Parable of parables

In Matthew 13:10, the disciples ask Jesus, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" It's a natural question to ask, and it seems especially appropriate in Matthew, because this gospel could easily be called the "gospel of parables". The book is FULL of them. Even in passages where Jesus is not giving a parable, the narrative often reads like one. So why did he speak in parables? We should expect that the answer helps us to understand the words and works and overall ministry of Jesus, and in a related way also shed light on the gospel of Matthew as a whole. 

Jesus first responds with, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given." This seems pretty straightforward, Jesus is calling his parables "secrets" that need interpretation and explanation. But he continues on to say, "To the one who has, more will be given, and he will have more than enough, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away." Wait... is he referring to the parable that immediately precedes this passage, the parable of the sower (v. 3)? This parable describes seed scattered on the road, on rocky soil, in thorns, and on good soil, and describes how some seed is "taken away". Jesus does go on, in fact, to give a full explanation of this parable in verse 18, but before we get there, we have this "interrupting" question of the disciples.

So it seems clear that the words of Jesus here are doing double duty. For one, they are answering the disciples' question about parables, and defining them as "secrets of the kingdom". But also, this is already the beginning of the interpretation of the "parable of the sower" itself. But if that's true, it makes the "parable of the sower" itself a sort of parable about parables. The interpretation of this parable, and the question "why do you speak in parables?" have the same answer. 

So this is the rest of Jesus' reply (verse 13): "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." This is presented as the heart of the matter. Jesus speaks in parables in order to show who has been given understanding. As he says to his disciples, "Blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear." But they don't understand the parable... yet! They are blessed not because they have inherent wisdom or understanding, but because Jesus gives them the understanding of it. 

So who is given understanding? Those in the kingdom of God! If Jesus calls the "seed" in the parable the "word of the kingdom", and if he calls parables the "secrets of the kingdom", and if many parables are introduced with the words, "to what can I compare the kingdom of heaven?", it's clear that the understanding of the parables are integrally linked with those who are members of the kingdom of God. In fact, we can say that one disciple of Jesus can recognize another, when they recognize that they share a common understanding of the parables, when they share understanding about how the kingdom of God works in the world and before God.

We need this understanding of the parables and the kingdom of God today. And indeed, when Jesus left this earth, he did not leave us without a guide, but sent the Holy Spirit in his place, to grant this same understanding into his parables, and more broadly into all of scripture. Just as the disciples sought out the meaning of this parable, so now our Father rewards those who "diligently seek him". As Paul says (in 1 Cor 2:12), "Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God." We should earnestly seek out the understanding of the parables (and the other teachings) of Jesus, and of scripture in general, and confidently expect the Holy Spirit to abundantly bless us with a deep understanding of our Father in heaven, and the kingdom of God here on earth.