If I have told you earthly things and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things? John 3:12
We don’t know for sure if he actually existed, but if he did, Aesop was very popular with the children of his day. Stories from ancient Greece tell of Aesop as a wise man who loved to tell fanciful stories in which animals often took on human characteristics. We all know the story of the tortoise and the hare, of the vain crow, of the greedy dog, and the dog in the manger. Children would love to listen to such stories, and as they did so, Aesop would get across to them some very fundamental principles of life. The children learned these important lessons about human behaviour by hearing how animals behaved in Aesop’s fanciful world. He told animal stories to teach people lessons. It is an excellent way to teach, because Jesus used some of the same principles, except that He told earthly stories in order to teach heavenly lessons.
Would those children have learned wise behaviour without Aesop’s fables? We’ll never know. Have people learned about heavenly things through Jesus’ parables? Yes, many have. The people to whom Jesus preached during His ministry were certainly impressed with His parables. And many learned enough through those lessons to become permanent and faithful followers of the Lord Jesus. But to the vast majority, those parables were little more than entertainment, or food for speculation and debate. Jesus would often unfold the meanings behind those parables to His disciples and to other followers. He knew whose hearts were open to receive the truth. In the same way, the Holy Spirit, as He strives with sinners, knows who are sincere in their search for the truth and who reject the Word of God or dismiss it as irrelevant.
In our text, Jesus is speaking to one of the top religious leaders in the land. He is reminding Nicodemus that the lessons Jesus taught in His parables were critical to an acceptance of heavenly truths. As a human earth-dweller, Nicodemus had no real concept of the heavenlies. Neither do we. It is only through parables and earthly teaching from Jesus that we can grasp the heavenlies. Such concepts as the presence of God, the nature of eternity, and the torments of hell are beyond our human capacity. But when placed into terms of things we know and understand, we can accept these things. And accept therm we must because they are the truth.
Heavenly things are not really within our grasp today, as far as understanding them. But they are within our grasp today, as far as accepting them. -Jim MacIntosh