Home » Bread For Life » The Condition of the Heart » Why Jesus Spoke in Parables.
THE CONDITION OF THE HEART — PART 2
Matthew 13:10–17
Bible Teaching with Pastor Tommy Pope Sr.
Watch the Teaching
Watch Part 2 of The Condition of the Heart as Pastor Tommy Pope Sr. teaches from Matthew 13:10–17 and explains why Jesus spoke in parables, how spiritual truth is revealed, and why the condition of the heart determines whether we truly hear and understand God’s Word.
About This Teaching
In Matthew 13:10–17, the disciples ask Jesus an important question: “Why do You speak to them in parables?” His answer reveals that hearing God’s Word involves more than simply hearing words—it requires a heart that is willing to receive spiritual truth.
In Part 2 of The Condition of the Heart, Pastor Tommy Pope Sr. examines why Jesus used parables and what His answer teaches us about spiritual understanding. Jesus explains that some were given the ability to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom, while others could hear and see without truly understanding.
This passage challenges us to examine our own hearts. Are we merely hearing the Word, or are we allowing God to give us understanding? A receptive heart does not simply listen—it receives, understands, and responds to what God is saying.
Key Scripture: Matthew 13:10–17
Key Scripture
Matthew 13:10–17
Matthew 13:10–17 — Passage Overview
Matthew 13:10
The disciples come to Jesus and ask why He speaks to the people in parables.
Matthew 13:11–12
Jesus explains that understanding the mysteries of the Kingdom is a gift, and those who receive truth are given greater understanding.
Matthew 13:13
Jesus explains that some people see and hear His teaching outwardly, yet do not truly perceive or understand spiritually.
Matthew 13:14–15
Jesus points to Isaiah’s prophecy, revealing the deeper problem: hearts can become hardened, ears dull, and eyes closed to God’s truth.
Matthew 13:16–17
Jesus tells His disciples that they are blessed because their eyes see and their ears hear what prophets and righteous people longed to experience.
Understanding Why Jesus Spoke in Parables
Hearing Is Not the Same as Understanding
The crowds heard the same words Jesus spoke, but not everyone understood what those words meant. That reveals one of the great truths of this passage: being close enough to hear the Word does not automatically mean the heart is prepared to receive the Word.
When the disciples asked Jesus why He spoke in parables, His answer revealed that the parables did more than illustrate spiritual truth. They also exposed the condition of the listener’s heart. Some heard and wanted to know more. Others heard the same truth but remained spiritually unmoved.
The issue was not whether Jesus was speaking. The issue was whether the heart was willing to hear.
That makes this passage deeply personal. We can attend church, hear sermons, read Scripture, and still miss what God is trying to teach us if our hearts resist His truth.
Pastor Tommy’s Life Lesson:
God is concerned not only with whether His Word reaches our ears. He wants His Word to reach our hearts, produce understanding, and transform the way we live.
The Disciples Asked the Right Question
Matthew 13:10
“And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?”
The disciples had been listening as Jesus taught the multitude. But instead of simply hearing His words and walking away, they came closer and asked Him a question: “Why speakest thou unto them in parables?”
Notice what the disciples did when they did not fully understand something Jesus was doing: they went to Jesus for understanding.
That is an important principle for every believer. Sometimes we read God’s Word and do not immediately understand what God is showing us. The answer is not to walk away from the Word. The answer is to draw closer to the One who gave the Word.
The disciples wanted more than information. They wanted revelation. Their question opened the door for Jesus to explain one of the deepest truths in this passage—the condition of a person’s heart affects how that person receives spiritual truth.
Application:
When you encounter something in Scripture you do not understand, don’t allow confusion to push you away from God. Pray. Study. Ask questions. Keep seeking. A hungry heart will keep coming back to Jesus for understanding.
Pastor Tommy’s Life Lesson:
When you don’t understand what Jesus is saying, don’t walk away from Him—draw closer. The question you bring to Jesus may become the doorway to the understanding you need.
The Mysteries of the Kingdom
Matthew 13:11–12
“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…”
Jesus answers the disciples by explaining that spiritual understanding is a privilege and a gift from God. The “mysteries of the kingdom” are not mysteries because God wants His truth permanently hidden. They are truths about God’s Kingdom that people cannot fully grasp through human reasoning alone.
The disciples gained greater understanding because they responded to what Jesus had already revealed to them. They were listening, following, asking questions, and drawing closer.
Then Jesus gives an important principle: “Whosoever hath, to him shall be given.” When we receive the truth God gives us and respond faithfully to it, He can entrust us with greater understanding.
But Jesus also gives a warning. A person can continually resist truth until even what he once understood becomes spiritually unfruitful. Truth is not merely something God gives us to know; it is something He expects us to receive and live.
Application:
Treasure what God is teaching you right now. Don’t continually ask God for greater revelation while ignoring the truth He has already placed before you. Obedience to today’s Word prepares your heart for tomorrow’s understanding.
Pastor Tommy’s Life Lesson:
When God gives you understanding, don’t just celebrate the revelation—walk in it. The more faithfully you receive and obey His Word, the more prepared your heart becomes for what He wants to teach you next.
Seeing, Yet Not Seeing; Hearing, Yet Not Hearing
Matthew 13:13
“Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”
Jesus now explains why He spoke to the multitude in parables. The people could physically see Jesus and physically hear His words, yet many were not receiving the spiritual truth He was revealing.
That teaches us something important: there is a difference between hearing God’s Word with our ears and receiving God’s Word with our hearts.
A person can sit in church, hear Scripture preached, listen to biblical teaching, and even become familiar with the language of faith—yet still miss what God is saying. The problem is not that God has stopped speaking. The condition of the heart can prevent a person from understanding what God is revealing.
Jesus’ parables exposed that condition. Those who were spiritually hungry leaned closer, asked questions, and desired understanding. But those whose hearts were resistant could hear the same message without allowing that message to change them.
This brings the entire series back to its central truth: the seed is still good. The Word is still powerful. But the condition of the heart affects what happens when the Word is received.
Application:
Don’t measure your spiritual growth simply by how many sermons you have heard or how much Scripture you have read. Ask yourself: What is God’s Word producing in my life? When God speaks, allow His Word to correct you, challenge you, teach you, and transform you.
Pastor Tommy’s Life Lesson:
It is possible to hear the Word without allowing the Word to reach your heart. Don’t just ask God to speak—ask Him to give you ears that hear, a heart that understands, and the willingness to obey what He says.
A Heart That Has Grown Dull
Matthew 13:14–15
“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…”
Jesus reaches back to the prophet Isaiah to explain that what He was witnessing was not new. People could be surrounded by the truth of God and still become spiritually insensitive to it.
Notice where Jesus places the emphasis: the heart, the ears, and the eyes. Their ears had become dull. Their eyes had been closed. And underneath it all was a heart that had become spiritually unreceptive.
A hardened heart usually does not happen all at once. Every time God speaks and we continually resist Him, ignore His correction, or refuse to obey what He has shown us, we risk becoming less sensitive to His voice.
But there is something powerful in this verse that we should not overlook. Jesus continues by saying that if they would turn, He would heal them. Even while exposing the condition of their hearts, God was revealing His desire to restore them.
God does not expose the condition of our hearts simply to condemn us. He reveals what is wrong because He desires to heal what has become hardened.
That is the hope within this warning. A heart that has grown dull does not have to remain dull. When we turn toward God with humility and repentance, He can restore spiritual sensitivity and give us a renewed desire for His Word.
Application:
Examine your heart before God. Has something He once convicted you about stopped bothering you? Have you repeatedly ignored something He has been showing you? Don’t allow repeated resistance to become spiritual hardness. When God speaks, respond while your heart is tender toward Him.
Pastor Tommy’s Life Lesson:
Never become so familiar with hearing God’s Word that you stop responding to God’s Word. Keep your heart tender, your ears open, and your eyes fixed on Him—because when we turn to God, He is still able to heal the heart.
Blessed Eyes and Ears
Matthew 13:16–17
“But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”
After warning about hearts that had become dull, Jesus turns to His disciples and gives them a powerful word of encouragement: “Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.”
The disciples were witnessing something generations before them had longed to experience. The prophets had spoken about the coming Messiah. Righteous men had believed God’s promises and looked forward to their fulfillment. But now the disciples were standing in the presence of Jesus Christ Himself.
They were not simply hearing another teacher—they were hearing the One the prophets had spoken about.
Jesus wanted them to understand the privilege that had been placed before them. Spiritual understanding should never be treated casually. When God opens our eyes to His truth and allows us to understand His Word, that understanding is a blessing that should produce gratitude, obedience, and transformation.
There is also a powerful connection to the entire message of The Condition of the Heart. The difference was not merely that the disciples possessed physical eyes and ears. The crowds had those too. The blessing was that their hearts were becoming receptive to what God was revealing through Christ.
And that same responsibility rests with us today. We have access to Scripture, biblical teaching, and the message of Jesus Christ. We should never become so familiar with God’s Word that we forget what a privilege it is to hear it.
Application:
Thank God for every opportunity He gives you to hear and understand His Word. Don’t take spiritual truth for granted. When God opens your eyes to something in Scripture, receive it with gratitude and respond to it with obedience.
Pastor Tommy’s Life Lesson:
Never lose your appreciation for the privilege of hearing God’s Word. Blessed eyes don’t just look—they recognize what God is revealing. Blessed ears don’t just hear—they receive the truth and allow it to change the heart.
What Kind of Soil Is Your Heart?
Jesus described four different conditions of the soil, but the purpose of this parable is not simply to identify four kinds of people. It invites each of us to examine the condition of our own heart.
The condition of our heart can change. A heart that was once receptive can become distracted. A heart that has been wounded can become hardened. A believer who once lacked spiritual depth can begin developing strong roots in God’s Word.
So the question is not only, “Which soil describes me?”
The deeper question is:
“Lord, what is happening in my heart right now?”
God does not reveal the condition of our hearts to condemn us. He reveals what needs attention so that we can surrender it to Him and allow His Word to produce the fruit He desires.
1. The Hardened Heart
Wayside: Matthew 13:4, 19
When God’s Word continually reaches us but we resist correction, ignore conviction, or refuse to respond, the heart can become hard. The seed is present, but it remains on the surface instead of entering deeply.
Heart Check:
Is there something God has been speaking to me about that I continue to resist?
2. The Shallow Heart
The Stony Ground — Matthew 13:5–6, 20–21
When God’s Word is received with excitement but is never allowed to develop deep roots, faith can remain shallow. Everything may appear strong while circumstances are favorable, but difficulty reveals whether the Word has taken root within us.
Heart Check:
Am I developing deep spiritual roots, or does my faith depend upon favorable circumstances?
3. The Crowded Heart
Among the Thorns: Matthew 13:7, 22
When God’s Word begins growing in our lives but worries, distractions, desires, and the pressures of life are allowed to grow alongside it, our spiritual fruitfulness can become choked. The problem is not that the Word has lost its power. The problem is that too many other things have been allowed to compete for the heart.
Heart Check:
What is growing in my life right now that may be competing with God’s Word for my attention, affection, or priorities?
4. The Receptive Heart
Good Ground: Matthew 13:8, 23
When God’s Word reaches a heart that is open, teachable, and willing to respond, the seed is able to take root and produce fruit. A receptive heart does more than hear God’s Word—it receives it, obeys it, and allows it to transform everyday life.
The evidence of good ground is not simply that the Word was heard. The evidence is that the Word produced fruit.
Heart Check:
What fruit is God’s Word producing in my life, and where is He calling me to grow even more?
How to Prepare Your Heart to Receive God’s Word
The Parable of the Sower does more than reveal the condition of the heart. It calls us to prepare our hearts to receive what God is speaking. We cannot control every circumstance around us, but we can choose how we respond when the Word of God reaches us.
A fruitful heart is cultivated through humility, obedience, spiritual discipline, and a willingness to allow God to change us.
1. Ask God to Search Your Heart
Scripture: Psalm 139:23–24
Teaching:
Before we can prepare our hearts to receive God’s Word, we must be willing to let God show us what is already there. David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.” That prayer requires humility because we are inviting God to reveal attitudes, distractions, wounds, desires, or habits that may be interfering with our ability to hear Him clearly.
Application:
Before reading Scripture or listening to the Word, take a moment to pray: “Lord, show me anything in my heart that could keep me from receiving what You want to say to me.”
2. Remove the Rocks That Keep You From Growing
Scripture: Ezekiel 36:26
Teaching:
A fruitful heart requires more than hearing the Word; it requires allowing God to remove the things that keep His Word from taking root. Ezekiel tells us that God desires to take away the heart of stone and give us a heart of flesh—a heart that is tender, responsive, and willing to obey Him.
Sometimes the rocks in our hearts are not obvious. They may be unforgiveness, pride, disappointment, fear, old wounds, stubbornness, or habits we have refused to surrender. If those things remain beneath the surface, they can prevent our spiritual roots from growing deep.
We cannot ask God for deeper roots while protecting the rocks that are preventing the roots from growing. God wants access to every part of our heart.
Application:
Ask God to reveal anything beneath the surface that needs to be removed. Don’t simply ask, “Lord, help me grow.” Also be willing to pray:
“Lord, remove anything in me that is keeping Your Word from taking deeper root in my life.”
3. Remove What Is Crowding the Word
Scripture: Matthew 6:33
Teaching:
Jesus teaches us to “seek first the kingdom of God.” A heart can genuinely receive God’s Word and still become crowded by other priorities. Responsibilities, ambitions, worries, relationships, possessions, and even good things can begin occupying space that belongs to God.
This is what Jesus showed us through the seed that fell among the thorns. The Word was growing, but something else was growing alongside it. Eventually, the competing growth began to choke what God was producing.
Sometimes the greatest threat to spiritual fruitfulness is not something obviously sinful. It can simply be too many things competing for our attention, affection, time, and priorities.
Preparing our hearts means regularly examining what has become important to us and asking whether anything has quietly moved ahead of God. Whatever continually receives our attention will eventually influence the direction of our heart.
Application:
Look honestly at what has been receiving most of your time, attention, energy, and affection. Ask God to show you anything that has begun competing with His Word and His purposes for your life.
Then ask yourself:
“Is anything becoming more important to me than what God is trying to produce in my life?”
4. Receive the Word and Put It Into Practice
Scripture: James 1:22
Teaching:
Preparing our hearts is not complete until we are willing to respond to what God says. Scripture tells us, “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” God does not give us His Word simply to increase what we know. He gives us His Word to transform how we live.
This is the picture of the good ground in Jesus’ parable. The seed enters a receptive heart, takes root, grows, and eventually produces fruit. The evidence that we have truly received the Word is not merely that we heard a sermon, read a Scripture, or understood a biblical truth. The evidence is that what God said begins changing us.
Sometimes obedience requires changing a habit. Sometimes it means forgiving someone, surrendering something, beginning something God has told us to do, or trusting Him in an area where we have been afraid.
A receptive heart does not merely ask, “What did God say?” It also asks, “What am I going to do with what God said?”
Application:
After reading Scripture, hearing a teaching, or sensing God speaking to your heart through His Word, identify one specific action you can take in response.
Then pray:
“Lord, give me a heart that not only hears Your Word but receives it, obeys it, and produces fruit through it.”
The Condition of the Heart Determines What the Seed Produces
Closing Teaching:
The same sower went forth. The same seed was scattered. But the results were different because the condition of the ground was different.
That is what Jesus is teaching us through this parable.
God’s Word is powerful. God’s Word is alive. God’s Word is able to change lives. But we must continually examine the condition of the heart receiving it.
A hardened heart can resist the Word.
A shallow heart can receive it without developing roots.
A crowded heart can allow other things to choke what God is producing.
A receptive heart receives the Word, holds onto it, obeys it, and allows God to produce lasting fruit.
The question is not simply, “Am I hearing the Word?” The deeper question is, “What is the Word producing in me?”
God does not expose the condition of our hearts to condemn us. He reveals what is there so that we can surrender it to Him and allow Him to cultivate something better.
Key Takeaway:
Key Takeaway:
The seed has not lost its power. We must keep preparing the soil of our hearts to receive what God is speaking.
Every time you open the Bible, hear biblical teaching, or sit in the presence of God, come with a heart that says:
“Lord, make my heart good ground. Remove anything that would keep Your Word from taking root, growing deep, and producing fruit in my life.”
Final Reflection:
What kind of ground is my heart becoming?
Not what was it yesterday.
Not what was it five years ago.
But what is the condition of my heart today?
Wherever God shows you something that needs attention, surrender it to Him.
The Sower is still sowing. The Word is still powerful. And God is still producing fruit in hearts that are willing to receive Him.
CONTINUE THE SERIES
Part 3 — Understanding the Seed
Matthew 13:18–19
After explaining why He spoke in parables, Jesus begins to reveal the meaning of the Parable of the Sower. He turns our attention to the seed—the Word of God—and what happens when that Word reaches the human heart.
In Matthew 13:18–19, Jesus explains what happens when someone hears the Word of the Kingdom but does not understand it. The wicked one comes and takes away what was sown in the heart.
In Part 3, discover why hearing the Word is not enough, why spiritual understanding matters, and how the condition of the heart affects what happens to the seed after it is received.
Continue with Part 3 and discover what Jesus teaches about understanding and protecting the Word that has been sown in your heart.