Go to the Home page Weekly bulletin article archives

The Parables Of Christ

by Chris Simmons

Jesus has been rightly described as the “Master teacher.” He taught with unparalleled authority (Matthew 7:28-29). He taught in such a way that challenged the will and intellect of man (cf John 7:17). It was even said by His opponents, “never did a man speak the way this man speaks” (John 7:46). One way which Jesus taught His disciples was through the use of what is called a “parable.” Matthew noted that Jesus taught “many things” in this way (Matthew 13:3) indicating the frequency with which He used this technique.

What then is a parable? Nelson’s Bible Dictionary defines a parable as, “a short, simple story designed to communicate a spiritual truth, religious principle, or moral lesson; a figure of speech in which truth is illustrated by a comparison or example drawn from everyday experiences.” As noted in Nelson’s definition, it’s the use of images, characters and situations from everyday life to help translate a much more important lesson. In His use of parables, Jesus appealed to all mankind; young and old, educated and unlearned, rich and poor, and challenges each man’s heart to apply and respond to the truth revealed. Parables define the unknown by that which is known and challenge the listener to acquire a deeper understanding of the underlying truth from the use of the illustrating story. Such common things as seeds, trees, oil lamps, money, stewards, laborers, judges and homemakers, wedding parties, banquets and children’s games are used to teach about such weighty matters as true discipleship, the kingdom of heaven and righteousness before God.

What was the purpose of Jesus teaching through parables? The Lord’s disciples asked the very same question in Matthew 13:10 when they said, “why do You speak to them in parables?” We begin to understand the purpose from the definition of a parable. Consistent with the definition above from Nelson’s, we learn in Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words the word for parable comes from the Greek word “parabole” which means “to lay beside, to compare.” A parable takes then a common earthly scenario and lays beside it for comparison purposes a spiritual application. The purpose is to get men to utilize their hearts and minds to make such a comparison and learn from it. Jesus went on to explain in Matthew 13:13-16 that the real reason He taught in parables was to enable men to see and hear the truths that God would have for us to understand.

Yet Jesus also spoke of those “to (whom) it has not been granted” to “know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (verse 11). He noted that there would be some who, “while hearing” would “not hear” and “while seeing” would “not see” (verses 14-15). Was Jesus purposefully trying to conceal truth from selected individuals? Was He trying to exclude certain listeners from knowing the truth of God’s will? Certainly not! On the contrary, Jesus spoke of those who had the intellectual capability of understanding but simply refused to do so. They had already made up their minds, “closed their eyes,” and leaned on their own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). He was referring to those who were not interested in making any applications to their hearts or to believe what He taught. Hearts that are more concerned with temporal blessings, entertainment and good times have always been challenged to learn the truths of such parables (cf John 6:60-66) and usually will not make the effort to learn them. We must make sure that we are not so hard-hearted.

We also need to realize that one of the purposes of a parable is to get the hearers mind to become active in the learning process. It requires effort on our part to learn the lessons. It might require that we ask questions of someone who has studied God’s word longer than we have to “explain to us” one of the Lord’s parables (Matthew 13:36; 15:15; Mark 7:17; cf Acts 8:30-31). Though the examples in the parables are not complex, diligence is required on our part to apply our hearts and minds as we lay the truth alongside the example and drawing the appropriate conclusions.

When we study the parables taught by Jesus, we need to understand the admonition of II Timothy 2:15, “be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth.” This admonition applies to our understanding and teaching of the parables of Christ as much as any other biblical context and we must be careful to “handle accurately” these spiritual truths and to not “distort” them to our own “destruction” (II Peter 3:16).

Let us appreciate the fact that parables are tools used by God, through His Son, to convey His truth and to equip us with all we need that pertains to life and godliness (II Peter 1:3; II Timothy 3:16-17). Opening our hearts and minds to understand that which these parables teach can indeed change our lives so that we might be called children of God. Jesus taught with parables to bring about that result.

Go to the Home page Weekly bulletin plus article archives