Matthew 13:10-17; 15:7-14, Heart-Hardening (8)

Looking over the last few days I realize how hard it is to speak about God’s work of “heart-hardening” in the life of someone who is fully complicit in what God is doing.  I maintain the need to be true ALL that God has said and in this case that means to be I must acknowledge God’s work in Pharaoh’s heart while acknowledging Pharaoh’s “freedom” to do his own will.  Yes, the issue is how to define the word in quotes in such a way that I give full weight to all that God has said.

Today’s reading gives us another setting where this tension is clearly stated (as we noted at the start is evident also in Rom. 9-10).  Paul’s question (Why does He still find fault?  For who has resisted His will?) is properly asked here as well.  Note:

·        13:11: Through parables God withheld the mysteries from the multitude.  Through parables He gave them to the disciples (granted, with Jesus’ explanation).

·        13:12-13: The immediate reason was that the multitude was missing something (whoever does not have). 

·        13:14-15: The bigger picture is given by the Isaiah 6:9-10 passage which is, of course, prominent in the NT (Jn. 12:40; Acts 28:26-27).  God’s blinding of Israel in the days of Christ is part of the bigger picture of bringing the gospel to the Nations (Paul’s point in Rom. 11, of course).

·        15:7-14: Jesus relies on these truths in the situation here.

o   First He points out the complicity of Israel using another Isaiah passage (29:13).  They are guilty; they do not honor God; their heart is far from Him.  Specifically, the false shepherds teach traditions as if they were God’s word.

o   Then He teaches the multitude but tells His disciples, with respect to the Pharisees, to let them alone.  The whole situation is seen as “the blind leading the blind.”  At the same time, the whole situation is seen as, Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.

There is often, in the Body of Christ, a tendency to want to fall off on one side or the other, to sacrifice one clearly stated truth for the sake of another clearly stated truth.  I suppose that is my concern here, that a local church not give in to unnecessary contention.  It is not a matter of denying the importance of what my “sovereign grace” friends have to say not to deny the value of what my “Wesleyan” friends consider important.  It is affirming both because the Scriptures affirm both.  I do not want to be involved in our calling to preach the gospel/make disciples of all nations without the confidence that 1) God is at work, and 2) every person has a choice they must make.