Have you ever watched the children's movie, Polar Express? For years it has been one of my
family's favorite fun Christmas films. For awhile, it became an annual tradition to watch it. A theme
throughout the movie is belief in Santa, and the characters in the
movie couldn't hear his sleigh bells ring until they
first believed in him.
A few weeks back, I read in Mark 4 about Jesus explaining His
parables to His disciples. It reads, “With many such parables He spoke the
word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them
without a parable, but privately to His own disciples He explained
everything.” (ESV)
Today, in
Luke 8, following Jesus' parable of the Sower, I read a sort of
continuation to this. “And when His disciples asked Him what this
parable meant, He said, 'To you it has been given to know the secrets
of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that
“seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.” ' " (ESV)
I found some very interesting insight
into this and I thought you might find it
fascinating as well. In the Mark 4 passage, where it refers to “He spoke
the word to them,” it is saying that Jesus taught the multitudes in
parables. Who are the multitudes in Jesus' day? Unbelievers. Who are the multitudes in today's world? Unbelievers.
Who are His disciples to whom Jesus explained His parables?
Christians. Non-Christians will not be able to
understand the full meaning of God's words as written in the Bible.
Only the Christians who take the time to ask God and listen for His
answers will be given true knowledge. Faith leads to knowledge and
comprehension of the truth that is otherwise unable to be attained. By faith the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in believers and it is of Him that Jesus says, ". . . it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send Him to you. . . . When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth . . ." (ESV)
As my family and I were discussing
this, we came up with another level to it. What is a name of Jesus?
The Word. Just as non-Christians
cannot understand the Bible—God's Words—until
they believe, neither can
they understand the Word,
Jesus. When
non-Christians
have so many questions concerning
things in the Bible, and
Christians try to explain them, with
this knowledge it makes much more sense that the unbelievers cannot
understand it and tend to keep pressing the same issues. It
is impossible for them to comprehend
these things until they first
believe.
I
keep thinking about the bell in Polar Express. They
couldn't hear it ring until they first believed.
