Thursday July 23, 2026

Matthew 13:10-17

The disciples went up to Jesus and asked, ‘Why do you talk to them in parables?’ ‘Because’ he replied, ‘the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven are revealed to you, but they are not revealed to them.

The past two Sundays we have been reading from the 13th chapter of Matthew. We have one more week of parables this coming Sunday. Take a listen to those homilies. They are posted on our website.

Most of us think that Jesus regularly taught in parables and that these parables are cute little stories. This is a mistake. Even the disciples questioned him when he spoke in parables. This means his regular teaching was plain talk. Simple and straightforward. Parables are complex, they also confront us at the core. Think about the powerful parable that we find in the Hebrew Scriptures. The one told by Nathan to King David when he was being a total dushbag. That parable convicted David and brought him back to his senses.

So our Lord will use a parable when he cannot get through to their senses. These are powerful stories that should arrest the listener. Think Good Samaritan. The message there was so powerful that to this day we are only scratching the surface of it. So read or hear these parables with this in mind: Do I get it now?