The Enemy Within

(Matthew 13:13-15 DKJV) “This is why I speak to them in parables: because seeing they do not see; and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. (14) And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah (Is. 6:9,10), which says, ‘[By] hearing you will hear, and not understand; and seeing you will see, and not perceive. (15) For these people’s hearts have become fat (overcharged, dense, thick), and they heard with heavy ears, and [they] have closed their eyes; so that they at no time would perceive with the eyes, and hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and turn back [to me], and I would heal them.’”

Matthew gives his account of Jesus’s teaching on the day God explained himself in chapter 13 of his gospel. In this section of it, Jesus talks about one of the challenges to God’s harvest—but this one doesn’t come from an external combatant; here he speaks of the enemy within.

Jesus said that the first category of non-producers of kingdom harvest had the following three characteristics:

? Their hearts have become fat (overcharged, dense, thick)

? They hear with heavy ears

? They close their eyes

Indicating the result of these three traits, Jesus said, “So that they at no time would perceive with the eyes, and hear with the ears, and understand with the heart.” He is describing a life that is disabled in the area of perception, hearing, and understanding.

How did this happen? Jesus said it was their own actions and lifestyle: they fattened their hearts, they made their ears heavy, and they closed their eyes. What do these mean, and how do we avoid them? To find out, we begin by looking closely at what Jesus said leads up to it:

First, he said they have a “fat” heart. The word translated, “fat,” in the above passage means: fat, thick, dense, or calloused. Perhaps all four apply.

The heart that is fat is already overfed on empty calories. That is, it is full to overflowing with spiritual junk food; its owner is constantly meditating and focusing on frivolous things of no eternal consequence. Hence, his or her heart has no appetite or room for the precious nutrition of God’s eternal word.

Another meaning of the original word is that the heart is “thick.” This speaks of a large fatty heart with a hard external barrier; it won’t allow God’s word to enter.

“Dense” speaks for itself in slang vernacular: as teenagers, we referred to someone as “dense” if they were slow learners or simply unwise in their choices.

Like the calloused hands of a laborer, a calloused heart is one that has been overworked in the tough things of life. Its surface grows hard in a self-powered attempt to resist any more pain—or even possible pain. The calloused heart says, “You can work me—even abuse me—but I will not feel it.” Consequently, it has developed a hard external shell—one that doesn’t allow anything to penetrate—bad or good. Sadly, this is not only a deceived attempt to keep out pain; it also keeps out the precious seed of God’s kingdom word. Thus, it has no source of light, life, joy, healing, faith, encouragement, or love. This heart slowly dies.

Jesus mentions the idea of a fat heart again in Luke 21, when talking about the time just prior to his return.

(Luke 21:34 KJV) “And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.”

Jesus warns that through our own choices our hearts can become “overcharged”—overloaded, weighed down or burdened—in this case, through unwise and unbridled living.

Therefore, in Jesus’s core teaching, he explained that we become our own enemy if we overload our heart with non-essential content—including frivolous pursuits, an overload of inconsequential input, and unwise, unbridled living.

Jesus also mentioned that the people with disabled perception “hear with heavy ears.” Like an over-fed person who cannot face another mouthful, to this person, hearing the potentially life-giving, nutritious word of God seems like a heavy burden. Their heart is already so overloaded they can barely raise the effort to hear one more thing.

Finally, Jesus said “and they have closed their eyes; so that they at no time would perceive with the eyes …” This indicates a willful decision to avoid any new perceptions or understanding. Perhaps this is because they are too overloaded, perhaps because they are satisfied with the perceptions they already enjoy, or maybe their heart is so calloused and hard from bitter life experiences that they trust no one. Whatever the reason, they willfully shut their eyes; they close themselves off to taking in any more perceptions and understanding. And although we understand the hurt person’s defensive tactics, this is rather foolish:

(Proverbs 18:2 WEB) A fool has no delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own opinion.

Jesus was not revealing the disability of people’s hearts because he wanted to keep them from his kingdom and its benefits. After all, he wasn’t doing this to them; our Lord was describing a section of his audience who would miss out on God’s best because of the self-inflicted state of their own heart, ears, and eyes. Let’s remember that our heart is our responsibility; so keep it hungry from more of God, and ready to take in new perceptions and understanding from him:

(Proverbs 4:23 NKJV) Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

Another translation puts what Jesus said like this:

(Matthew 13:15 CEV) “All of them have stubborn minds! Their ears are stopped up, and their eyes are covered. They cannot see or hear or understand. If they could, they would turn to me, and I would heal them.”

Jesus wants to forgive and heal people; he wants to restore, bless, and fill them with life and joy. However, many disqualify themselves from receiving because of their own choices. This brings us back to Jesus’s motive for teaching the parable of the sower.

We must remember that the object of his teaching on the day God explained himself was to show us our part in receiving. Again, I can hear people saying, “But God is sovereign; he can do whatever he wants to. He could heal us if he wanted to with or without our help.” Yet, what Jesus revealed in his key parable is that God, by his sovereign choice, has set up the system in a particular way, and that no amount of intellectual theorizing, emotional wishing, or contrary theology is going to change it. The master teacher showed that our role is not to decide what God should or should not do; rather, our part is made clear in this powerful declaration from the Master:

(Mark 4:24-25 MKJV) And He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With that measure which you measure, it shall be measured to you. And to you who hear, more shall be given. (25) For he who has, more shall be given to him; and he who has not, from him shall be taken even that which he has.”