Morning Cup of J(esus)
Fueling the Day!
Jesus' Parables
What is a parable?
Definition: To tell a parable means “to cast a familiar idea beside an unfamiliar idea in such a way that the comparison helps people to better understand grasp the unfamiliar idea. A story is told, certain features of which are analogous or parallel to the points or principles one wishes to drive home.”
Note: para means beside, and ballo means to cast or throw. So parable means to cast beside —that is, cast what is already understood beside what needs to be understood.
Why did Jesus use parables?
Jesus’ parables teach a truth along side a topic in which the listeners were already familiar in order to help them understand the meaning of the new lesson. Jesus strongly encouraged His listeners to pay very close attention to the lesson that was given. He didn’t want His audience to get caught up in the simple meaning of the familiar, but instead He wanted them to understand and apply the deeper meaning. Many parables had very profound lessons that were certainly countercultural to Jewish society.
We will cover the parables chronologically, but the parables could be grouped together by several different themes or topics.
Why is the meaning of parables hidden from some listeners?
The Lord Jesus allows people the choice to either accept or reject His words as well as the whole of Scripture. But, unfortunately, many of the Pharisees and religious leaders at the time of Christ were men with hard hearts and with hostile intentions toward Christ. He often used parables to keep these men from understanding the truths that He was teaching. These verses show a sharp contrast between those who will hear and understand the parables and those whose hearts are hard and will not understand.
Matthew 13:10-17
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
Matthew 13:35
So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.
I trust that you are looking forward to studying the parables over the next few weeks.