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Matthew: The Chief Gospel  /  The Sower's Story: Weeds Among Wheat (Matthew Chapter 13)  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 7
Jesus’s explanation for parables includes: “they have closed their eyes…lest…they should…be converted”; what does this suggest about God’s intention in teaching (testing sincerity, not merely informing), and where might you be settling for “interesting stories” rather than pressing in for obedience-level understanding?
Another way to ask: If parables can test whether people really want to respond, not just learn, what does that say about God’s purpose in teaching? Where are you treating Jesus’s words as “interesting” instead of obeying them?

Direct Answer Based on the transcript, parables function as a kind of test: they reveal truth to sincere seekers who stay and ask, but they remain “interesting stories” to those who are not sincere and have closed their eyes. God’s intention is not merely to entertain or inform, but to expose whether someone will press in toward conversion and obedience.

Support from Transcript:

  • Jesus’s quoted explanation stresses human refusal: “their heart has become hard… they have closed their eyes lest… they should… be converted.”
  • Bercot interprets this: “He taught in parables… to hide the truth for those who weren’t sincere.”
  • He imagines the casual listener: people go home saying, “That was interesting. I don’t know what the application was.”
  • He contrasts the disciples: they “hung around and say, ‘Would you explain that to us?’”
  • He calls it “a test” of sincerity, not a denial of truth to humble seekers.
Discussion Follow-ups When you hear Scripture, do you mainly evaluate whether it’s interesting, or do you stay with it until it tells you what to obey?

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