ü What
are parables? They were a common method
of teaching in the Near East, stories used to convey spiritual truth through a
series of earthly comparisons. A common
definition of a parable is that it is an earthly story
with a heavenly meaning. Matthew
Henry (what a blessing that anyone these days has access to the work of this
godly man) said it this way:
...here in
the gospels it generally signifies a continued similitude or comparison, by
which spiritual or heavenly things were described in language borrowed from the
things of this life. ... Our Saviour used it much, ... (he) speaks from heaven,
and of heavenly things, and yet clothes them with expressions borrowed from
things earthly.
ü How
are we to interpret parables? In Matthew
13 Jesus actually helps us by interpreting a couple of them. One can study a lot on this question but here
are some basic questions to use when approaching parables.
1. How
does this parable relate to Christ, and esp. to His kingdom?
2. What
do we know of the cultural (earthly) aspects of the parable?
3. What
is the one central truth of the parable?
4. Did
Jesus interpret some or all of the parable?
5. How
does this parable fit into the context of the story or Gospel where it's found? (We sought to answer this in yesterday’s
post, seeing the connection between these parables and the rejection that was coming
to a head.)
ü Why
did Jesus use parables? There is a
two-fold answer: to conceal truth and to reveal truth. This might sound contradictory at first but
there is an easy answer to the seeming conundrum: if you use a story to
illustrate a point, some people will get hung up on the illustration, while
those who have a mind to will see the point more readily. That’s easy to see. What is hard is to ask, why would Jesus want
to conceal truth from people? Again,
there are two answers.
o On
the one hand He is hiding this truth only from people who have already shown themselves
to be deaf to His claims and message.
When people harden their hearts, they become even more dense to the
truth. That’s the point of Mt. 13:12. Those
who want to learn will be helped. Those
who don’t want to learn will not be able to understand.
o In
addition, God’s plan, elsewhere called “the mystery of God,” (Rev. 10:7; Col.
2:2) is being worked out. As painful as
the rejection is and will be, it is part of the plan. It was prophesied by Isaiah (Mt.
13:14-15/Isaiah 6:9-10). We have spoken
of this often and it is worth noting that this prophecy appears at key moments
in the NT: John 12:39-40 shortly before Jesus’ death; Acts 28:25-27 when Paul
preached the gospel to the Jews in Rome.
ü What
is the key to knowledge, to understanding Jesus’ parables? Luke 11:52 speaks of this key, saying that
the “lawyers” (religious leaders) had taken this key away from the people so
they could not understand. What is this
key? Is it the Holy Spirit? Certainly, we need the One who can turn the
light on for us. It is faith? Again, we must have faith in God to access
the truth of His Word. Perhaps that is
the best way to understand Isa. 33:5-6 where knowledge is available to those
who value the fear of the Lord. That is
a broad answer to the question. It means
we trust God’s own explanation of His Word.
So, when Christ explains the parable we trust Him. When other scriptures open up the parable for
us, we trust God.
Let us ask the Lord to help us to understand as Jesus teaches through these stories. After all, He is speaking about the time in which we live, between the two advents.
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