Matthew 11-13

Matthew has Jesus pointing the difference in his teaching between the close disciples and the crowds. In 13:13 Jesus gives the reason for his distinction: "Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand." That riddle for an answer is perplexing. So I pondered and prayed about it, and this is my conclusion. The disciples to whom he explained the parables sought him out and were seeking to do all that he said. The crowds came to hear him and then left. They didn't try to stay with him. They wouldn't adjust their lives or lifestyles to conform to what he said. They may have been impressed with how he spoke, wooing over his authority, but it did not change how they thought or how they acted. The crowds were like Sunday only Christians and the disciples were like daily Christians. That distinction makes sense.
Stuart