Using Our Keys

 

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK

USING OUR KEYS

Mark 4:10-12

10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. 11 He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables 12 so that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'" 

NIV

This does seem a little odd on the surface, Jesus referring to a time long ago when Isaiah had the hot coals touched to his lips by an angel of the Lord and he said, “Here I am ” and God told him to tell the people these words. Jesus is making the point that the hearts of the people are not much different, in fact, the same as they were in the days of Isaiah when he scattered them and left the land desolate. It is not that Jesus is trying to hide the truth, but it is just that it is available to anyone who has the ears to hear it, or rather the heart to ear. It is always a heart issue. We would think that if Jesus spoke to all the people as plainly as he did to his disciples, the Jews would have had him killed before it was his time. However, because they had hardened their hearts to the truth of God and had replaced truth with their form of religion or their traditions, which Jesus spoke more directly to them about, they did not understand the spiritual meaning of the parables, although they would have gotten the surface story, as would any agrarian society or culture. However, as we too have been given spiritual eyes or again, rather a spiritual heart, we get the spiritual message of his parable, just as his disciples did, having been given the mystery of the kingdom of God. It has been said the importance of their knowing was because at some point in time, after Jesus ascended back to heaven and the Holy Spirit was sent to them, and to us, they were, as well as we have been, entrusted with the secrets, the mystery, the keys, of the kingdom of God so that they, as well as we, can teach others with all spiritual wisdom and power. Just as they did in fact, sit and soak while Jesus was with them, they were required to go forth and be squeezed out, teaching the truths of the kingdom and admonishing people to repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. They even baptized people, both in water and in the Spirit. They healed people, they drove out demons, and they held the keys to the kingdom of God. Have we forgotten that we too have been given those same keys and that same command to go forth and make disciples of all nations? It seems sometimes we can’t even tell someone we work with about the kingdom of God and the “Good News”, much less all the nations. Sure, we pay for a few who have been called to travel aboard and set up some kind of ministry. Does that meet our requirements, our calling? Having the keys should mean we can open the door for others to come in, or it could imply that we could lock them out. But we certainly believe the keys to the kingdom that we have been given are to open the door so others may come in. So let us use our keys.