Lesson 2535

(Lesson 2535)(11-28-19) Luke 8:4-18
    “And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.”

   In today’s quote, Jesus related the “parable of the sower” prophesying about those who would, and who wouldn’t, accept and keep His word.
    Of course, every word in today’s quote is very important, but to me, one of the most important parts of the quote is where Jesus said, “Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.” That part of the quote is important to remember because it confirms that Jesus, during His ministry, was not trying to preach Christianity to be practiced during His day, but rather, He was simply preparing His apostles to teach it, and laying the foundation for it. He did this knowing that Christianity COULD NOT be understandably preached until He had fulfilled His divine mission and returned to the Father in heaven.
    Jesus, at that time, was teaching His apostles what Christianity would be. He held no secrets from them knowing they would be charged, as we are today, to teach Christianiy once it had been fully established. Jesus knew that the masses could not understand Christianity until it had been completed to include His death, burial, and resurrection. He was preparing His apostles for those upcoming events knowing that the masses would not understand until the whole could be presented. ~