Most preachers and pastors use up a large portion of their sermon with story telling and illustrations. They say that doing so makes the message more memorable and enjoyable. And besides, “Jesus told stories, and so should we.”

Maybe it’s just me, but I tend to get annoyed at all the illustrations, stories, and witty jokes that pepper most sermons today. I want something solid to chew on and think over. If I want entertainment, I can watch a movie. And frankly, I can’t remember a single sermon story I’ve heard…let alone the sermons they went with. So for me, stories don’t make the sermon more enjoyable or memorable. But that’s just me. I understand that for lots of people, stories do help keep their attention and remember what is said. So I won’t argue with these reasons for using stories in sermons.

But I have to disagree with the idea that “Jesus told stories and so should we.”

Certainly, Jesus told stories. There’s not denying that. The Gospels are full of stories that Jesus told. We call them ‘parables.” But the Gospels also reveal that these parables were told, not to reveal truth, but to conceal it. He spoke in parables to keep people confused.

How do we know this is why Jesus told parables? Because He said so. His disciples didn’t understand most of what Jesus said either, and so one time they asked Him why He spoke in parables. His answer? “So that in seeing, they will not see, and in hearing, they will not understand” (Luke 8:10).

Why would Jesus do this? He goes on to explain to His disciples that He wants them to understand what He says, as well as anybody else who comes to Him for an explanation of His parables. In other words, Jesus wants to disciple people…especially those who realized they didn’t know it all. He provided a clear explanation of His parables to those who asked Him.

And just in case we get the idea that we should start preaching nonsense sermons, we must understand that most of the time, Jesus taught through books of the Bible. We’ll get into how we know this in the next post.

But for now, just realize that if you are ever confused about what you read in the Bible – especially with the teachings and parables of Jesus – you are in good company. In some ways, the Bible was meant to be confusing. This is so that it keeps us humble, and none of us can fully understand or grasp all of it. It keeps us coming back to God for insight, understanding, and wisdom. Not knowing it all keeps us coming back for more. It keeps us dependant upon God, coming daily to sit at His feet and learn.

Are you confused by a passage or concept in Scripture? Tell God. Ask Him to teach you. Come before Him in prayer and with an open Bible saying, “Teach me wonderful things from your Word.”

It often happens in the Christian life, that after the blessing comes the battle. After the mountain top comes the valley. After feeling so close to God, there comes a time when you feel so very far away from God. Sometimes, the greatest temptations follows the greatest victories. The greatest trials follow the biggest triumphs. This is true of most of the great leaders of Scripture.

Elijah
Remember Elijah? He went to Mt. Carmel to have a contest of gods. He took on the 450 prophets of Baal. And if you have read the story in 1 Kings 18, you remember that it was a great victory and a great display of power for the Only True God in Heaven, and Elijah was so excited that, on his way back to town, he was able to outrun the horses pulling the chariot. But then, only one chapter later, in 1 Kings 19, we see Elijah as low as he has ever been. He’s hiding out in the desert wishing he could die.

Paul
The Apostle Paul is another example.  He received a revelation from God on the road to Damascus and believed in Jesus for eternal life.

According to Acts 9:20, Paul immediately tried to start a ministry to his Jewish brethren. It says he was winning arguments and debates with them. But even though he was winning debates, he wasn’t winning any people. Instead, he almost got himself killed. So he fled to Arabia for three years, probably to study Scripture in light of his new belief that Jesus was the Messiah (Gal 1:17-18). Then, after three years, he probably decided he was ready for ministry again, and so he returned to Damascus and then went to Jerusalem to see if he could help the apostles in their work. But the disciples there wouldn’t trust him (Acts 9:26). Nevertheless, he went out and tried to start a ministry to the Hellenistic Jews in Jerusalem. But again, the only fruit of his ministry was that he kept making people mad, and he almost got killed again (Acts 9:29). The apostles decided they had to get rid of him, so they sent him off to Tarsus.

The account in Acts 9 is very humorous. It says that after they sent Paul away, the church began to prosper (9:31).

Can you imagine what Paul is feeling? Jesus Christ told him on the road to Damascus that he was going to be used greatly by God, but every time Paul tried to be used by God, all he did was cause problems and make people angry, to the point that even the apostles didn’t want him around. And it is only after he leaves, that the church begins to prosper! And so what did Paul do? Well, he served, quietly, in a church, in the boondocks of Tarsus. For 14 years he was there. He was unknown (Gal 1:22). He was unrecognized. People forgot about him. He probably began to think that God had forgotten about him too.

But God had not forgotten. God sent Paul to Tarsus, I am convinced, to teach him humility. To teach him how to get victory over his temptation of pride. God put Paul on the back burner for 17 years in order to teach Paul how to speak the truth in love. And when, after 17 years, Paul had learned this lesson in the wilderness of Arabia and backwaters of Tarsus, God said to Paul, “OK, now you are ready to be used.” And Paul did turn the world upside down for God. But he had to spend time in the wilderness learning getting molded by God.

Jesus
Even Jesus was not immune to such wilderness refinement and preparation. The first four chapters of Luke are all about Jesus’ preparation for ministry. Chapter 1 contains the events leading up to His birth. Chapter 2 relates His birth and an event during His childhood years. In chapter 3, He was prepared for ministry through the baptism of John and the affirmation of God the Father.

This baptism was a mountaintop experience for Jesus. He came up out of the water after being baptized by John, and God thundered out of heaven, “You is my beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

But rather then immediately launch into a successful ministry, the Spirit takes Jesus out into the desert, not to the adoring multitudes. Immediately following the blessing is the battle. Jesus goes from the heights to the depths. From the lush banks of the Jordan and hearing the voice of God, to the barren wasteland of the wilderness, where He is confronted and tested by the devil.

You Too
All of us experience such wilderness times in our own life. And if you haven’t, you will. Your spiritual life and ministry landscape will become hot, barren, and dry. Sometimes, this lasts a day or two, or maybe a month or more. Sometimes it lasts years.

When you find yourself in the wilderness, realize that such periods help you gain strength, maturity, and humility. Use these times to gain victory over temptation and sin. Grow in your knowledge of God and His Word. And wait patiently on God. When the time is right, He will raise you up, restore you to life, and through you, advance the Kingdom of God.

This post is based on the Grace Commentary for Luke 4:1-13.