.
However, there was a select group to whom Jesus gave detailed explanations of His parables: His disciples. For them and them alone did He break down each figure of speech and carefully unpack its meaning. When did this happen? Look again: “…When he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.” Continue reading Jesus’ Private Space
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