Seeds For Thinking

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Scripture: Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. (Acts 3:4-5, NIV)

Look at me!
Often followed by, “When I am talking to you!” There are times when we want someone’s direct attention, and eye to eye contact is essential for communication to take place, or to be acknowledged.
Peter obviously had something more in mind than dropping coins in the beggar’s alms cup. The man gave them his attention. Through the name of Jesus Christ, Peter and John gave him something he never had - the ability to walk.
The phrase “Look at me!” is loaded with meanings, though, and really doesn’t tell us much unless it is put into context. It can be used as an exclamation (look here!) used to call attention to what one is going to say, as I have shown. It can be used as a statement of authority, or to establish communication. “To look” can mean to take heed, to perceive, to behold, to see, to regard, to examine, to investigate. We might look up to someone, to have a great deal of respect for them. Often actions or adornments speak louder than the actual words: The showoff, deliberately attracting attention. The ‘fashionista,’ enrobed in all the latest styles and ornamentation, and, these days, inked skin from top to toe. There is a word for behavior characterized by vulgar or pretentious display: ostentatious, meaning “designed to impress or attract notice.”
Jesus spoke against such practices by the Pharisees of His day:
"Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels. And they love to sit at the head table at banquets and in the seats of honor in the synagogues. They love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces, and to be called 'Rabbi.'
But He passed on this advice to His disciple, and those who would follow in His footsteps: Don't let anyone call you 'Rabbi,' for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters. (Matthew 23:5-8, New Living Translation (©2007)
I wondered if there is a record of Jesus using the phrase, “Look at Me!” in the gospels, much as Peter and John sought the attention of the lame man. Though I found no written record of such, I can imagine Him asking for attention, and eye to eye contact, prior to healing someone. Never-the-less, consider these two examples from scripture, seeking to establish communication, from a petitioner, and as a statement of authority from God:

O look upon me, and have mercy on me: give thy command to thy servant, and save the son of thy handmaid. (Psalm 86:16)

Look to me, and be you saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. (Isaiah 45:22)
(Text: American King James Version)

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Scripture: The disciples asked Jesus why He spoke to the people in parables. He said, ". . . I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand." (Matthew 13:13, NKJV)

A parable is a usually short, fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle. It is a basis of comparison - provided that you understand what is being compared.
We wonder, of course, why Jesus did not openly instruct everyone as to the full significance of His Person, His Mission, and His Messiah-ship. Surely, the whole world needed to know, and acclaim Him. Needed? - Yes; Willing? - No! Think of the many struggles Jesus had with His own inner circle over 'who-would-sit- where' when He established His kingdom. (Mt. 20-28) Even in the telling, many still did not believe. (John 10:25)
His Work was to be finished at Calvary, not in the throne rooms of earthly kingdoms.
Jesus was conducting a private course of instruction for the disciples while enveloped in an ever-present scrutiny by the multitudes. The gospel accounts reveal that not only the curious, but also those with diabolical intent were among the hangers-on. They were looking for anything by which they could entrap Him.
All could nod knowingly at the simple stories. There is nothing unusual about the sower, his seed, or the soil, for example. He spoke of leaven and pearls, fishing nets and farmers. They could not fault Jesus on details that they could well relate to. But (quoting Isaiah) they heard the stories; they did not get the heavenly message. They saw miracles, yes, but did not understand the difference between The Christ (Messiah) and the prophets of old, who also performed miracles.
Jesus assured the disciples that "many prophets and religious men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it." (Mt. 13:17)
I have been in situations where I was surrounded by language that I did not understand, writings that I could not interpret. In hearing, I did not hear anything that made sense. I could see, but saw nothing that meant anything to me.
Consider the example of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts (8:26-40) where the eunuch stated that he could not understand the meaning of the scripture from Isaiah, although he was reading the words out loud. Philip, of course, "preached Jesus to him." (vs. 35)
Ah! Yes, pray that the scriptures are opened for you, that Jesus' parables are more than a nice, short story. Strive to be like the seed sown on good ground, as one who hears and understands, who indeed bears fruit and produces . . . a multi fold! (Mt. 13:23)
February 11, 2007

Link: http://seedsforthinking.oldgleaner.com/

* Transfer Knowledge
* Scripture: Jesus said, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that ‘seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.’” Mark 4:11-12, NKJV

I have acquired a variety of different stringed musical instruments since I first learned to play a ukulele, years and years ago. My collection includes instruments like the mountain (lap) dulcimer, which is easy to play, even for a beginner, to the guitar and violin, which require a lot of work and practice to achieve proficiency. .
. Each instrument is slightly different when it comes down to playing well, yet all have many principles in common. They all have strings, of course, tuned so as to produce a certain pitch note on the musical scale. The number of strings and tunings vary, as well as the size and layout of the fingerboard. Many instruments have metal frets to mark the note locations; the violin family does not. But a tuned string is a tuned string, and simple tunes can be played on any instrument, once you are familiar with the musical scale.
It seems to amaze people that I can pick up any of my instruments and play an easy tune like “Mary Had A Little Lamb.”
The reason that I can do that is not because I am super talented, but because I use what I know about one instrument and apply that knowledge to another.
That is the principle of the parable, the teaching story that Jesus used well to illustrate the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus often began with an earthly topic or subject with which the listeners were familiar, such as a lamp, a shepherd, or a fruit tree, and applied that knowledge to heavenly things. Those who were willing to make the comparison between earthly things and heavenly truths gained a greater understanding of God’s kingdom. Some, however, were either not willing nor able to make that ‘leap’ of understanding, that transfer of knowledge, that would bring them inside to God’s truths.
I sometimes show a person how easy it is to play “Mary Had A Little Lamb” on one of my instruments, and offer them the instrument, only to have them react as if I had handed them a live snake! They have no desire to even try. Strange - the shunning of knowledge!
Perhaps Jesus was experiencing this same phenomena. Some people just don’t want to think about making any changes in their lifestyle, whether it is a health issue in this world, or spiritual truths about God’s kingdom in the eternity to come.
Sad. So many left ‘outside’ because they see, but do not perceive, and hear but do not understand - and have no desire to change.
March 27, 2005