Feb 3: A Teachable Heart

 But without a parable He did not speak to them. And when they were alone, He explained all things to His disciples. (Mark 4:34)

Farmers, fishermen, masters, servants, seed, sower, leaven, treasure, were all used by Jesus to illustrate powerful truths about the kingdom of God. The parables of Jesus is both fascinating and mysterious and one could spend hours deciphering these short stories. Perhaps the most known parable is the one about the seed and the sower also called the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4, Mathew 13, Luke 8). Something very interesting occurs in this story in relation of Jesus speaking the parable and explaining it. If you read Mark 4, Jesus is teaching a large crowd much of which are through parables and he is doing so while sitting in a boat facing the people on the seashore (Mk 4:1-2). When he ends his speaking, the crowd has left and only his disciples are remaining. It is during this time, when his disciples ask to explain the parable, that Jesus unveils the real meaning behind the story. What is thought provoking however is Jesus quoting the prophet Isaiah as to why he did not explain the parable to the general crowd:

“To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables,  so that

‘Seeing they may see and not perceive,

And hearing they may hear and not understand;

Lest they should turn,

And their sins be forgiven them.’ ”

At first it appears as if Jesus is not interested or even want the general crowd to learn the truth about God’s kingdom. Because if they understood the parable then they would repent of their sins and be forgiven. But wasn’t that the whole point? Did not Jesus come to save the world?? Why would He hide things from some people and reveal it to others?

Good questions.

But if you read His words more carefully, you will understand there seems to a problem with the heart of the people who are listening to all these teachings. Jesus being God Himself could discern the thoughts of those around Him, and that helped Him to deal with people accordingly. So what was the issue? Let’s read that same verse in the Message translation:   

As soon as He was alone, those who were around Him, together with the twelve [disciples], began asking Him about [the interpretation of] the parables.  He said to them, “The mystery of the kingdom of God has been given to you [who have teachable hearts], but those who are outside [the unbelievers, the spiritually blind] get everything in parables, (Mk 4:10-11, emphasis mine)

Jesus knew that most people in the crowd were not interested in receiving His teachings, or wanted to put an effort even to understand what He was teaching. In short, they did not have a teachable heart. The opposite trait of being teachable is to be rebellious and proudful. And when somebody has that attitude there is not much use of trying to explain things to them.

I have come across such people in my journey of witnessing Christ to them. Within a few minutes of talking you can understand if he or she is interested to hear or not. At which point I have to decide whether to carry on the conversation or not. Sometimes I have patiently stood and conversed but after an hour realize that we’re not getting anywhere! This was particularly true in my interactions with Jehovah’s witnesses. It wasn’t until later that I realized that they had a largely altered version of the Bible, so there was no point looking at Scriptures together. So a better conversation with them (in my opinion) is to speak about the issue of altering the content of the Bible rather than the content itself.

Jesus Christ knew He had just over three years to do His work before He would be crucified. So He had to be focused and spent His energy sharing the Gospel with those whose hearts were open. On the outside they were sinners, fishermen, tax collectors, but on the inside they had a humble and teachable heart. Jesus did not waste His energy arguing with people who had made up their mind. It’s interesting to note that most of such type of people were the religious leaders of the time. They were not following Jesus to learn from Him. They were there to trap Him by twisting His words. They were proud, unteachable and rebellious.

In this journey of following Christ, there is much to learn. And as long as we have a teachable heart, we will keep getting deeper revelations of the kingdom of God. Our teacher is the Holy Spirit. Learn to discern His voice and be willing to be taught by Him. Let me close with this powerful reminder from Jesus about the Holy Spirit:

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. (John 16:13-14)

Are you willing to be taught today? Then He is ready for you.