Predestination VII

And the disciples came, and said unto Him, Why speakest Thou unto them in parables?  He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

*Free Willers* use these verses from Matthew chapter 13 to *prove* their *Free Will* doctrine.  

Their argument:

Well, if God has determined before the foundation of the world who will be saved, and did not determine this on His knowledge of how people would respond to Him from their own Free Will, but simply chose some who would believe and left all others with the inability to believe, then why did Jesus take the trouble to speak in parables?  If they had no ability to believe and be saved, Jesus didn't have to worry that any of His words would lead them to believe.  Jesus here hides His identity to prevent people from believing in Him.  But if Calvinistic predestination were true, these people never had the ability to believe.  There is no point in speaking in parables.

Now, before I answer their protest, let me protest their *proof.*

The *Free Willers* will say the verses quoted above from Matthew chapter 13 prove people have *Free Will,* because if Jesus had spoken plainly to the Jews they would have made Him their King, they would have *accepted* Him, they would have been saved and would not, therefore, have had Him crucified.  Jesus had to temporarily over-ride the Jews *Free Will* to make certain they would kill Him, that He would die on the cross and be able to save all nations, not just the Jews.  That's their *proof* of *Free Will.*  

Yet eight chapters later in the gospel of Matthew we read:

And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto Me. And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set Him thereon. And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

You see how foolish the *Free Willers* proof is.  In chapter 13 of Matthew the *Free Willers* have Jesus terrified of the Jews believing in Him and being proclaimed King, but apparently a little later He has changed His mind, and orders His disciples to arrange His triumphal entry.

No, friend, it cannot be that the reason Jesus spoke in parables was not because the Jews had *Free Will* to believe, and that if He had spoken to them plainly they would be saved, and not allow Him to be crucified.  That cannot be the reason, for multitudes did indeed believe Him and hail Him as King.  

So what did Jesus mean when He said I speak in parables lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them?

There's no big *mystery.*  The answer is right there in the verses themselves, *hiding* in plain sight.

Jesus told His disciples:

It is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

No mystery, no controversy, the scripture couldn't be any clearer.  Those who are elect before the foundation of the world are GIVEN to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.  But those who are NOT elect, it is NOT given.

And look at this beautiful explication from the Lord Jesus Christ:

For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

The non-elect, who have been given nothing, from him shall be taken away even what he has.  The non-elect, the depraved man or woman, what little they could make of Jesus' gospel in their reprobate minds, even that dim understanding will be taken from them by Jesus' use of parables.