“This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” – Matthew 13:13
There is a spiritual dimension that’s required to truly understand the teachings of Jesus and the word of Scripture. The Holy Spirit helps us understand in a way that no amount of education and expertise can replace. The words of Jesus aren’t intended to simply convey information. They’re meant to stir the soul to worship and obedience. A brilliant expert in language, history, and culture who lacks the Holy Spirit may know a tremendous amount of information about what Jesus said but they still won’t fully understand because they will neither worship nor obey.
Likewise, there must be a desire to truly understand. If the mind and heart aren’t open to what Jesus had to say, then it will remain stubbornly difficult to understand what He taught and what the rest of the Bible is communicating. This is why Jesus began teaching in parables after being accused of using Satanic power. He knew there would always be people who knew a lot but had no desire to understand. Communicating with them was no longer His priority. His desire was to communicate effectively with those who wanted to understand and who would have the Spirit within them to understand.
This is a good news / bad news situation for you. The good news is that if you’re a believer in Jesus, then you have what you need to understand the teachings of Jesus and the Bible. You have the Holy Spirit. You have (or should have) a desire to understand. That doesn’t mean it will always be easy to understand, but this should encourage you to start reading and studying God’s Word for yourself, confident that understanding will come when you want to understand and ask God’s help to understand.
The bad news is that you may have people in your life who don’t have the Spirit and don’t honestly want to understand Scripture. They may be more interested in scoring clever points, twisting Scripture, or mocking it. The painful reality is that they’ll continue to think you’re wrong and foolish for caring about, studying, and obeying the ancient words of Jesus. This will be discouraging, but remember – it’s because they literally can’t understand. Not fully. Don’t be surprised about this, be prepared. Help them believe in Jesus first, knowing that until they do, they’re always going to misunderstand God’s Word and be hostile toward it. Trust in Jesus, study His Word, share your hope with those who don’t understand. #FollowJesus