August 2023
Reflection
Matthew 13:52
51 [Jesus asked] “Have you understood all this?” They [the disciples] answered, “Yes.”
Next Wednesday, we will take time to dig into and discuss the passage of Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52. In the passage, Jesus shares a number of very brief parables about the Kingdom of God and faith. In the words of the Biblical scholar Marcus Borg, a parable is “subversive and alternative wisdom” which “questions and undermines conventional wisdom and speaks of another way, another path.” I cannot stop thinking about verse 51 because the humanity of Jesus and the disciples stands out. In so many other parts of the Gospel, the disciples are confused or overwhelmed by Jesus’ teaching. At one point in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus asks a similar question to the disciples and they admit they do not understand.
I love the humanity, the frailty of all of them. In a movie, this might be a comedic scene, a moment when Peter or Mary quickly say “Yes!”. The other disciples nod vigorously. Jesus just lets it go.
First, I do not think the disciples actually understand what Jesus was saying based on their previous track record of missing the point. Second, parables possess numerous layers of meaning. Understanding them takes more than an immediate, in the moment, reaction. Third, following Jesus and fully comprehending his teachings must have been exhausting. I can just imagine small groups of followers asking each other if they had any idea what Jesus meant with what he had just taught. There must have been moments when they did not want to feel dumb. Haven’t we all felt that at some moment?
Finally, as the passage continues, Jesus doesn’t ask them to clarify their understanding. He doesn’t do the thorough check for understanding which teachers do. I wonder if he felt a moment of relief and decided he was just going to let this one go, hoping it would sink in when he taught it again.
None of it is nefarious. It might be a moment when everyone is exhausted and ready to be done. It makes me smile because it is a moment when I relate to the flawed, imperfect men and women striving to follow Jesus as best they can. A familiar feeling. And in the end, many of them did get what Jesus was saying and lived it out.