HAVE YOU ASKED FOR EXPLANATION?

Matthew 13:36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him saying, “Explain [clearly] to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

The disciples today sat in one of the many lessons of Jesus and were privy to hear a parable about weeds and wheat. In private therefore, they asked Him a question which forms the centre of today’s discourse ‘explain the parable of the weeds to us’.

It wasn’t that the disciples had no understanding at all. If nothing, they were people with common sense who could piece information together. They were reasonably armed to make some sense of the words of Jesus. However, it would have been drawn from the pool of their personal experiences and individual interpretations. They would have run along with personalized meanings.

While this is sometimes true of the word of God because the Spirit breathes on it each moment it is read, there are things that ‘have to be explained to you’. This scene bears much resemblance to the conversation between Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch who was reading the book of Isaiah: ‘do you understand what you’re reading?’ Philip asked. To which the Eunush responded ‘How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?”(Acts 8:30-31)

Even in life, there are times when you will need to ask for explanations about the actions and words of others. If not, you will draw interpretations that will differ from the intended meaning of the communicator. Remember, hearing does not always translate to expected  understanding.

#sly