A HUNGER FOR TRUTH

“For [the Queen of Sheba] came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here” (Matthew 12:42).

We all have to answer one crucial question today: If One greater than Solomon is in our midst, would He possibly leave us in confusion? If His wisdom is always available, do we seek for it as passionately as the queen sought Solomon’s wisdom?

God still speaks to His people today. And He speaks as clearly as He did in the Old Testament, or to the apostles, or to the early Church. Yet, we must realize one thing: God chooses to speak only to those who have ears to hear. Let me illustrate.

Mark 4:2 tells us that Christ “taught [the crowds] many things by parables.” Then Jesus told the parable of the sower, a man who sowed seed in a field. Yet, when He finished the story, the crowds were baffled. They wondered, “Who is this sower He’s describing? And what does the seed represent? All this talk about birds, devils, thorny ground, good soil—what’s it about?”

Jesus didn’t explain it to them. Instead, Scripture says, “He said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear” (4:9). Only the disciples and a few others, a mere remnant, wanted answers. So they came to Jesus afterward and asked the meaning of the parable: “When he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable” (4:10). Then Christ took time to answer all their concerns (see 4:14-20).

Do you see what’s happening in this scene? Jesus had given the crowd revelation truth, a word spoken directly from God’s mouth, yet it puzzled them. You may wonder, “Why didn’t Jesus explain the parable more clearly?” We find a clue later in the same chapter: “Without a parable spake he not unto them” (4:34). I believe Jesus was saying, “If you want to understand My Word, you’re going to have to pursue Me for the answer. And you must come as the Queen of Sheba did: with a hunger for truth that will set you free. I’ll give you all the revelation you need. But you must come to Me with a pursuing, attentive ear.”