Understanding the
words is one thing,
but understanding the
meaning can be a different
story entirely! Candidate
Mike reflects on this in
light of Jesus’ parables.
I stared at the elderly Malaysian gentleman in front of me,
unsure of what to do next. He looked back at me eagerly,
as if expecting me to respond. His name was Uncle Lai
and over the past few months we had developed quite
a solid friendship. Since moving into a house a few doors
up from Uncle Lai’s, I would often drop in unannounced
and we would share in coffee and conversation. Usually we
would chat about his family (his children now lived in New
Zealand), his hobbies (he had recently taken up cycling) or
his church involvement (Uncle Lai loved visiting remote jungle
churches and encouraging their members). On this visit,
however, Uncle Lai had told me a story about an unfortunate
circumstance that happened to him many years ago. Now
this story didn’t directly involve me, and yet as we sat at his
kitchen table in a sustained silence, I couldn’t help feeling like
I was expected to do something with this story he had just
told me.
Uncle Lai’s story was designed to function in a similar way
to the parables that Jesus told in the Bible. For the sake of
clarity, I am defining biblical parables as stories with specific
meanings that are designed to elicit a certain response
from those who hear them. Hearers of parables haven’t truly
‘heard’ until they have responded in the way that the teller of
the parable intended. This is what Jesus was alluding to when
He said, “... seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not
hear.” (Matt. 13:13) Jesus had just finished telling a parable
about a person sowing seeds. (Matt. 13:3-9) In the parable,
some seeds were sown in poor soil and died off. Others,
however, were sown in good soil and bore much fruit.
Hearing
or Hearing?
If someone had truly ‘heard’ this parable, there would be
evidence of this by Christ-like fruit being produced in their
lives. For someone to claim that they had heard and yet
remain unchanged would reveal a spiritual deafness. Jesus
told parables to everyone who would listen, He wasn’t hiding
His message from anyone. And yet there were those for
whom the Gospel seemed a mystery because they weren’t
ready to truly hear Jesus’ message in a way that would lead to
a transformed life.
I recently visited one of the locations in which Global
Interaction teams are seeking to share the Good News in
ways that are culturally understandable. One of the big
takeaways from my visit was this: people are wanting to
hear. There are many who are religiously praying, fasting
and reading their holy scriptures in an attempt to know
God. But are they truly hearing? When they hear the Good
News of Jesus ushering in the Kingdom of God will they
respond by receiving Jesus as their true Saviour? Or will
they look on blankly like I did with Uncle Lai?
I want to encourage you
to pray. Global Interaction
teams around the world are
seeking to share stories
about Jesus in ways that
people will truly hear and
understand. And yet our
telling is not enough. Pray
that the ears of seekers will
be ready to truly hear and
respond to the Good News
by receiving Jesus as their
Saviour.
Jesus used the
language of his
audience. He
spoke of fields,
seeds, the harvest,
fishing nets, sheep
and servants...
all culturally
understandable
parts of life for
the people He was
speaking to. What
will make sense
to people in your
context?
resonate · issue 35 · page 5