joheri Posted October 14, 2009 Report Share Posted October 14, 2009 Jesus taught his diciples many mysteries but kept them hidden in parabels from the general public. How come Jesus said in verse 15: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. Does he mean to keep them in a state of not seeing for their own good or some other purpose? Why was it so important that they shouldn't see and understand with their hearts? Wouldn't it be great if they could see and understand with their hearts? It seems to me that Christ had a purpose with this. One could say that he spoke in parabels because they were not ready for the truth. Thus, only those who were ready would understand. Has anyone thought of a different reason? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joofob Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 Does he mean to keep them in a state of not seeing for their own good or some other purpose? Why was it so important that they shouldn't see and understand with their hearts? Wouldn't it be great if they could see and understand with their hearts? It seems to me that Christ had a purpose with this. One could say that he spoke in parabels because they were not ready for the truth. Thus, only those who were ready would understand. Has anyone thought of a different reason?Jesus concealed spiritual truths and teachings in the form of parables so that those who had ears to hear, eyes to see, and hearts to understand could discern such truths and receive them in righteousness. Those whose eyes had closed, hearts waxed gross, and hearing dull willfully rejected such truths. They sought wickedness rather than righteousness and darkness rather than light and truth. They kept themselves from such truths not Christ. At any time they could discerner the spiritual truths had they been prepared and willing, but they were not. As for any other reasons then what the savior has specifically declared I know not, but remain interested in others thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemidakota Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 Jesus taught his diciples many mysteries but kept them hidden in parabels from the general public. How come Jesus said in verse 15: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.Does he mean to keep them in a state of not seeing for their own good or some other purpose? Why was it so important that they shouldn't see and understand with their hearts? Wouldn't it be great if they could see and understand with their hearts? It seems to me that Christ had a purpose with this. One could say that he spoke in parabels because they were not ready for the truth. Thus, only those who were ready would understand. Has anyone thought of a different reason? Let me add what Joseph Smith commented on these versus - "And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?" I would remark here that the "them" made use of in this interrogation is a personal pronoun and refers to the multitude. "He answered and said unto them," that is, the disciples, "it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but unto them," that is, unbelievers, "it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath."We understand from this saying that those who had been previously looking for a Messiah to come, according to the testimony of the prophets, and were then at that time looking for a Messiah but had not sufficient light, on account of their unbelief, to discern him to be their Savior—and he being the true Messiah—consequently, they must be disappointed and lose even all the knowledge, or have taken away from them, all the light, understanding, and faith which they had upon this subject. Therefore, he that will not receive the greater light must have taken away from him all the light which he hath. And "if the light which is in you become darkness, behold, how great is that darkness!" [Matt. 6:23]. . . . Now we discover that the very reason assigned by [isaiah] why they would not receive the Messiah was because they did not or would not understand [isa. 6:9-10]. And seeing, they did not perceive. . . .We draw the conclusion, then, that the very reason why the multitude, or the world, as they were designated by the Savior, did not receive an explanation upon his parables was because of unbelief. "To you," he says speaking to his disciples, "it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God." And why? Because of the faith and confidence they had in him. Messenger and Advocate, December 1835, 225-26. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just_A_Guy Posted October 15, 2009 Report Share Posted October 15, 2009 Jesus is quoting Isaiah 6:10. Isaiah, in turn, was very probably being sarcastic.Yes, Jesus used sarcasm. See, e.g., John 5:39. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justice Posted October 24, 2009 Report Share Posted October 24, 2009 I think Jesus spoke in partable, at least in part, so that the plaion and obvious message would be kept from those who weren't "listening." If the message was plainly delivered, those who rejected would be under greater condemnation. So, I believe mercy is part of the reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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