Consider It
Consider It
(#253 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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“And He did not speak to them except in parables, but when they were alone, He expounded all things to His disciples.” (Mark 4:34)
He led “the” life to emulate. Every pattern Yahshua demonstrated with His words and actions was a guide for our perfection. With this in mind, as we closely examine His ministry, one that would ultimately reach the masses, we notice something peculiar to our sensibilities. He consistently moved away from the crowds (Matthew 15:38-39), and chose rather to reveal the deepest things about Himself and His Father in the most intimate settings, to a distinct few. Now after six days Yahshua took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. (Matthew 17:1-2) To change the world He moved away from the crowds. Counterintuitive to our instincts for sure, yet this was the formula He used to impact the masses. Interesting!
Even when He did speak to larger groups, parables were His chosen method. But He always reserved the revelation of the deeper mysteries, the secrets of the Kingdom, for a chosen few. And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given.” (Matthew 13:10-11) Ask yourself why.
Preprogrammed agendas of men have often caused us to err in a “we must save the world” mentality. We fabricate self-prescribed missions, believing that everyone “must know.” Yahshua never had this mindset. Take a moment and consider what Matthew 4:34 and 13:10-11 are revealing? “It has been given to you [the few] to know; to them [the masses] it has not been given; when they were alone, He expounded all things.”
Yahshua was never concerned that anyone who His Father chose would be lost. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your Name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. (John 17:12) This was because Yahshua was promised that if He shed His blood, all those the Father intended to come would come. And the Father’s Word was all He ever needed. That is why He could focus on a small inner circle with intimate fervor, and at times, on just three even more closely. These few powerhouses; these seasoned, mature men and women, operating in the full power of Yahweh, were distinct from the masses who were hardly prepared to receive anything more than parables. Once fully persuaded, they were able to affect others with whom they were intimate. And on and on it shall go.
You too have this promise loved one, for your family; your friends; and your community and nation; and whoever is chosen shall be redeemed. This was established before the foundations of the world (Ephesians 1:4). Take heed to why you are constantly trying to “save the world,” while your own inner world (your conscience) is battling about who Yahweh really is to you. Know that you have been called to be a “witness” to and about Him. How can you rightly represent Him in any matter pertaining to life and Holiness if you are double minded in your beliefs, words, and actions? Of course it sounds silly to think otherwise, and yet, you minister while undone! Work out your salvation (the perfecting of your conscience), and then perhaps He will allow you to truly witness for Him. Broken minds cannot lead, and blind men only lead other blind men into pits (Luke 6:39).