More Thoughts on Parables

Jesus called the parables “secrets of the kingdom of heaven”. He also said these secrets had been hidden through former ages even from God’s choicest prophets who prophesized, but often didn’t understand the meaning of their words.

In the Bible, a mystery is not secret hidden knowledge, but instead a truth that one can only come to know by God’s revelation. We can’t discover it on our own. So Jesus is saying, “I am revealing to you the mysteries, these vital truths.”

God’s intention was always to reveal these truths when the time was right. In Colossians 1:26 Paul refers to “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but its now disclosed to the saints.”

So while Jesus was disclosing mysteries, which had been hidden for ages, there would be people who heard the parables and wouldn’t understand them.

There are many people who don’t understand the Bible and therefore deny its power. It’s hidden from them because they depend on only human reasoning and experiences. They oppose God’s truth and as with the parables they are either too lazy or too indifferent to spend time studying it.