Why Jesus Spoke in Parables—And It’s Not What You’ve Heard

SPEAKER 01 : 0:00

Greetings to the brightest audience in the country and welcome to Bob and Yart Live. Today we are getting into a sermon which Bob and Yart gave at Denver Bible Church on parables and Jesus speaking in parables. There are some Christians, Calvinists, who claim that Jesus spoke in parables because he hated people and because he wanted them to not understand and go to hell because they did not understand his teachings. It is a really, really twisted view of scripture. There are about three verses which they use to suggest this interpretation. And in this sermon, Bob is going to utterly and completely refute that and rebut that interpretation. Instead, what the Bible teaches is that God so loved the entire world that that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. And that’s not referring to just the Jew-Gentile distinction. That is all peoples of the world. Even in 2 Peter, we read that Jesus, his blood, that it was applied even to false prophets, to false teachers, to people who secretly and deceptively bring in destructive heresies, that Jesus died even for those people. So it’s not some Jew-Gentile distinction. No, God so loves the entire world. God wants everyone. He does not want anyone to perish, but he wants everyone to have everlasting life.

SPEAKER 02 : 1:41

Good morning, Denver Bible Church. Way back in April, I said that in a sermon in September, this will be beginning next week, we would present the distinctives of our church. What combination of teachings make Denver Bible Church special? Sadly, all too unique. There are five, and we refer to all five by the acronym DOCTA. D-O-C-T-A. So we’ll do that next week, looking at what is it that makes, that gives Denver Bible Church its particular distinctive message. Now today’s message Did Jesus not want people to believe, and that’s why he spoke in parables? I asked this question in Sunday school this morning, and I stated that I’m not going to give my answer to this, but I’d like to hear from the group, and I heard six different answers, excellent perspectives, and And they were all from, not surprisingly, from our theological perspective that God is good and loving and that he makes us free like he is free and God wants everyone to be saved. And so they were all answers from that perspective and all valid. But I’m not going to look at those valid answers in the sermon. I want to look at something that I think is the absolute rebuttal to the claim that Jesus did not want people to believe, so that’s why he spoke in parables. Now, we’ve addressed this over the years, but it came up again this past week, so did, at the same time, an accusation, a criticism against our church, a little zinger. We have a video on YouTube. It’s Introduction to Dispensationalism. Our son, Zachary, said, hey, Dad, that was from 2019, this sermon, and it was the best intro to dispensationalism. Why don’t you put that on YouTube? So we just did, and it has about 500 views so far. And somebody put under it, to criticize Denver Bible Church, any group that teaches that there are two gospels is obviously corrupt, right? And so I thought, oh, wow, that’s quite an accusation. So we’ll also try to, presuming there’s enough time, we’ll also try to address that. So I’m going to read through the first parable in Matthew 13. There’s the parable, and then Jesus gives the interpretation of the parable. And afterward, we’re going to look at four rebuttals to the claim And this perspective is taught in our seminaries, undoubtedly hundreds of seminaries, and by thousands of Bible teachers and pastors throughout the decades, that Jesus did not want people to believe, so therefore he spoke in parables. We’re gonna give four rebuttals to that after I read the parable, except for the first. I want to share with you the first, first, so that you have it in your mind as we’re reading, because to many Christians, what we’re about to read together, they see this and they say, well, really, Jesus is saying explicitly here. When they ask the disciples, say, why are you teaching in parables? He basically says, because I don’t want people to believe. So they said, so Jesus just said it. So clearly you could see that Jesus said it. So when that is brought up to Christians, it’s often difficult for them on the spot to respond. And so our four rebuttals, I want to share with you the first right now, and then after we read the parable and the interpretation, then we’ll re-look at the first, second, third, and fourth. But the first one is this. In the last 2,000 years, You think there have been many unbelievers who’ve been exposed to Matthew, the Gospel of Matthew? Quite a few, right? Sitting in church, picking up a Bible in a hotel room placed by the Gideons. The Bible’s the number one best-selling book of all time. Hearing on the radio, on television, in books, in dozens of different ways, Millions of unbelievers have read what we’re about to read, or heard it, millions of them. How many were there 2,000 years ago when Jesus actually spoke these words with his own mouth? How many, there were some believers there, and there were unbelievers, multitude, and let’s say there were 1,000 unbelievers. So 1,000 unbelievers hear this parable, But millions of unbelievers have heard the parable and then Jesus’ clear explanation, his interpretation of the parable. So if the purpose was to not let unbelievers know what the clear interpretation of the parable is, then why put it in the Bible? Because as soon as God inspires for that to go in the Gospels, that guarantees that tens of millions of unbelievers are going to have it there as clear as day. So the reason cannot be. It’s not just that we have a better understanding. It cannot be that Jesus did not want people to believe, so he spoke in parables, because if that was his reason, then he blew it by putting the clear interpretation right in a book that would be printed and sent all over the world. So, there’s a lot here to read just to go through the first parable, but I’d like to go through it so we have the whole thing in our minds. Matthew chapter 13 and verse 1. On the same day, Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. That’s the Sea of Galilee. And the great multitudes were gathered together to him, so that he got into a boat and sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore. Then he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, and this is the first of seven parables in this chapter, parables of the kingdom. Behold, a sower went, that’s a farmer, a sower went out to sow, to plant seed. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places where they did not have much earth, And they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched. And because they had no root, they withered away. Have you ever planted a seed? Got a garden at home. And it’s just astounding, isn’t it? That the roots grow down and the stem grows up. Isn’t that something? You ever have it? You plant a seed. I mean, which way do you plant the seed? Does it matter? Just pops out. You plant the seed. Have you ever had it that the roots go up and the plant goes down? Never happens. How does the plant know which way to go? Well, God made the cell of a plant seed so that in it, and it’s microscopic, the cell, in that microscopic dot, there’s an anchor. And the anchor, because of gravity, sinks to the bottom of the cell and the stem goes up and the roots go down. That’s how God designed that. Solve a problem. Verse 7, And some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. By the way, a thorn, remember there were no thorns when Adam and Eve sinned? Remember, until they sinned and the thorns and thistles occurred after they sinned. A famous Christian who believes the earth is billions of years old, he said to me, this was on a cruise to Alaska with about 100 of us, a number of scientists from around the world, and this Dr. Stephen Meyer, he said to me, Bob, you know I believe in God’s Word. You know that. You’re a young earth creationist. I’m old earth. Tell me one thing in Genesis that I don’t believe. One thing. I said, Steve, you don’t believe that there were no thorns before the fall. And his face was crestfallen. Because he was sort of ready for different arguments, you know. But he didn’t think about that. And we have fossils of thorns that are collected, fossil collectors, in museums. And The Christians who believe in evolution or the Christians who believe in an old earth, they say that there were thorns millions of years before Adam and Eve. Millions of years. Tens, a hundred million years before. A thorn is a leaf that doesn’t open. That’s what a thorn is. And so it’s something broke. in the biochemistry of plants in the ecosystem when Adam and Eve rebelled. So there were no thorns before the fall because there was a perfect paradise. So Jesus ends his parable. If the seed falls on the good ground, it yields a crop. And like a kernel of corn, you put it in and you get a corn stalk and multiple ears of corn. Each ear has like a hundred kernels. And within a few seasons, you could have a thousand acres of corn if you start it with one kernel. So Jesus is saying, the gospel, well, he doesn’t interpret that yet, but you plant the seed and… If you get a good crop, you do it right, some you get 100 fold, 60 and 30 fold. Verse 10, and the disciples came and said to him, why do you speak to them in parables? He answered and said to them, because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Verse 14, And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive. For the hearts of this people have grown dull, their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For assuredly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. Therefore hear the parable of the sower, hear its meaning. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received the seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. And remember, this is part of the gospel of the kingdom. In the New Testament, as you continue, you get through the first five historical books, the four Gospels, and the book of the Acts of the Apostles. Then you get into Paul’s epistles, 13 epistles in which God gives to us the dispensation of grace. He calls it the dispensation of uncircumcision. We had from Abraham till Paul, the covenant of circumcision, and then from Paul until now, continuing, we have the covenant of uncircumcision. Abraham, the covenant of circumcision, and Paul until now, the covenant of uncircumcision. So, of course, Jesus is speaking and teaching here according to the covenant of circumcision and the Mosaic law and what he calls the gospel of the kingdom. So verse 22, now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces some a hundredfold, some 60, some 30. Okay. Jesus gave a parable. The apostles didn’t understand why. He answers, and then he interprets the parable for everyone to understand. Those who believe that Jesus did not want people to get saved, and therefore he spoke in parables… They confuse themselves when they forget that everything they just read is in the Bible. When Jesus was speaking the parable, his audience included a lot of unbelievers. When it was just with the disciples, his disciples came to him and said, Lord, why are you speaking this way? And he gave his answer just to them. So if that was the entirety of the account, we could better understand the confusion of Christians who love the Lord, but they have been carried away by the doctrines of John Calvin and Augustine and so on. And they think that Jesus actually does not want people to believe. And so they come to this and they see this massive proof text. And they say, see, it says exactly here, Jesus does not want people to believe. That’s why he’s speaking in parables. Otherwise, they would hear and they would believe. If that were true, then why have the Holy Spirit inspire Matthew to write this in the gospel according to Matthew? and not only publish it to the world, but copies were made that were sent all over the known world, and eventually millions of copies would be produced, going to believer and unbeliever alike. The fact that we’ve read everything that we just read in a Bible that millions of unbelievers have picked up and heard in one manner or another proves that that understanding is not correct. They’re confusing themselves. The Kotok in the parables, you recall in World War II, we didn’t want the Japanese in the Pacific Theater to understand our communications, so Navajo Indians who were loyal to America, they served and they transmitted and received the messages speaking in Navajo. And the Japanese are thinking, how did they invent this code? You know, this code is unbreakable. It was a brilliant military tactical move because when we transmitted our radio signals to get through the Pacific to our ships and our bases, Iwo Jima, Guadalcanal, there was the simple task of the Japanese to set up receivers and listen in. All they had to do was listen. And so not only were the Navajo code talkers speaking in Navajo, but they also used the code within their own language. So they never gave a Navajo word for submarine, they gave their own word, like a Navajo word for cucumber or something, or whatever it was. Completely successful. So imagine if General MacArthur, imagine if he did this. He had the code talkers transmit the message. Then he said, okay, now transmit it again, clear text. Just clear. Just say it in English, plain English. Everyone would know he was crazy, right? Because if your purpose is to disguise the message, you don’t then go and reveal the message. So that’s not the purpose. It’s not the purpose. Jesus had absolutely no hesitancy regarding anyone long-term believer or not having access to his explicit and plain meaning. No hesitancy. He was concerned at the moment, as we’ll see, we’ll talk more about this over the next few minutes, but he was concerned about the Romans and the Jewish religious leaders and others getting too much insight into his plan and trying to thwart his plan. Now there are many Christians who’ve bought into a theological line of thought that goes back through Calvin and Thomas Aquinas and you keep going back to Boethius and Augustine and go back before Christ to Plato and Aristotle. And the ideas of Plato and Aristotle have affected Christian theologians so much They can’t comprehend the concern that Jesus would have that if too much of his message was too clear, then people then would try to interfere and foil his plans, which were to go to the cross and provide the sacrifice for all those who would believe. God had a plan. Human beings are free. And they have IQs. And if they understood too clearly what Jesus was talking about, they could focus in on what they needed to do to thwart his efforts. And that’s the primary reason why Jesus would say, okay, you know who I am? Don’t tell anybody who I am. I mean, don’t tell any, isn’t that salvation? To know him, to know who he is? And yet he would say, don’t tell anybody. Okay, I’m going to be crucified, rise from the dead. Don’t tell anybody. Don’t tell anybody. What do you mean don’t tell anybody? This is the knowledge that leads to eternal life. Jesus was avoiding a premature conflict with Rome and a premature conflict with the Jewish religious leaders. And that’s why he often spoke in code, but just for the time being. The second, so that’s the first of four reasons that completely rebut the misunderstanding of Jesus speaking in parables. The second has to do specifically with Calvinists. Calvinism, the whole system of theology, would be completely disproved, utterly disassembled if it were true that Jesus had to speak in code, in parables, to make sure that those who were not chosen could not believe. All of Calvinism falls apart. Their total depravity, irresistible grace, their doctrine of election. If it were possible that someone who’s not elect and they happen to hear the gospel message clearly, that they could believe, or we don’t want them to believe, we have to speak in code, that would falsify all of Calvinism. Just that. A third way to falsify the misunderstanding of this chapter is that Jesus did not always speak in parables. Often He was explicitly clear when talking about salvation. You remember John 3.16, right? Well, that was said to an unbeliever, but Nicodemus, we do hope, it does appear that he was saved. But this is in the Bible. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that whoever would believe in him shall not perish but have everlasting life. That’s in the Bible. So if there’s a problem that if unbelievers read clearly what they have to do to be saved, then that would mess up God’s plan. That doesn’t make sense. Paul writes that if you believe that God has raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Utterly explicit. And Jesus throughout, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, there were certainly times for strategic reasons, tactical reasons, while he was, when he was vague, but there were other times when he was completely clear and explicit. And then the fourth reason. Beyond the code talk parables, Jesus held back on many truths to prevent this premature conflict with Rome and Jerusalem, that is with Pontius Pilate and Annas and Caiaphas that I’ve been talking about. He didn’t want them to band together in a public attempt to thwart his purpose of going to the cross. at one point Jesus went up to Jerusalem secretly it says in John chapter 7 verse 10 and later he declined to tell the priest where he got his authority from remember that in Luke chapter 20 I mean why not just tell them right and he forbade demons this is earlier in Luke he forbade demons and even his own disciples from telling others his identity. And that truly is startling. Because, again, his identity is eternal life. Knowing him is eternal life. That’s what Jesus said. He instructed many whom he healed to keep it to themselves. Keep it to yourself. Heal ten lepers? Don’t tell anyone, but we’re going to put it in the Bible so millions of people could read it. You see, the purpose for keeping things secret had a very temporary expiration date on them. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been put in the Bible. So it’s so easy when you have a belief system or a doctrine that’s false.

SPEAKER 01 : 28:38

Stop the tape. Stop the tape. Hey, we are out of time. If you want the entire thing, go to enyart.shop. That’s E-N-Y-A-R-T dot S-H-O-P, enyart.shop, and sign up for the Bob Enyart sermons. You do not want to miss that. What a great resource. Hey, may God bless you guys.