Know It Alls, Know-Nothings, and 'Tweeners

Read Matthew 13:44-58

      If the wide variety of interpretations offered in Christian commentaries from across the centuries is any indication, the parables of Jesus are difficult to interpret with certainty, except those that Jesus himself explains.  The main difficulty is discerning how hard to press the details of each story.  Some look for one or two central points, and others develop full-blown, intricate allegories out of very short parables. 

      And yet, when Jesus asked the disciples, “Have you understood all these things?” they answered with a simple “Yes.”  It’s safe to think they overestimated their understanding, for shortly Jesus will be scolding them for their spiritual dullness (15:16).  But they certainly understood better than the crowds, and certainly more than they did before. 

      Among the things that a proper increase of spiritual knowledge teaches us is that there is much we do not know.  The overweening confidence that we “know it all” is itself a mark of immaturity.  We are neither know-it-alls, nor know-nothings, but ‘tweeners – every one of us in the school of Christ.