The Isaiah Gifts: Understanding

There are a lot of rather interesting coversations that take place between Jesus and his apostles, but perhaps the strangest is the one we find narrated in Matthew 16:5-12.

When they went across the lake, the disciples forgot to take bread. “Be careful,” Jesus said to them. “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” They discussed this among themselves and said, “It is because we didn’t bring any bread.” Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked, “You of little faith, why are you talking among yourselves about having no bread? Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered? How is it you don’t understand that I was not talking to you about bread? But be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Then they understood that he was not telling them to guard against the yeast used in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Jesus makes a rather ambiguous remark about the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees, which the apostles, not surprisingly, don't understand. They think he is speaking about bread. Jesus scolds them for not understanding, then makes a series of references to the miracles he had just performed, before asking them: How is it that you don't understand that I was not talking to you about bread? I have read all that Jesus said here about a hundred times and still can't understand how anybody is supposed to arrive at the conclusion he wants them to arrive at. But, bewilderingly, it now all makes perfect sense to the apostles!

This is the gift of understanding Isaiah speaks about; when you understand what God is saying even if it seems totally baffling. Like the parable we have been looking at. Let's look at it again:

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."

What do you understand from it? If this is the first or second time you are reading it, probably little. How do we begin to understand these parables? The best way is to put ourself in the picture, so let us—in our mind's eye—travel to that field. It is an ordinary field. There is nothing to distinguish it from thousands of other fields around the world. In the middle of the field walks a man. He is an ordinary man. There is nothing to distinguish him from thousands of other men in the world. He is plowing the field. It is a hot afternoon, and the sun blazes overhead. He sweats, waiting for the day to get over, so that he can go home and have a refreshing shower followed by a hot meal with his family.

As he is plowing, his plow suddenly hits something hard in the ground making him stop. He curses, thinking he has hit another rock. He gets down to his knees and begins digging the earth with his bare hands. To his surprise, he doesn't find a rock, but a chest that looks like it might contain treasure. His heart beating fast, he pulls it up out of the ground, wondering if he has found something valuable.

He opens it, and there before his eyes lies treasure more valuable that he could ever have dreamed of in his wildest imagination. Even if he had worked for a thousand years, he could not have earned the wealth that lay before him now. He was rich! So what does he do? Take it home and show it to his wife and celebrate his new fortune? No! He puts it back into the ground, covers it with earth again, goes home, takes an inventory of everything he owns, sells it all, comes back and buys that field so that he could own that treasure and everything else the field contains!

The kingdom of heaven is like that treasure. Is understanding coming?