Mark 4:33-34
Do
you ever wonder if a particular person will ever “get it”? You know the one I’m
talking about. They make the same bad choice over and over again. They get
together with the same types of men (or women) and their relationships take a
downward spiral from there. Or maybe they always have some new scheme to make
money, but they always lose it instead. People around them keep warning them
about these choices, but they never seem to listen. They just don’t “get it.”
Why
is it that some people grow and mature more than others? I’m not just talking
about physical growth, but physical, mental, emotional and especially spiritual
growth. We get a glimpse of at least one factor that influences the ability to
get it. We see it in the contrast between the crowd and the disciples. Something
was different about these two groups of people. But what was it?
We
know that the disciples were not some special group, picked because of their
intellectual abilities, or unique skills. They were common, working class
people. We would call the blue collar workers. They were not “climbers” working
up the corporate ladder. They weren’t academics always seeking more knowledge.
They weren’t politicians skilled at working a crowd and getting people to go
along with their plans. Jesus’ opponents knew this. They certainly were not in
the “in” crowd. They lacked any and all qualifications to be spiritual leaders,
leaders of this new kingdom Jesus was introducing.
What
made them different from the crowd? Jesus had called them, they had responded
and had began following Jesus. They had been “with Jesus” and that made all the
difference. They had a different capacity because they were with Him.
Have
you ever had to learn a new subject, something that you know very little about?
When you begin every concept is new, and the learning curve is very steep. But
after a while you begin to get some of the content. And at some point it begins
to make sense. You can put the pieces together much more easily. Then you
finally get to a point where you can explain it to others and perhaps even
teach it. Your capacity has increased.
We
see in the text that Jesus spoke to the crowds and the disciples, and taught
them as much as they were able. Jesus recognized that the crowds did not have
the same capacity to understand the Truth Jesus was speaking as the disciples
did. The disciples’ capacity had increased, and it would grow exponentially
after the Resurrection and infilling of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost.
When
Jesus pulled His disciples aside and further explained what He had said in
public, He was increasing their capacity to understand. Our capacity can be
increased as well if we spend time in the Word, in prayer and in fellowship
with others. These increase our capacity, if we respond to the Truth we are
hearing with our submission and obedience to Jesus.