Isn't that just a story for the kids?
May 8, 2022
INSIGHT Series
Matthew 13:10-17
Isn’t That Just a Story for the Kids?
This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; Though hearing, they do not hear or understand” Matthew 13:13
OPEN What is your favorite story that Jesus told or parable that he taught? (Mustard Seed? Sower? Lost sheep/coin/sons?)
NEXT The disciples ask Jesus a simple enough question, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” Find a New Revised Standard Version of the Bible as well as The Message version of the Bible. Read Jesus’ answer in Matthew 13:10-17. Read it first out of the NRSV and then out of the Message. How do each of those translations strike you? What do you see as the major differences between the two? Remember that the NRSV is going to be closer to a word for word translation of the original language while The Message is going to take more liberty and insert some interpretation. So does The Message go too far in this case? Does it miss Jesus’ point or clarify His point?
When you read Matt 13:10-17 in the NRSV do you get the sense the reason that some “see and hear” and some don’t is the result of something they are doing or something that God is doing? What about in the Message? Is one translation right and the other wrong? Are they both wrong? Both right?
Context is so important. The disciples’ question and Jesus’ answer did not come out of nowhere. Jesus just told a story to a massive crowd. And the story began with… “Listen!” And the story ended with “Let anyone with ears, Listen!” And the story between those two statements tells of a sower who seems to scatter seed EVERYWHERE. …on the path. …on the rocky soil. …among the thorns. …on good soil. For people with limited resources who wanted to maximize their harvest doesn’t that sound wasteful? What context might that give to what Jesus says in Matthew 13:10-17? And why is it significant that Jesus begins and ends with an appeal to “listen”?
To make things even more interesting Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9-10, representing the commission of the prophet Isaiah to speak to a people that were not going to listen. Why would God send Isaiah to speak at all if the people were not going to listen? So why does Jesus speak in parables?
CLOSING The appeal that Jesus made that day from a boat is the same appeal he makes today…”Listen!” His intention and his passion are for ears that would hear and eyes that would see. Pray for that.
This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; Though hearing, they do not hear or understand” Matthew 13:13
OPEN What is your favorite story that Jesus told or parable that he taught? (Mustard Seed? Sower? Lost sheep/coin/sons?)
NEXT The disciples ask Jesus a simple enough question, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” Find a New Revised Standard Version of the Bible as well as The Message version of the Bible. Read Jesus’ answer in Matthew 13:10-17. Read it first out of the NRSV and then out of the Message. How do each of those translations strike you? What do you see as the major differences between the two? Remember that the NRSV is going to be closer to a word for word translation of the original language while The Message is going to take more liberty and insert some interpretation. So does The Message go too far in this case? Does it miss Jesus’ point or clarify His point?
When you read Matt 13:10-17 in the NRSV do you get the sense the reason that some “see and hear” and some don’t is the result of something they are doing or something that God is doing? What about in the Message? Is one translation right and the other wrong? Are they both wrong? Both right?
Context is so important. The disciples’ question and Jesus’ answer did not come out of nowhere. Jesus just told a story to a massive crowd. And the story began with… “Listen!” And the story ended with “Let anyone with ears, Listen!” And the story between those two statements tells of a sower who seems to scatter seed EVERYWHERE. …on the path. …on the rocky soil. …among the thorns. …on good soil. For people with limited resources who wanted to maximize their harvest doesn’t that sound wasteful? What context might that give to what Jesus says in Matthew 13:10-17? And why is it significant that Jesus begins and ends with an appeal to “listen”?
To make things even more interesting Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9-10, representing the commission of the prophet Isaiah to speak to a people that were not going to listen. Why would God send Isaiah to speak at all if the people were not going to listen? So why does Jesus speak in parables?
CLOSING The appeal that Jesus made that day from a boat is the same appeal he makes today…”Listen!” His intention and his passion are for ears that would hear and eyes that would see. Pray for that.