Why Parables?
Matthew 13 is a very important chapter in the pattern of the Gospel. It shows a definite turning point in the ministry of Jesus. Early in His ministry, we find Him teaching in the synagogues. Now we find Him teaching at the seashore.
It is one of the supreme tragedies that Jesus was banished from the "Church" of His day. But when the doors of the synagogue were closed to Him, he took to the temple of the open-air, teaching in the village streets, on the roads, by the lakeside, and in people's homes. The person who has a real message to deliver, and a passionate desire to share that message, will always find a way of connecting and sharing with those who are open to hearing the message.
In this chapter of Matthew, we also see Jesus beginning to fully practice His characteristic method of teaching in parables. Scholars over the centuries have commented along these lines: "Whatever else is true of Jesus, it is certainly true that he was one of the world's supreme masters of the short story." Why did Jesus use this method and what are the great teaching advantages of utilizing story?
1. The parable makes truth concrete. Not everyone can grasp and understand abstract ideas - most people think in pictures. To be understood, every great word must become flesh, every great idea must take form and shape in a person. A parable makes truth into a picture that all people can see and understand.
2. A good teacher understands the wisdom of leading learners on the path from what they do understand toward new things they do not yet understand. Great teaching begins from the here and now to get to the there and then.
3. A sure way to gain people's interest is to tell them a story. A simple definition of a parable is that it is "an earthly story with a heavenly meaning."
4. Telling truth in story-form empowers the individual listener to discover truth for themselves. A parable does not do someone's thinking for them! Some of the greatest truths, you and I must discover for ourselves. Unless we discover truth for ourselves, it remains a second-hand and external and can easily be forgotten.
5. Interestingly, the parable conceals truth from those who are either too lazy to think or too unmotivated to care. A story conceals truth from the person who does not wish to see and know the truth.
Typically, a parable will only have one point. A parable is not an allegory. An allegory is a story in which every possible detail has an inner meaning that must be studied and interpreted.
Jesus told about a Sower who went out to sow seed. Some seed fell on the path, some on stony ground, some on thorny ground and some on good ground. This is about The Word and the hearer. It describes four sets of people in two distinct groups:
1. The first group is made of three types who fail to fully accept the message:
-The hearer with the shut mind and an unteachable spirit. Perhaps pride or fear, or an immoral character have shut this person's mind to the discovery of spiritual truth. There are none so blind as those who deliberately will not see.
- Then there are those hearers who have a mind like the shallow ground. They eagerly accept the message because it’s the popular thing to do but they have no desire to seek a relationship with Christ and quickly fall away.
- Another hearer has so many worldly interests in life that the most important thing gets crowded out. Too busy for prayer, the Bible or Church. The warning is to be careful to see that Christ is not shouldered out of the topmost place in our life.
2. Then there is the hearer who is like the good ground. Their mind is open, they are willing to learn and prepared to hear. They desire understanding and are committed to the process of seeking the Holy Spirits guidance in thinking things through and will accept the truth and translate it into action. This hearer produces good fruit from the good seed.
The hearer Christ encourages us to be is the person who listens to God, who understands, and who obeys. I'm so grateful for the Word and the Spirit who help us in this process of learning from Jesus and bearing fruit for His glory and our happy satisfaction!
Blessings and love,
Your Pastor, Duff
