Sunday School | The Hard Teachings of Jesus

Have been doing a series in here for the last couple of months on Stuff Jesus Said, red letters, Stuff Jesus Said. And today, I've got three in the queue. I don't know if we'll get through all three of them, but I hope to. We'll see. But the three that I kind of selected from your questions are all we could put them all in the category generally I think of hard teachings of Jesus, meaning things that he says that are kind of maybe a little edgy or a little bit like, oh, what was that about kind of going on?

Okay, so we're going be looking at three of these, but they're all I think they're all pretty impressive, pretty amazing if we take them as they come. So let's start with this question. Explain not burying the dead when Jesus implores His followers to choose Him over family.

Okay, so we're gonna look at this—it shows up a couple different places, but go to Luke chapter nine. We're gonna look at that here in Luke nine, toward the end of the chapter. Luke 9:57 and on. I'll give you this chunk:

As they were going along the road, someone said to Jesus, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

To another, he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God."

Yet another said, "I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home." And Jesus said to him, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God." — Luke 9:57-62

You get these three little vignettes, these three short, pithy little interactions that Jesus has with folks. And in the midst of it is that particular statement that we're asked about: What's up when Jesus says, "Let the dead bury the dead?"

So you with me? You got your text? I think if we're gonna understand what's going on here, the first thing you gotta do is understand this in its broader context because this is right after a very significant, probably the most significant turning point in Luke's Gospel. If you were to read through Luke's Gospel, something happens in Luke 9:51 that is the pivot point for his whole story. Different Gospel writers will have a different way they frame the climax.

The Turning Point: Jesus Sets His Face Toward Jerusalem

Go back to 9:51 and you're gonna find this:

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. — Luke 9:51

The ESV has it that Jesus set His face for Jerusalem. What's going on in this whole story is that Jesus gets to this point where He knows that it is time to begin this march to the city, to Jerusalem where a cross awaits him. And from the time that happens there in Luke 9:51, Luke is constantly gonna be throwing a reference to Jerusalem. From this point on Luke is gonna be relentlessly reminding us that we're heading to Jerusalem, we're heading to Jerusalem, we're heading to Jerusalem where Jesus is gonna be crucified.

So we started at 9:51. Let me read you through a series of these passages:

The people there did not welcome him because he was heading for Jerusalem. — Luke 9:53

Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem. — Luke 13:22

In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem. — Luke 13:33

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who killed the prophets and stoned those sent to you. How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers your chicks under her wings, but you are not willing. — Luke 13:34

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. — Luke 17:11

Jesus took the 12 aside and told them, "We are going up to Jerusalem and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled." — Luke 18:31

While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. — Luke 19:11

After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead going up to Jerusalem. — Luke 19:28

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it. — Luke 19:41

And I think this is so stunning—he wept over it. Not over himself. Isn't that stunning?

Okay, so Luke is very intentionally saying we're on our way to Jerusalem, we're heading to Jerusalem, we're getting close to Jerusalem. They get to Jerusalem and when he gets to the city where he's going to die, he doesn't weep because it's gonna be a terrible week. But he weeps for the city because he knows the destruction that is going to be coming on the city in forty years, in 70 AD. So everything we understand going on in this moment here—in Luke 9:51—is that turning point, and it's Luke 9:57 that Jesus has this little conversation about these three things, okay.

So when we look at these three things I want you to understand these three statements in the context that Jesus has just set his face like flint using the language out of Isaiah. He's borrowing this from the servant songs of Isaiah. Jesus sets his face for Jerusalem and then he's just gonna march. And whatever happens, whatever's on the way, the story's gonna end in the city. Right? He's making this very strong determination. I am driving relentlessly. Nothing will stop me until I get to the place where I will be mocked, beaten, spat upon, crucified, and killed because we're heading to Jerusalem. Okay, you with me?

So in that, let's go back again and listen. Let's just talk about what we see. Each one of these little vignettes illustrates a separate aspect. Right? He is inviting, he has made a commitment to his people. He's made a commitment to you. He is driving to the city to be crucified. And in the midst of his commitment to us, he asks us to do something. Right? Three things that he's gonna call for. Let's talk about what each one of them is and then we'll see if we don't notice an interesting little pattern here.

The First Teaching: Following Without Security

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the son of man has nowhere to lay his head." — Luke 9:57-58

What's that? Let's talk about that. In fact, do this one at your tables for just a minute. I want you to distill that down. There is something that this guy says—"I wanna follow you, Jesus"—and he says, well, do you? And what is the aspect that he's talking about here?

So just take at your tables, give it thirty, sixty seconds. What is the point of this first one of the three? Alright. So this guy says to Jesus, "Jesus, I'll follow you anywhere you go." And Jesus responds and says, "Well, before you do, you should know this. Foxes have holes and birds have nests, but I have nowhere to lay my head." What is he telling him? What is he inviting him to consider as he makes this commitment to follow him anywhere he goes?

Zach: Well, to reference back to what you said earlier—I mean, he doesn't have a place to go. I mean, even in that little passage you said that, because Jesus goes to Jerusalem, Samaritan village didn't want him. It's constant throughout Jesus' entire journey.

That's right. If you follow him, your only home is in him. There aren't gonna be a whole bunch of comforts, things that you have come to expect that you just might have to leave behind. Right? Excellent. What else? Anybody else wanna throw in what you think this means?

Catherine: It's been your career to hear where God wants you to go and wants you to do. I'm trying to prepare my house for that care thing, just get rid of the water and the food, because we don't know what God's gonna call.

Yes, okay. So there's going to be a whole number of things that you just might leave behind, that you don't get to retain, that you don't get to carry with you. There's this thinning out, right?

Now if I were to group this, we could go a number of different directions with it. But at the core, what he's saying is if you wanna follow me, there are gonna be some sacrifices, right? So you gotta follow me when there's a place to sleep, when there's no place to sleep. When everything is comfy and cozy, when it's cold and wet—is this really what you're interested in? Because there is going to be a sacrifice. And let's just be clear about that upfront, okay? That's number one. You with me?

The Second Teaching: Following Before Everything Else

Look at number two.

To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, let me go first and bury my father." And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." — Luke 9:59-60

What's this one about, you guys? What seems to be the thing? This guy wants to follow Jesus. He's like, but hang on.

I got a couple things I got to do first, but then I'll come back around. Stuart? And I've heard someone preach on this or teach on it, so I think you'll be the best one to answer this, but doesn't this guy's dad probably not actually dead?

Precisely. So if you understood that, he was not really dead. He was actually sort of like apprenticing for the father or taking over the family business.

Yep. And he couldn't go until that's all cleaned up.

Yeah. What Stuart is saying is right, that the Father here, there's no indication the Father has actually died. So he's delaying for this eventual—I'm sure his Father's gonna die, I'm sure his Father's dead by now. But eventually he's gonna die. But he's delaying and Jesus is not having the delay.

That's right. That promise of the Lord, if you just let me win the lottery, I'll quit my job and serve you completely.

That's right. That's right. Give me this and then I'll do that.

Yes. That's exactly right. Kelly Sue?

I've also heard this passage used in the context of the spiritually dead may be dead.

Yes. Yeah. So what Kelly's saying is that there's an understanding here that when Jesus says "let the dead bury the dead," what he's saying—clearly, you know, corpses don't bury corpses. That's not what he's saying here. What he's describing is let the spiritually dead deal with these mundane things and let those that are spiritually alive go do these things that only Christians can do. So I think that's part of the frame. But I think the most significant word in here is the word "first."

He says, "Lord, let me first go and bury my father." And Jesus said to him, "Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but as for you, go proclaim the kingdom of God."

I think what Jesus is inviting him to is to rearrange his priorities. What do you do first? What's winning right now? What gets to go now?

The first thing is about sacrifice. Are you willing to make some sacrifices? The second thing is about priorities. Are you willing to put me first or am I down your list?

Right? Robin? I know that in their culture they understood the thing of firstfruits and the sacrifices before the Lord that you give with the expectation that he's gonna continue supplying.

Yes. I wonder if there's any connection there.

Yeah, certainly. I mean, everything about what is gonna come—the firstfruits. My understanding of the firstfruits is the idea is the sample of what will come later, right? And so there's something in our lives. If you look at my to-do list, if you look at my checkbook register, that's gonna probably give you the best indication of what my priorities actually are, right? How do I spend my time? How do I spend my money? How do I spend my mind space? What are the things that are my priorities?

And what this guy is indicating is there's just some other things ahead of Jesus on the list. Jesus says, "Well, I'm just not interested in being in third place. I wanna be priority. Everything else gets in line behind me."

All right, that's that. And then the third one says this:

Yet another said, "I will follow you Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home."

And Jesus' response to him is different, okay. It starts off very similar. This happens all the time. They're both giving you the first thing, but Jesus responds to each one differently. We'll see this in a number of different places. The two sisters whose brother Lazarus had died say the exact same things and Jesus treats them completely differently. He's just a genius at getting past the surface and getting to the heart of the issue, okay.

So for the first guy, Jesus goes after the priority issue. It's not priority here, okay. What is it here?

Jesus said, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

No one who starts and then is like, "Oh, also I'm going back," is fit for the kingdom of God. What's this one about? First one was sacrifice, second one's priority. What's this?

My study brought up 1 Kings 19 with Elijah. And Elijah—I'm not sure what's going on there.

He says, "Follow me." Oh, essentially. And then Elijah goes, "Let me go and say goodbye to my father."

Oh, okay. Then that's gonna—Elijah permits him to do that, but Jesus does not.

Oh, interesting. Okay. Yeah, I didn't catch that.

So what is it? If this guy starts and then goes back, what's the issue?

Attachment.

Yeah. You're saying commitment, attachment.

I would frame it in terms of perseverance. Like, you don't get to stop. There is no interrupting.

Once we're in, we're in and don't give up. So if you take this as Jesus demanding that you be willing to make sacrifices, that he be your priority, and that you persevere in the game, with that triad in your mind, listen—tell me if these phrases say anything to you.

If you've ever been to a wedding, in particular an Anglican wedding, you've probably heard the phrase "in sickness and in health." That's sacrifice. You may have heard the phrase "forsaking all others." What is that? Priority. Everybody gets in line behind Kelly, right? "Till death do us part." What is that? That's the perseverance.

You guys, what Jesus is doing—this is so interesting—in this moment he is saying to the people of God that would have followed him, he's basically saying, "Will you marry me?" He is saying in this thing, "What I'm looking for is in sickness and in health, no matter what it is, are you in? What I'm saying is I want you to forsake all others. I will not compete with anyone or anything in your life. And what I need to know is, are you in this thing till death do us part? Are you locked in, or are you gonna kind of come and go as it suits you?"

He's saying, "Will you marry me?" And he's saying this immediately after he's set his face like flint for Jerusalem. He has said, "I am all in and nothing will deter me. Is this what you want to do?" And that's the question to ask.

So all of these things—yeah, he's setting a high bar, but the bar is no higher than that which he has set for himself, that he will finish the journey to Jerusalem. Do you really wanna come? Because it's gonna be a bumpy road.

If they had gone back to say goodbye, that's the issue. I saw that in the chosen group when Judas came to his sister and he cares about her, but he's just like, "Oh my god." And this is what we're invited to. And that's the very nature of marriage—we make a commitment, right? Till death do us part, forsaking all others, in sickness and in health. Because if we didn't, then our marriages wouldn't survive. That's how it works. And that's what Jesus is saying: lock it in. Let's go.

On Initiation and Calling

Is there significance that these folks were initiating it? Jesus wasn't asking these guys initially. These guys were the ones that initiated him. When Jesus calls somebody, there's authority to it.

They're all coming in and saying, "Jesus, I'm gonna follow you." And basically he's like, "Well maybe you will and maybe you won't." He didn't say like he said to Peter, "Follow me, I'll make you fishers of men." These were folks that might wanna be a part of this. They initiated it and Jesus is like, "I don't think you know where you're at."

But I would think that they wouldn't initiate with him if he was not already calling to them. If they were just chasing after something they thought beneficial, he's got to be doing what he's doing with Peter, even if they started the conversation. He's basically raising the stakes. He's saying, "Let me ask you, if you really wanna be in—maybe you will and maybe you won't." And of course, there are multiple times where the crowds depart and they're like, "You know what? I'm out. I don't wanna play anymore."

Jesus' consistency is interesting because he says to John—presumably the apostle John and Andrew—and they ask him a question: "Where are you staying?" And he says,

Come and see. — John 1:39

Even there, he's reaching out, and they're asking, "Well, where are you staying?" Because of the importance of—and then it goes into Philip and Nathaniel: "Come and see." Everything else. So that inner circle, it's like, "Where are you staying?" Yeah, asking when you're trying to follow somebody. And yet it was at the very beginning, the first fight: "Where are you staying?" It was interesting.

Also, there's the parable in Luke where the banquet—you know, Jesus talks about the great banquet that he's gonna have. And someone says, "Well, I got some oxen I gotta go take care of." Or, "I just got married, you know, and I can't come. I'm not able to make a sacrifice. I'm not willing to put you as priority. And I'll do this until there's a better offer." And it's like he's saying, "This is never gonna work with me."

Right? The degree to which I am locked in for you is beyond what you can imagine, and it's not gonna work if you're not willing to marry me back. That's what he's doing there. Okay? Let's keep going.

We'll go on to another one. Somebody asked, what's the deal with "depart from me, I never knew you"? Okay, this is hard language. It's Matthew 7, so let's go take a look at this. I'm gonna give you a bigger chunk of the context to get the flavor here.

"Depart From Me, I Never Knew You"

Go to Matthew 7, verse 15. This is toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount, if you're familiar with the whole Beatitudes in chapter 5. So Matthew 7:15—Jesus says this:

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them." — Matthew 7:15-20

Let's stop there for just a second. What's the heading here as he starts? What are the first words out of his mouth? "Beware." Beware false prophets. Okay, so the idea is there are phonies. They dress up like this, but inside it's something else. They're wolves in sheep's clothing, right? So there are phonies. This is a major theme throughout the Gospels—there are fake Christians all the time, right? There are weeds growing up among the weeds. There are good fish and bad fish in the net. There are sheep and wolves in sheep's clothing—all these fakes. And how do we see through the disguise? Their fruit. Their lives, their activity. Okay, so there's something that manifests what's innately real.

With that said, Matthew 7:21—

"Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers.'" — Matthew 7:21-23

So what does it mean that Jesus says "I never knew you"? What do you guys think? Let's get a couple ideas as we start off. What does he mean "I never knew you"? Or what does it mean to know you? Maybe we can start a little bit more basic. Chris?

I'm drawn to the verses talking about when Christ says, "Yeah, the demons know who I am." That doesn't mean that they follow me.

Good. So it's one thing to know about someone, and it's a different thing to actually know someone. Right? So this isn't about intellectual information. He's not saying you didn't pass the Sunday school quiz. It's not data, right? It's to know them. He's talking about relational knowledge—that you didn't know me or I didn't know you, or we didn't know each other. There's a lack of a relationship there. Okay, good enough to start?

So what's the problem in their lives? Why do they not know one another?

They're just doing all the stuff.

Okay, so keep going. Say it louder. Say it again.

They're just doing all the stuff. They're doing all the stuff. What kind of stuff are they doing? Well, they could be following commandments, serving other people, being good people. So a bunch of friends that are really good people and they don't really want to hear about this part. Okay, but if they're doing this stuff—and this is really where it gets troubling, right? So if they're doing stuff, they're doing genuinely good things. Jesus says, "Lord, Lord, not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven."

So is doing good stuff the answer? It seems in Matthew 7:21, Jesus is saying the key to getting into the kingdom of heaven is obediently doing the will of the Father. Does that seem pretty clear?

So, Lily?

I think it goes back to what you were saying about relationship. The scriptures continually say throughout the New Testament—it's more about doing things in the spirit, by the spirit. And the implication is then, going back to Genesis, you have partnership with God. If you do things by yourself, no matter how good you are, you have no good apart from God. So it goes into abiding as well. You can have all the good mission you want. If you're not doing it in relationship with God, you're disconnected from the one who is love. If not, that you're nothing.

That's right. That's right.

And you guys, history is replete with people going through the external stuff. The Pharisees were geniuses at the external stuff and they hated Jesus, right? They were all about it—if they find a dime, they're gonna tithe a penny. They're gonna have this very punctilious obedience to the rules. But as Jesus, we've talked about this in the last few weeks, they're whitewashed tombs but inside they're full of dead man's bones, right? So the whole thing is just external obedience but they don't actually know Him.

When Jesus says, think about this you guys, when Jesus says, "only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven," the trick here is what's the will of the Father who is in heaven? To believe God. To worship. To believe Him. To love the Lord your God with your heart, soul, mind and strength. It's not like if we—and I was kind of trying to trick Don—like, people are like doing all kinds of stuff. Is the will of the Father that you do a bunch of stuff? No. The will of the Father is that you know him. Right? He wants a relationship with you. So are you filling up your calendar with all sorts of do-goodism? I mean, knock yourself out. And maybe there's good things that are coming out of that. But what's missing there is this relationship between God and the people that he loves, right?

Well, I'm just thinking of the instructions to the church in Ephesus. That's right. So this is that love that was missing. Yes. That's such a great way to phrase it. Are we worshiping the act or the person who allows us to even have these acts?

If your hope is set on your list of accomplishments, your set of duties—if you're like, when they're like, "Lord, Lord, I did this, I did this, I did this, I did this." If on that day you have to stand before God and he's like, "why should I let you into my heaven?" and you say, "well, I did this and I did this and I did this, right?" The first word that you screwed up there is I, I, I.

Have you guys ever seen—oh man, if I had thought about this I would have pulled it up. Alistair Begg. Have you seen his video? Alistair Begg, b-e-g-g. Go to YouTube and search for "Man on the Middle Cross." Seriously today, go home and watch this. It's a seven minute YouTube clip. I'm not even gonna ruin it. If you're not writing this down, all is lost, okay. He captures this thing—it's not about the things that you do.

Jesus Quotes Psalm 6

Did you know that Jesus' response is an Old Testament quote? Did you know that? He's actually quoting Psalm 6. Kelly and I were just talking about this the other day and I haven't fully unpacked what I think is going on here but I think there's something meaningful. And it's a little bit surprising.

When I listen to Jesus' response here in Matthew seven, the framing of it is Jesus is Lord, he's king, he's reigning, and there's all these wicked people coming before his court saying "depart from me," right? Jesus is in a clear position of superiority in this conversation in Matthew seven. But the line that he is quoting from Psalm 6 is the exact inversion of that, okay?

Listen to Psalm 6:

O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger nor discipline me in your wrath. Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I'm languishing. Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. My soul is also greatly troubled, but you, O Lord, how long? Turn, Lord, deliver my life, save me for the sake of your steadfast love, for in death there is no remembrance of you. In Sheol, who will give you praise? I'm weary with my moaning. Every night I flood my bed with tears. I drench my couch with my weeping. My eyes waste away because of grief. It grows weak because of all my foes. — Psalm 6:1-7

The speaker in Psalm 6 is not in a high exalted position looking down on the wretched world. He is underneath it being beaten by it, suffering in a place of lowliness. Agreed?

The next line, verse eight. Well, we'll start at verse six again.

I'm weary with my moaning. Every night I flood my bed with tears. I drench my couch with my weeping, my eye wastes away because of grief, it grows weak because of all my foes. Depart from me all you workers of evil. For the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping, the Lord has heard my plea, the Lord accepts my prayer, all my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled. They shall turn back and be put to shame in a moment. — Psalm 6

Jesus' response in Matthew 7 is to quote Psalm 6. And I'm honestly not sure where to go with this, but there's two possible things that I'll just put forward that you can consider.

Number one: this person in Psalm 6 is grieved to be under the thumb of a wicked world. It's oppression and it is pain and it's unjust suffering. And they're crying out "away from me," which is to say, like, get away, stop hitting me is what he's saying. It's not a dismissal from a judge, it's a plea from someone that is tired of getting kicked, saying please stop.

It could be that Jesus quotes this in Matthew 7 so as to say to those that identify with being weak and hurt that the day will come when the plaintiff cry for justice from those that are suffering will be met by a just judge. Do you feel that? You're here and you're getting kicked, you're crying, you have no power to say "away from me," but you cry it anyway. Well, someday one with authority will fulfill what you have asked for and all of the wickedness in the world will be banished. You say it in weakness, he will say it in power. That's possible. You good?

Or, the other thing that I've been thinking about—I may have a better answer for this in a couple weeks—the other option might be that as Jesus says it here in Matthew 7, he himself is feeling the Psalm 6 of it. That though he is the judge, he is pained by the rejection of his people. That to him he is not emotionally distant and aloof from all this pain and suffering, but when he says "depart from me you evildoers, I never knew you," that he's not saying it in anger as much as he's saying it in sorrow. Because for him, it's a painful thing to be rejected by the people that he's come to save. That make sense?

So one or both or something else might be there, but I'd never noticed that he's quoting Psalm 6. And so there's something Psalm-6-ish that we've got to bring into our understanding in Matthew 7 that frames how this works. That day, this incongruent—Psalm 6 is sad, Matthew 7 feels angry. There's something in the other that we've got to work through what's going on there. So if you think about that and you get a better answer, let me know. But I think there's something in there. Okay. Cool, cool?

Alright, Katherine. On the shore, I think, where Jesus said, "Do you love me?" And he said it three times. And Peter was the one that said, "I'll do anything for you. I'll go to death. I'll do it." "Do you love me?" And so the foundation overarching of this—between "did I know you or not"—it's "did you love me?"

That's right. Do it out of love because he doesn't want anybody to feel obligated. He wants cheerful givers. He wants you to make your choice. And do it because of love, not because your value comes from your perspective. That's right.

And what is the greatest commandment, Catherine?

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. — Matthew 22:37

That's it. I mean, all morality. And then the second is like it:

Love your neighbor as yourself. — Matthew 22:39

Right? You ask Jesus for one, he gives you two. But we don't escape from that. The greatest commandment is not to do a bunch of stuff. The greatest commandment is to love him, to prioritize him. It goes back to: make sacrifice, prioritize, persevere. It's a request that we would enter into a marriage covenant with him.

And in fact, you know this, right? It's not the case that the way we frame that could sound like our relationship with God is like marriage. But that's exactly backward. Rather, it's that marriage is like our relationship with God. That's the first, that's the primary. And then marriage is merely a picture of this prior reality.

Okay. Chris, and then we're going to do the third one and then we're going to get out of here. I just want to tie in Acts 19. It summarizes all of what you're talking about.

When they—an itinerant Jewish exorcist undertook to invoke the name of Jesus, saying to the people, "I adjure you by the name of Jesus whom Paul proclaims." And the demons answered them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?" — Acts 19:13-15

And the demand was overtaken by people. So he didn't have a relationship with Christ. He didn't have, like Zach was mentioning, that person that provides the power to do the good acts—the relationship with that source. And they were just saying, "Hey, checkbox, I can do what Don was mentioning. I can just go over here and profess this evil spiritually, and it's not gonna work." Yeah.

So these guys in Acts 19, there's this guy that is performing all sorts of feats, but he's doing so absent a relationship with Jesus. And we see that over and over and over again. You can't—it's like you're completing the dance steps but you can't actually hear the music. There's no reality. It's just external imitation, but the internal reality just isn't there. And we see this shows up over and over.

Why Jesus Speaks in Parables

Okay, here's the third one—another kind of weird, seemingly edgy thing that Jesus says. Somebody says, "Hi, I would like to add Matthew 13:11 and following, where Jesus says that this is why I speak in parables, to your list of material for Sunday school."

Okay, so flip over to Matthew 13, and I'll read you this from verse 11 down to verse 17:

Jesus replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have in abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has, will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables. Though seeing, they do not see, and though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.' For this people's heart has become calloused. They hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but they didn't see it, and to hear what you hear but didn't hear it." — Matthew 13:11-17

There's a lot of words, and it's quoted in Isaiah 6 there. We'll look at Isaiah 6 in a second. But the question behind the question is: why does Jesus teach in parables?

So why does Jesus teach in parables? There's always more than one reason for things, but what are some of the reasons that he uses stories, his little aphorisms to convey his ideas? What's his gig? What was it, Suzanne?

Make it relatable. Yes, to make it relatable. Okay, so his stories are always about things that are very immediate to his context. People were real fishermen, were real farmers. People understood the nature of war. People had fathers. So he tells stories that will land.

Teaching is—write this down—teaching is the art of building bridges from the known to the unknown. Right? So you always want to begin your teaching at a place of commonality. You understand this; you get this. Now let me walk you over a bridge to this thing that you didn't know. So the parables conveniently start at a place of common hook. They relate to people for sure.

Robin?

It also makes me think of the parable of the soils and these words that fall on just hard, hard, hard soil. And the birds take them away. And then some that get shallow roots because they're in the thorns. It makes me think of that.

That's right. And what's interesting about it—so Robin is invoking the parable of the soils, the parable of the farmer that sows the seed in the four different places. What's unique about that story is that it's one of the very few places where Jesus tells the story, and then what else does he do? He explains. He goes and he explains—like, "This is what this meant." And he kinda unpacks the code, right?

Now, that's a good setup for what I mean. It is a setup for what we're talking about here. Jesus is speaking to the crowd, and he only gives them the encoded version. And then he goes and he breaks down the code for the disciples, particularly with that one, okay?

So let's take it another step. Why then does he speak in encoded language? Suzanne observes that the parables are relatable, and that's true. But there's also the exact opposite circumstance, right. Did you want to add to that?

To say it gets to people's heart. Yes, okay. It gets to people's heart. But here's the thing—here's the secret of the parable—is it only gets to some people's hearts, right? And he does it on purpose.

You guys, the parables are a giant game of hide and seek. Eric, did you wanna say something?

Eric wanted to add something about how parables work. When you tell somebody something outright, it can go in one ear and out the other. But if you hide it in such a way that they have to search for it, then they're going to retain it better. The parables are a dividing line. Jesus is telling a story that is on the one hand very relatable, but on the other hand is encoded. All of the language he's pulling out of Isaiah 6 is about people not having ears to hear. This is a major biblical idea—you have ears but you cannot hear.

"Go and tell this people, 'Be ever hearing but never understanding, be ever seeing but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused, make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn and be healed." — Isaiah 6:9-10

That sounds like he's saying we don't want anybody to know, we don't want anybody to repent. That's never the case. What he is saying is that for those who don't want to hear, we are not going to break this down to such an extent. People that don't have ears—there's nothing you can say to them that's going to make them be able to hear.

"Son of man, you are living among a rebellious people. They have eyes to see, but they do not see. They have ears to hear, but they do not hear, for they are a rebellious people." — Ezekiel 12

It is absolutely the case that in every culture, in every time, in every place, and here's the bad news—in every individual life including yours—there is this phenomenon where you are deaf and you're not going to hear it. This is just the human condition. This is the way we are wired.

Can you imagine going back to talk to a plantation owner in the South and explaining to him why the ownership of human beings is an evil thing? What do you think your chances of success are? You could lay out the case, you could explain this, you could walk through it. But you're very unlikely to be successful. What's convenient about that illustration is that none of you are slave owners, so we can look at that and see how wretched that particular version is. But this permeates the human condition.

There's a silly joke about a guy who goes to see his physician and tells his doctor, "Doctor, I'm dead." The doctor says, "Well, I'm pretty sure you're not dead." He says, "No, no, I'm actually dead and I need your help." The doctor can't convince him that he's alive, so he says, "Let me ask you a question. Do you think that dead people bleed?" The man says, "No, dead people don't bleed." The doctor says, "Alright, give me your finger." He pricks his finger and it bleeds. The man says, "Well, do you know? Dead people do bleed."

The Problem of Ideological Deafness

I just saw this week a poster of a bunch of women who'd had double mastectomies with bloody underwear on. The purpose was to prove that men can have periods. These are women pretending to be men—transgender men, who by definition are women—who are menstruating, and they're in this campaign to prove that men can have periods too, and their lives are the evidence that men can have periods. You might look at it and be like, "Or it's evidence that you're actually women."

As I say that in this room, I probably have a high degree of friendly response to that, but I'm certain it's not 100%. And if I were to leave this room, it would drop precipitously. There are people that—to persuade people that if you have a functioning uterus but have had your breasts removed, that does not turn you into a man—people don't have ears to hear that. You know this. Lots of people don't have ears to hear that. And it would be a vain thing to go on a giant persuasion campaign to show how this is ridiculous, because it's not a lack of information. It's not a lack of rationality. It's that they don't have ears to hear.

Here's where it gets really painful though: if I happen to know your issues and your issues and your issues, or you knew mine, every one of us has this phenomenon where we just don't want to hear it. You can make your case all day long, because I've already determined what I want to know. Right?

Parables are designed for that condition of the human heart. Because they're subversive—they sneak around your defenses. The message comes through, and if I'm just refusing to decode it, well that's fine because I wasn't gonna hear it if you said it to me straight anyway. Wasn't gonna hear it no matter what. But sometimes those parables can get past that, and those that are willing, those that have ears to hear and are willing to see it—ah, it comes in.

It's what happened with the most effective parable in the Bible, which is not even Jesus'. It's Nathan's parable to David, right? About "you are the man"—the whole deal with the Bathsheba incident. That's how they work. That's the only way they work. So Jesus is intentionally hiding, encoding his message because it skips the wasted effort to persuade people who don't have ears to hear, and it comes past the defenses of those that could. That's why he does it. Not merely to clarify, but also to obscure. Both of those phenomena are useful and valuable, and Jesus is very brilliantly doing both.

Kelly, and then we gotta stop. I think one of the things that's stressing about this passage in Matthew is that if you misunderstand it and think it's up to me to be smart enough and clever enough or persevering enough—I'm trying to figure this out, like I have to do something in order to be able to see or hear—yes, you mistake that it's God who brings you to do that.

Satan, the Lord of this age, has taken us captive and has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel. — 2 Corinthians

Right. And so it just puts so much emphasis on your ability, but God was the one who grants you to see. That's right. And it will come. That's great.

So in case you didn't hear everything Kelly said, we could say okay, it's only the smart guys that can decode the parable—right, it's an intellectual exercise. And it's not an intellectual exercise. There's a couple ways we can break it down. What Kelly's observing is that the ability to see is a gift. The God of this age—that's not God, that's Satan—has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see. They can't; it doesn't make sense; it's idiocy to them.

But God who said "let light shine out of darkness" has made his light shine in our hearts. What he did in the beginning of the world when he created the world, he made light out of nothing. He puts light in dark hearts. And this is our great hope.

So those of us who have been granted the ability to see should not look down on those who have not. Faith is a gift. Insight is a gift, and we should recognize that. And you have the opportunity to cooperate. You can. You guys, you really have the ability to become deliberately stupid. Do you know this? Have you watched yourself do this? You are capable of doing this. You can decide to be dumber than you are.

And the great dread of this is that it works. You are able to callous your heart. You are able to say, "I don't wanna look at that." And eventually the feeling goes away. And you become harder and your thinking becomes more futile. Even when God grants this kindness to us, we can turn away from it and it works. You can deliberately forget and harden your heart.

What Jesus tells this story for is so that those that are willing to have ears to hear can hear. And that's what we want. That's the people that we want to be, ought to be. And I think what Jesus is inviting us to be at so great a cost to himself—that he would march all his days to Jerusalem and invite you to come on the ride. Alright? Good enough for now? Alright. That's all we got.