“He said,
“The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you,
but to others I speak in parables, so that, ” `though seeing, they may not
see; though hearing, they may not understand.’ (Luke 8:10).
Jesus’
ministry was picking up momentum. The Twelve have been chosen and were
following Him constantly; the kingdom of God was being proclaimed: in words and
deeds; crowds of people were following the young Rabbi, admittedly many for selfish
reasons; the Pharisees, through their representatives, were keeping an eye (and
an ear) on Him, keen to add damning evidence to their “Jesus of Nazareth” file.
At
this point we can assess the growth of Jesus ministry, given that a number of women
were travelling with them. “…and also
some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called
Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out…” (Luke 8:2; see also v.3).
Some
women were from among those healed or liberated from demonic oppression; others
from among those helped in their needs (of a higher social status, ie. wife of Herod’s house manager).
The
women were helping Jesus and His disciples with what they could afford out from
their own means (Luke 8:3).
This
information points to the fact that the “kingdom band” was developing into a
sort of community: the Jesus community – the kingdom community.
For
this type of community to survive and flourish a set of rules have to be in
place: common ideology; common property; mutual respect; sharing goods/food;
following the leader. Do we have here the church nascent?
The
kingdom community has the privilege of receiving the knowledge of the kingdom
secrets – things of God previously hidden.
The
parable, while describing the well-known process of sowing, ALSO has a (not
revealed yet) secret of the kingdom – a spiritual meaning. With Jesus, secrets
(hidden for a while) of the spiritual world will be revealed. Currently, it is
the work of the Holy Spirit: revealing God’s things!
Keep
listening! He who has ears to hear, let
him hear!