(by Kerry
Patton)
“The disciples came
to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven
has been given to you, but not to them.”
Matthew
13:10-11
There is no aspect of “the secret society” to the Gospel of
Jesus Christ. As we discussed yesterday,
the instructions of Jesus in Matthew 28:19-20 were to go into all the world and
“and make disciples of all the
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…” So,
if the Gospel is to be proclaimed to “all the world”, then what do we make of
this ‘whispering’ that was effectively going on in the teaching of Jesus
through parables? Why was Jesus lending
the secrets of the kingdom of heaven to his disciples, but not to the others
who had gathered?
We observe Jesus speaking
through the gospel accounts. We find him
shouting…no not AT people, but speaking loudly to the masses, we find him living
and loving, conversing normally with individuals – such as the woman at the
well, and we find him pulling his disciples aside and communicating with them
in almost hushed tones…a whisper…not because what was being shared was
scandalous, or secret, but because it was meant just for them…for that moment,
that stage in their spiritual growth.
Whispering.
We do this too. Picture yourself at the city park with a
group of friends. You are having a good
time on a warm summer evening and at some point the discussion turns to matters
of religion. Of the five or six persons
you have gathered with, one individual has an interest in the discussion that
differs from the others, and you sense this.
As the discussion continues, you realize that this individual is at a
place where he or she is very open to the Gospel of Christ and is searching for
a door into a relationship of faith. So
what do you do? Accepting Christ can be
a very personal thing. Sins may be
confessed, personal matters of faith are addressed, praying the prayer of
salvation is a very personal thing; and the best place for this discussion is
not in an open forum, but a private discussion.
So, you pull the friend aside and speak to him or her in private. You effectively whisper.
Whispering doesn’t stop
there either. If we were to say that
evangelism could be viewed as a shouting, and the living of one’s faith to be
normal conversation, if you will - discipleship is conducted in the place of
whispering. One proclaims to the many,
another to but a few, and the latter an intimate heart conversation with an
individual. Whispering. Discipleship…that is, you and I in continued
association with persons we have led to Jesus, teaching them…leading them to
Christian maturity; this is done as a whispering. We would not address the matters of an
individual’s daily struggles, failures, and personal spirituality in an open
forum! These are not matters to deal
with openly in a crowded room. No, we
would pull the young disciple aside and speak to him or her privately. Effectively, a whisper.
And while there may be
other forms of whispering to address in this fashion, I will speak to one more:
The whispering of prayer concerns. It
has been said that Christians do not gossip…but they do share in love…and
sometimes to tragic ends. It is a fine
line that we walk between communicating the needs of the body of Christ, and
passing on some juicy morsel of gossip that involves someone we know. We take the opportunity to shout that which
ought to be kept confidential…but we do so out of Christian love and
concern.
This is very dangerous,
isn’t it…and destructive. Jesus knew the
hearts of his disciples. He knew the
struggles of Judas, the doubting of Thomas, the temper of John, but we find no
public discussions concerning these…even in the relatively private forum of the
rest of the disciples. Jesus knew how to
whisper, didn’t he. He never used one of
his disciples struggles to make a point or use as an example. To those hearts, he whispered by pulling them
aside and sharing a secret of the kingdom just to them. So too must we know the fine art of whispering.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, we have heard
it said in your Word that the tongue is like the rudder of a great ship. That we could properly control how we speak,
and to whom, and when. Teach us the art
of whispering to hearts and lives, as you did.
Give us great discernment on when to pull aside and speak the Father’s
truth, and when to hold what we know in quiet confidentiality. Make us wise, O Lord. Teach us to whisper. In your name, and for your sake we pray. Amen.
