Subtle Communication

August 28

We have subtle ways of communication with those who are close to us. We give our little ‘cues.’ Husbands convey to wives, for example, ‘I’m ready to go home.’ Our kids understand ‘the look’ that means, ‘My patience with your antics is wearing thin.’

Jesus did, too. He often spoke to His disciples in parables, but, they often didn’t ‘get it’ when He unveiled spiritual truth to them. Oh, yes, He’d explain His point, but He really wanted them to be more tuned in to Him than they were, to grasp what He was saying simply because they knew Him and understood His subtle communication.

An incident occurred in Matthew 16:6-12 where Jesus told His followers, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees…” Their presumption was that He was speaking of bread rising and they were confused. In verse 8, He had to clarify Himself when He said, “Ye of little faith! Why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?”

He wanted them to apprehend the deep truth that we, too, must grasp—there is false doctrine, there is subtle distortion of truth that we must discern and reject. We cannot allow ourselves to be sucked in by what the masses believe. We cannot be among those who are willing to walk the broad path to destruction but must keep our feet on the narrow way of Christ and His Truth (Matthew 7:13, 14).