There’s no way around it – Jesus was ambiguous. He always seemed to send people away scratching their heads – even his disciples. He was not a man with easy answers. He never gave a three-point message. His sermons don’t outline very well.
His favorite phrase when speaking a public message was “He who has an ear, let him hear.” Hear. He used it as an activity – something that some people do with their ears, but not necessarily everybody.
Jesus had a favorite method of speaking to people. He put it in a story – a parable. When his disciples asked him why he spoke to the people in parables, he replied: “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables” (Matthew 13:11-123).
God does not pull all the strings. He counts us as too important for that. To find without seeking, to hear without listening, to say yes without the possibility of saying no is to negate the value of my seeking, my hearing, and my participating. I am not a puppet.
For more: The ambiguity of Jesus
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