Examine the exchange between Jesus and his disciples concerning this very issue. In Matt. 13:10-16 (Amp.) Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables? And he replied to them, To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has spiritual knowledge, to him will more be given and he will be furnished richly so that he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is the reason that I speak to them in parables: because having the power of seeing, they do not see; and having the power of hearing, they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand. In them indeed is the process of fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah which says: You shall indeed hear and hear but never grasp and understand; and you shall indeed look and look but never see and perceive. For this nation's heart has grown gross (fat and dull), and their ears heavy and difficult of hearing, and their eyes they have tightly closed, lest they see and perceive with their eyes, and hear and comprehend the sense with their ears, and grasp and understand with their heart, and turn and I should heal them. But blessed (happy, fortunate, and to be envied) are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear.

Another explanation is given in Mark 4:11 And he said unto them, to you has been entrusted the mystery of the kingdom of God [that is the secret counsels of God which are hidden from the ungodly]; but for those outside [of our circle] everything becomes a parable. What did Jesus say in the above passages?

1. We can know the secrets & mysteries of the kingdom of heaven

2. Comprehension of these mysteries has not been given to the world.

3. If you have spiritual knowledge, it will richly increase.

4. If you lack spiritual knowledge, even what you think you know will be taken away.

5. Everyone has the ability to see; to hear, and to understand.

6. Not everyone will choose to exercise their ability to hear & see.

7. Repetition will not open eyes & ears.

8. Some are complacent and comfortable with their lives as they are, and refuse to hear or see the message of the kingdom. If the message were received; the life of the individual would change; they do not desire change.

9. Blessed are they who do hear and see and welcome the kingdom message. As followers of Christ we can share in the secret counsels of God, which are hidden from the world & beyond their comprehension.

As young Christians, the parables of the kingdom that Jesus told sound like stories to us. But as we grow in the Holy Spirit our understanding is expanded. We continually see new depths of meaning in the same words. There is a vast difference between the doctrines of men and the revealed mysteries of God. One imparts ritual and perpetuates tradition, while the other imparts abundant life.

As a believer, apply what Paul said in Ephesians 1:17-18 to your own life: For I always pray to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, The Father of glory, that He may grant you a spirit of wisdom and revelation [of insight into mysteries and secrets] in the [deep and intimate] knowledge of Him, by having the eyes of your heart flooded with light, so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you, and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints.

There are many today who are claiming to have unraveled the deep mysteries of God. They may use flowery words, and speak with great authority. Jesus tells us the proof is in their fruit; what kind of fruit are they bearing? Before we accept some new teacher, let us first know and understanding what our Lord taught. Fancy seminars and seven step programs are poor substitutes for what has already been freely given. The fruit is seen in lives that are changed. Those who heard Jesus words, and accepted and believed them, were never again the same. Today we see and hear reported 'new revelations.' There are many that want the glorious inheritance, but do not want to get serious about their relationship with God to get them. We are warned in Matthew 15:8-9 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. The only way to avoid being deceived is to know for yourself what Jesus taught.

We must all seek to know the LORD intimately. As we draw near to Him, we will begin to see spiritual things in a way that we never saw them before. The Gospel of Christ is simple. Because it is so simple, the natural mind cannot accept it; it is foolishness. I Cor. 1:18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

Believe; obey; have faith; walk by our spirit, not our flesh... To do these things requires that we know Jesus personally; that He dwells within us. All of our good works are worthless [wood, hay & stubble]. We will never measure up to the standard that is set before us operating from our own strength. That standard is nothing less than Jesus Christ himself.

Jesus said in Matthew 16:24 If anyone desires to be My disciple, let him deny himself [disregard, lose sight of, and forget himself and his own interests] and take up his cross and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also.

We know that our Lord was crucified on a cross. The cross is symbolic of great suffering. When Jesus tells us that if we want to be His disciple, we must take up our cross and follow him, he is not speaking of a literal wooden cross. He is speaking of walking [following] in His footsteps. II Tim. 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.

Philippians 1:29 For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him but also to suffer for his sake; Taking up our cross means following Jesus' example; being conformed to His image.

Hebrews 5:8-9 Though he was a Son; yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him. We will never become Christ like if we are not willing to walk in obedience.

Modern Christianity has a strong aversion to suffering. We want an easy way; a quick fix; a great escape. There is very little in common between that which Jesus taught and that which modern churches are practicing. Just using the name of Jesus does not make one Christ like: it will not make us righteous [in right standing with God]. If we are not suffering persecution of any kind connected to the stand we are making for Christ, then maybe we need to take another look at just what our stand is. Today's man has become very adept at explaining away Jesus' words. "That was just for back then, it doesn't apply today,' "God wouldn't do that," etc. Either we believe what Jesus said, or we don't. We cannot just accept the pleasant things; that He loves us; that we can make heaven our home and then ignore all that He said pertaining to dying to our flesh and having to suffer in this world. If we will seek for understanding of all that Jesus said; if we will begin to grasp hold of the meanings of all the parables that Jesus taught; we will be changed.

Romans 12:2 Be ye not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. We know all too well how to conform to this world: it is alien to us to do otherwise. What we must be willing to learn is how to be conformed to Christ. As we yield to the operations of the Holy Spirit within our hearts, we will discover that we are being changed from within. Our attitudes, our point of view, our priorities all will be brought into alignment with the will of God. As we study the words of Jesus recorded in the four gospels, we will begin to understand what He was saying.

As we try to walk out the simplest of his directives; turn the other cheek, forgive those who despitefully use you, love your enemies, we find that we cannot do it by ourselves. We have to look to Christ for the strength and ability to do even the smallest of these tasks. One of the most surprising results of looking to the Spirit, [rather than the flesh], is how much our spirit is strengthened. As we draw closer to the Lord, becoming dependent upon Him for all of our strength and ability, we grow spiritually, becoming more sensitive to and aware of the spiritual rather than the carnal. Our old man [flesh nature] dies, and we learn to live by the Spirit of God.

One thing that will begin to stand out as you read Jesus' words is that His message was all about the Kingdom of God. He not only brought redemption, but just as importantly He made a way of restoration. Not only saving us, but also bringing us back into the right relationship between God and man that existed originally in the Garden.

The disciples were with Jesus all the time. They witnessed the miracles He performed; heard the message of the kingdom told in parables. When they were alone with the Lord, they would ask Him what the parables meant. They did not understand any more than we do today. If you would read on through the New Testament, and follow the lives of some of those closest to Jesus during his ministry here on earth, you will see that there was a great change in their lives after Christ rose from the dead and went to the Father.

Peter was probably the most outspoken of the group. He believed that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. Yet he needed more, he needed power from on high. His recognizable transformation began to be seen after he received the Holy Spirit in the upper room. Throughout the rest of Peter's earthly life, he never stopped growing in the Lord. He walked in such close fellowship of the Spirit, that when he walked down the street people would bring out their sick that his shadow might fall on them and they would be healed. We have access to the very same relationship with God that Peter and Paul knew. The Holy Spirit is present today to lead us into all TRUTH; to open our eyes to see and our ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches [Christ's Body]. In John 8:31-32 Jesus said to those Jew's that believed on him, if ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

Notice that there are conditions that must be met. As in the above verse: if we will continue in His word, then will we be His disciples and know the truth. How are we to continue in His word if we do not read His words and make them part of us? If we fail to continue in His word, are we still His disciples? If we neglect to press into a relationship with the Lord, will we find the truth?

John 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. I pray that we will all begin to see how imperative it is that we know and believe the words that our Lord spoke. In Revelation 1:16...and from His mouth there came forth a sharp two-edged sword, that sword is the WORD.

Christ is going to judge all mankind by the Words that He has already spoken. What have we done with His Words? Have we accepted them and taken them to heart and allowed them to change us? Or have we rejected them, and considered them unimportant? Are we more concerned with our own words; with our own ideas and interpretations? Are we content in our complacency concerning our relationship? Perhaps because we are not exposed to the awesome presence of God in our place of meeting... we are unaware of what we are missing out on.

Consider the parable of the sower [Matt.13:3-9 & 18-23] It is not enough just to hear the Word; we must act on the Word we hear. We need to be aware that consciously or unconsciously we are doing just that. For example: The seed that falls by the roadside: We must grasp and comprehend the Word or it will be snatched away. The seed that falls on rocky soil: We must allow the Word to take root in our hearts or we will stumble and fall away when persecution comes. The seed that falls among thorns: We must give the Word preeminence over the cares and riches of this world. The seed that falls on good soil: We hear the Word, comprehend and take it to heart and bear much fruit. This parable is an allegory of the hearts of men; how they receive the Word (Jesus is the Word made flesh), and what kind of lasting change is wrought in their hearts based on how they receive the Word.

The more that we comprehend the parables Christ taught, the more we will become aware of the difference between the Living Word and the traditions and teachings of men. We all start out with limited understanding. We accept interpretations that have been handed down to us as being all that there is. If we believe Jesus' Words, then there is much more to being a follower of Christ, than we see evidence of in the Christian world today.

Jesus said in John 6:63 It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing, the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.