10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
11 He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
Please consider that. Why would Jesus want to keep the Truth (the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of Heaven) from being given to “them?” And why would His disciples be recipients of it? I’ll give you a hint... It has something to do with Election.
ANSWER: because “them” weren’t chosen - but His disciples were! And Christians of today ARE. And not because of anything they had done, or we have done, but because of an act of a Sovereign God working IN them, and us, to make them believe (John 6:29, Philippians 2:13). The Arminian may claim, “Jesus didn’t give it to them because He knew their hearts.” I’m sorry but that is nothing new. 1) The condition of EVERY lost man’s heart is hard, and 2) of course Jesus knew their hearts for He forms the heart of every man (Psalm 33:15).
Did “them” want to hear the Truth? NO! No one who is lost wants to know the Truth. The only thing lost people can do is “ONLY evil, continually.” (Genesis 6:5); all lost people hate Christ and will not come into the Light (John 3:20); all the lost are at enmity with God (Romans 8:7); all the lost can’t please God (Romans 8:8); not one lost person can understand the things from the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 2:14). So of course, “them” did not want to know the Truth - but neither did His disciples want to know the Truth before God saved them. Their hearts were just as hard as every lost person’s heart. But once God saved them, the secrets of the kingdom of Heaven was given to them - including the meaning of the parables. But even then, their minds were not opened completely to understand the Scriptures. That did not occur until AFTER the resurrection. (Luke 24:45)
Tell me - why is there NOT ONE parable of Christ concerning salvation where the object of salvation had anything to do with being saved?
Examples:
The Sower and the soils - Can the rocky soil (or any infertile soil) change itself into fertile soil? (Matthew 13) God creates the soil (hearts of man) and the soil has no say or decision in the matter at all. (And if you notice in the parable, not all soil [hearts] receive[s] seed, but only where the Sower throws it.)
The Shepherd and the sheep - Can a sheep move from one flock to another? ALL the work is done by the Shepherd (God), the sheep has no say or decision in the matter of which flock he is in. If a sheep DOES move from one flock to another, it’s because the shepherd chose it and paid for it, completing the transaction. (Bible Truth #28, #110, #134, #164)
The Vine and the branches - Can a branch remove itself from a vine and graft itself into a different vine? (John 15) It is ALL the work of the Husbandman or Gardener (God). The branch has no say or decision in the matter of to which vine it is attached.
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