On his website, Arminian Perspectives, Ben Henshaw has a questions page at which he answers questions about Arminianism and Calvinism that visitors to his site pose in the comment section of the page. Here is a question from a man named Marius followed by Ben’s answer (slightly edited):
Question
And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. — NASB Matthew 13:10-12
I don’t know how to understand this passage. To me, it seems like Jesus says: “I say in parables because I don’t want them to be saved”, and that convinced me of Calvinism and predestination. It seems like they are not elected, and Jesus says in parables for them not to understand and not to be saved.
Can anybody tell me how to understand this verse according to Arminian perspective?
Answer
This article addresses Matthew 13 and similar passages. I think you will find it helpful: http://naturalchurch.wordpress.com/2013/07/10/five-reasons-to-embrace-conditional-election/.
Just to add to what that post says that I directed you to, I will paste in some comments that I left at that site, which also has more helpful links to articles and a book that address your question in greater detail,
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There is a lot of good stuff here. I do think the parables were meant to draw in seekers as well as serve as a sort of judgment on the state of the hearts of those who were not willing to hear. But even then, I think the idea would be that because of the veiled nature of the parables and their indirect way of addressing things, they can serve to draw in even those who are resistant in that it makes it easier for them to put their guard down so that they can get to a position where they might be willing to hear and learn again. It is kind of like saying, “You will never listen or hear so long as your heart is as it is”, not for the purpose of just expressing that there heart is wrong and so they can never hear or learn, but in expressing their condition, they will possibly be spurred on to re-examine themselves and come to a place where they can hear from God again. It is similar to how I put it in some comments addressing John 6:44 and 45 (as you deal with in your post),
Jesus’ method of discourse is actually a rather common teaching technique used for the purpose of admonishment in order for the “students” to fully realize their situation with the hope that in realizing it (coming to grips with this important revelation) they will be spurred on to change (i.e. repentance). I work in schools daily and see this type of teaching technique used all the time. It is similar to a Math teacher saying, “how can you expect to do division when you haven’t even learned your times tables? You can’t do division while you remain ignorant of multiplication.” Such instruction is not meant to highlight a hopeless state. It is not meant to express that the student can never do division. Rather, it is intended to get the student to re-examine the reality of their current state and how it makes further progress impossible, with the hope that they will learn what is required in order to move forward (e.g. John 5:41-45).
Likewise, Jesus is actually using much of what He says for the purpose of getting those who are listening to re-examine their present relationship to the Father and thereby realize that they are not in a proper position to be making such judgments about Christ and His claims, with the hope that they will yet “learn” from the Father so that they can come to a place where acceptance of Christ and His words is possible (e.g. John 5:33-47; 10:34-39, cf. John 6:45, etc). Had they already learned from the Father (been receptive to God’s grace and leading through the Scriptures, the prophets, the ministry of John the Baptist, the miracles of Christ, etc.), they would have immediately recognized that Jesus was the Son of God, the promised Messiah, Shepherd and King of God’s people, and been given to Him. Yet, not all hope is gone, for they may yet learn if they stop resisting the Father’s leading.
Christ’s teaching on drawing in John 6:44, 45, therefore, is not just descriptive, but for the purpose of admonishment, that they might be careful not to spurn and resist this drawing and miss eternal life and the promise of resurrection. God’s working in prevenient grace and drawing can be complex and operate in different ways depending on the person and the situation. God approaches us from a variety of angles. These passages illustrate that. Yet, we dare not assume that because the operation of prevenient grace on the human heart and mind doesn’t necessarily reduce to a simple equation or formula, God is not still working. Indeed, God is always working (John 5:17).
Many scholars have focused on the sense of irony in Isaiah’s prophecy which relates to how Jesus uses it as recorded in the gospels. In making it clear that they will not listen to the admonishment of God, it can serve to have the effect that they may indeed listen by re-evaluating themselves in light of their present state of self imposed hardheartedness.
One thing that I think you may be expressing too strongly is the idea that when one is poised to hear based on their current state, they will receive the message in an irresistible manner. I think it is better to speak of it being the natural consequence (what we would naturally expect to happen, and probably what most often does happen), but still resistible to an extent since free will is not removed. Even the state they are in when they hear Jesus is based on freely learning from God prior to encountering Christ. There is no reason to think there was an element of irresistibility in them becoming a God fearer in the first place, so there is no reason to assume that coming to Christ from the position of a God fearer is necessarily irresistible either. Even believers in Christ can resist Him as He continues to lead them on further in following Him and learning from Him.
Here are some resources for the idea of the parables and the prophecies in Isaiah as irony:
http://evangelicalarminians.org/gordon-c-i-wong-make-their-ears-dull-irony-in-isaiah-69-10/
http://evangelicalarminians.org/bruce-hollenbach-lest-they-should-turn-and-be-forgiven-irony/
http://evangelicalarminians.org/robert-b-chisholm-jr-divine-hardening-in-the-old-testament/
And here is a very scholarly book that gets into the subject in great detail: http://www.amazon.com/Stories-Intent-Comprehensive-Guide-Parables/dp/0802842410
