Mark 4:10-12, 21-25 The Purpose of the Parables

God is God. He can do what he wants. Think about that. God is what we have always wanted to be. Isn't it true that from early childhood we have desired, longed for, dreamed about, being able to do whatever we want? This is because we are fallen. It is part and parcel of our sinful, fallen nature to desire autonomy. Think about that word. Autonomy.  It is everything we desire as human beings. And yet, at the same time, it is the greatest witness to our sinful nature. We are not king. We are not the ruler of our own destiny. We do not own ourselves. This is not our life. We belong to God. But in our rebellion we have sought autonomy. Autonomy, if you think about it, is the original sin. It is only when we submit ourselves to Christ in faith that we can say we are back on the right path.

But the reason why autonomy is wrong for us is because we are not God. But God is God and God is autonomous. He does whatever he wants.

At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, 

and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, 

and praised and honored him who lives forever,

for his dominion is an everlasting dominion,

and his kingdom endures from generation to generation;

all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,

and he does according to his will among the host of heaven

and among the inhabitants of the earth;

and none can stay his hand

or say to him, “What have you done?”

--Daniel 4:34-35

Are there no limits at all, then, to what God can do? Well, of course, God cannot stop being God. It would follow, then, that the only limits to what God can do are those established by his nature. For example, God cannot sin. He cannot go back on his word. He cannot act in an unjust way. But these are not limits, they are who He is.

But within the nature of who God is he can do exactly anything he wants. In other words, there is nothing outside of God to restrain his free will to do as he pleases. But we must understand that he always wills to do what is right, for that is his nature. That is what pleases him. For not only is God sovereign, but he is also good. And gracious. And in that is our hope, for had not God first loved us we would never have loved him.

The reason for bringing all this up is because of what Jesus tells his disciples when they ask him why he is teaching the multitudes in parables.

The purpose of the parables is two-fold. It is to reveal mysteries to those who respond to Jesus in faith, and to hide them from those who approach him in unbelief. Jesus even quotes from Isaiah 6 to emphasize his point:

so that

“‘they may indeed see but not perceive,

and may indeed hear but not understand,

lest they should turn and be forgiven.’”

Below you will find a link to the sermon I preached from this text on Sunday, April 9, 2017. Just click on the link and a new window will open in your browser where you will find the link to the audio recording. Just click and listen. God bless.



Click here: Mark 4:10-12, 21-25 - The Purpose of the Parables



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