The Enemy Within
David W Palmer
Part of Jesus’s teaching, training, and mind-renewing coaching for his apprentices (and the crowds) was to explain to them the role of God’s word in his kingdom. So in Matthew 13, we see him teaching his disciples, and the multitude, from a fishing boat. He began with the parable of the farmer planting seeds—representing God’s word sown into the soil of our hearts; but then he explained why many people would not produce a kingdom harvest from what God sowed.
In some cases, the reason for this was external; for example, the enemy came to steal or sabotage the crops (Mat. 13:4). But in many other cases, the failure to bring any kingdom seed to harvest was because of 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 (Chapter 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); they heard with heavy ears, and they have closed their eyes. So that they at no time would perceive with the eyes, hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and turn back to me, and I would heal them.’”
Jesus said that the first category of non-producers of kingdom harvest had the following three characteristics:
The Master explained the outcome of these three traits: “So that they at no time would perceive with the eyes, hear with the ears, and understand with the heart.” He is describing a life that is disabled in the area of perception, spiritual hearing, and understanding. These three abilities are crucial for operating effectively in God’s kingdom. So how did this happen? Jesus said it was because of 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 this condition:
“These people’s hearts have become fat”
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 Aussie 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 allow it to reach deep inside me; I refuse to feel it.” Consequently, this heart has developed a hard external shell—one that doesn’t allow anything to penetrate—bad or good. Sadly, this deceived attempt to keep out pain also excludes 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 chapter 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.”
Our Lord 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 about how to operate in God’s kingdom—by bringing his word to harvest in the soil of our hearts—he explained that we can become our own enemy. If we overload our hearts with non-essential content—including frivolous pursuits, an excess of inconsequential input, and unwise, unbridled living; or if we toughen the exterior of our heart to block anything from entering, we keep God’s word-seeds locked out from growing there. Then sadly, the very things we crave—life, joy, health, faith, love, etc.—cannot enter our hearts, take root there, and grow to a bountiful harvest.
“They heard with heavy ears”
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 that they can barely raise the effort to hear one more thing.
“They have closed their eyes”
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 these people are already overloaded. Why? Probably 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 fresh perceptions and understanding. And although we understand the hurt person’s defense tactics, this is rather foolish. Listen to what God’s wisdom says about this:
(Proverbs 18:2 WEB) A fool has no delight in understanding, but only in revealing his own opinion.
Jesus was not disclosing 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 simply describing a section of his audience who would miss out on God’s best because of the self-inflicted state of their own hearts, ears, and eyes.
Another translation puts what Jesus said like this:
(Matthew 13:15 CSV) “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. I can imagine some people saying in protest, “But God is sovereign; he can do whatever he wants. 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 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 our Lord and Teacher:
(Mark 4:24–25 NKJV) Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given. {25} For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
The outcome we receive from God’s kingdom word is clearly up to us. Jesus has already done his part; he has given us a new birth, and made his kingdom seed available to us—so we can grow it in the soil of our hearts to fruitful harvest. But the condition of our hearts is up to us—whether or not it is soft or hard, rocky or noble, weedy or good and plowed ready to receive seed. Remember: the measure of heeding and attention you invest into this is the measure it will work for you.
Overcoming The Enemy Within
What about you? Do you have an appetite for God’s word? Do you consider it valuable enough to take it to heart, meditate on it, heed it, grow and nurture it? Or is your heart already so calloused and overloaded, and your ears so heavy that, to avoid any new perceptions challenging the way you live, you have shut your eyes and ears?
Perhaps it’s time to follow Biblical advice to plow up the soil of our hearts. We need to ruthlessly rid our hearts of everything that is superfluous to God’s kingdom, and prepare it for a 100–fold harvest.
Today, I encourage you: purposefully dig out all the old weeds and wrong perceptions; intentionally soften the hard exterior and drop the defenses. It’s time to deal with unforgiveness, bitterness, and unrepented sin. Remove all frivolous pursuits and superfluous information. Now is the time to open up completely to new perceptions, revelations, and light from God.
To prepare for this challenge, the Old Testament prophet, Hosea, suggested that we “plow up the fallow ground,” and get it ready for God’s kingdom seeds. Remember, the effort we put into this now is the measure of how we will reap kingdom benefits later on—in the next season, and on into the [eternal] future:
(Hosea 10:12 KJV) Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
An uncomplicated way to begin this “plowing” is to follow the apostle James’s advice in the New Testament. He simply says to confess our faults to one another, and then to pray for each other to be healed. You can trust God to do the rest miraculously:
(James 5:16 DKJV) “Confess your faults to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
Perhaps you could share with a trusted Christian friend or small group, and confess what is preventing you from receiving fresh perception and understanding from God.
If any of the following apply, confess them to each other:
After confessing, renounce these things from your life; and then ask the trusted Christians to pray for you. “Pray for one another that you may be healed,” restored, and have a revitalized spiritual appetite for God’s word and a soft heart for his kingdom harvest. Remember …
(James 5:16 MKJV) “…The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous one avails much.”
