Studying the gospel according to Matthew, I traced carefully and with the help of the Holy Spirit the pattern of discernment of the disciples of Jesus Christ. It increased gradually and steadily as they continued closely with Jesus. Let us see together what I discovered:
In Matthew 13, Jesus taught in parables about the seed and the sower. In verse 10 His disciples asked why He taught in parables and He answered “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given” (11). Those who would know and discern the mysteries of heaven are not those who visit Jesus once in a while, but those who dwell with Him, day and night. Any visitor will have the parables, but if they can come up higher and dwell with Him, they will get the explanation.
Later in verse 18, He began to explain the parable to His disciples because even they themselves could not yet discern what it meant.
In verse 24 Jesus gave another parable about good seed and tares. After the multitude left in verse 36, His disciples then came to Him and demanded the explanation. Notice in verse 10 they just asked why He spoke in parables, but in verse 24 they now desire to know the meanings of those teachings.
Let us continue…
In chapter 15 verse 11, Jesus made a statement “Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man”. We notice in verse 15 that Peter came and asked for the meaning, but Jesus expected that by now they should have begun to discern certain spiritual realities by themselves. They had spent good time with Him; He was soon to be crucified. He expected that their grace to discern should have increased. From this, I feel they woke up and became more sensitive. Jesus however explained it in verses 17 through 20.
In chapter 16 verse 6, Jesus made another statement “Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees”. The disciples again did not understand initially, but made attempt to. They reasoned that it would be because they did not carry bread. Jesus quickly intervened and challenged their wrong interpretation, and immediately in verse 12 they picked up the meaning without Jesus interpreting.
Then again in verse 13, Jesus asked a very sensitive question and the disciples were trying to answer but not with their grace to discern. However, Peter was seriously searching His spirit and was able to discern. In verse 16, he answered correctly that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Spend time with Christ and you will be able to discern correctly, it’s a gradual process and you grow in that grace…
God bless you.
Ikpa Onwuka
