Why use parables

Mt , some truths will only be understood by a special group. While the parables reveal the mystery of the kingdom, they also conceal. Mark's statement makes a sharp distinction between the insiders and outsiders, while the distinction is less sharp in Matthew and Luke.

Jesus refers to those who are not receptive to his ministry of the Word as regarded as the bad soil that is not receptive to the seed of the sower in the parable.

They are those who reject Jesus such as the scribes and the Pharisees. It was common practice that Jewish leaders would use parables as illustrations to explain what they were teaching Keener However, if they only gave the illustration without providing the point they were referring to, the illustration remained a riddle Test Abr A. This implies that in the context of Jesus' ministry, only persons who knew him were able to understand his parables. For those who rejected him, such as the Pharisees, the parables remained riddles cf.

Mt It seems that parables by nature were enigmatic and required explanation Hultgren Parables need interpretation 2 Esdr ; Sir John also refers to Jesus' figurative speech, which results in his disciples not understanding him Jn According to the gnostic Apocryphon of James , a document from the 2nd century CE, Jesus had to spend 18 days after his resurrection with his disciples to explain his parables.

The Synoptic Gospels are clear about Jesus's disciples not always understanding his parables and needing further explanation. The parable of the sower is told in public, but the disciples receive explanation in private Mk Jesus speaks in parables by way of public speaking, but then explains what he said in private cf.

Mk ; ; ; , 33; ; Culpepper In doing so, Jesus unveils the apocalyptic secrets of the coming of God's eschatological reign Witherington III It was common practice that disciples would ask their rabbis for further explanation, for example as in Tosefta Sanhedrin 13 and the Babylonean Talmud Qiddushin, 31a. Some rabbinic traditions also linked the ability to understand with membership to the community of Israel Keener Matthew is the only evangelist to insert the statement 'Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance.

Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. Whatever inkling of understanding they have, would be taken away from them, while the ability of his disciples to understand would be enhanced Hedrick Accounted reason: 'So that', or 'because'. Jesus then proceeds by providing the reason for speaking in parables to outsiders.

Otherwise they 'might repent and be forgiven'. The Markan quotation differs from the MT and LXX versions, but corresponds exactly with the Aramaic Targum by including the use of the third person rather than the second and the phrase 'they may be forgiven' instead of 'and I heal them' as in the MT and LXX.

In this response lies the difficulty. Why would Jesus deliberately speak in such a way that people would not understand and repent?

As mentioned above, this version of the quote creates the impression that this passage may have had its origin in the pre-Markan Aramaic speaking community Hultgren The easy answer to the problem would be to argue that Mark included this quote from the Targum in an inattentive and clumsy manner, as it does not fit his overall message. However, such an answer is unsatisfactory. To soften the offense, one suggestion has been to revert to the Aramaic syntax to weaken the purpose clause.

The most obvious meaning of the clause is therefore that the outsiders get a glimpse of the mysteries of the kingdom with the parables, but they do not grasp their full meaning. If they indeed do perceive, they will turn and be forgiven. Luke omits Mark's comment that the intention of the parables is to condemn those who are not his disciples.

Yet, the separation is clear. They are like the rocky or the thorny soil in the parable of the sower. However, it is no longer 'all things' that are in parables to 'those outside' as in Mark, but in Luke Jesus speaks 'parables' to 'others'.

Luke's version seems to correlate with his overall perspective, which is that Jesus prepared his disciples with special teachings so that they could become the apostles in the post-Easter era Hultgren In Acts , Luke once again quotes Isaiah to illustrate the blindness of Israel and to justify his mission to the gentiles Ac They have an inability to understand on their own account. They deliberately refuse to listen to Jesus. For Matthew, the parable serves a didactic purpose.

Matthew's account reminds of Ezekiel , 'Son of man, you live among rebels who have eyes but refuse to see. They have ears but refuse to hear. For they are a rebellious people', where God commands his prophet to speak to his hard-hearted people in a way that would make it clear that they do not understand Witherington III With such rebellious people, the parables have the judicial function of demonstrating their broken relationship with God.

They must become aware of how ignorant they are about the coming of God's kingdom. For such people, the parables serve as stumbling blocks, similarly to those placed in Israel's path as in Isaiah 6. The Synoptic Gospels all state that the outsiders rejected Jesus with the result that he increasingly turned to his disciples and trained them in private.

The disciples are depicted as being capable of learning and understanding. To the crowds, he would only speak in parables with the result that they would not grasp the point of illustration Witherington III Parables gave insight to those who accepted Jesus, but they came as a judgement to the stubborn ones who rejected him. Therefore, listening attentively becomes a prerequisite for understanding God's revealed mysteries. Jesus offers revelatory wisdom to his open-minded followers.

The message is clear: one cannot understand the kingdom of God apart from accepting Jesus, the agent of the kingdom. The parables provide some explanation as to why so many people of Israel rejected Jesus Hooker They did not respond to Jesus as they did not understand his teachings. Those who were unable to comprehend the message of Jesus, fulfil the prophecy in Isaiah This prophecy was central to the early Christian view of why Israel did not accept Jesus cf.

Mk ; Lk ; Jn ; Ac ; Keener It reflects a common motif in the prophets e. Is ; ; ; ; Ezk However, those who turn to Jesus, will be 'healed' Mt Jesus always spoke to the crowds in parables. Later in the same Markan and Matthean chapters, the evangelists once again refer to Jesus speaking in parables see Table 2. In Mark it forms the conclusion to the section on Jesus teaching in parables. His own disciples have the privilege of receiving explanations for Jesus' earlier teachings.

It echoes 'the word' that the sower in the parable sows. This implies that the parables are vehicles of the Word, the gospel of the kingdom to which they point Culpepper Mark qualifies Jesus speaking of the word 'as much as they could understand'. Apparently, this stands in conflict with Mark However, in light of this qualification, it is clear that Jesus customised his teaching according to the ability of the people to grasp it.

From this, it can be surmised that Jesus did not limit his teaching due to a desire to keep the crowds in the dark, but because they were not able to hear more of his teaching. Mark proceeds by telling readers that Jesus explained the meaning of the parables to his disciples when they were alone.

In Matthew, the distinction between 'them' and the 'disciples' is less prominent, as he only refers to the crowds. Matthew furthermore omits this reference to Jesus' private teaching to his disciples, but adds the formula quotation while quoting from Psalms to explain how the parables convey hidden mysteries.

While Mark states that mysteries are concealed in the parables, Matthew states that the parables convey God's hidden revelations. The parable of the sower forms a simile that reflects Jesus' ministry. Jesus spoke in public and the seed of his Word fell on several kinds of soil. In his private clarification of the parable, he explains to his disciples how this parable depicts the way different kinds of people relate to his teachings.

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Jones October 19, Share Tweet Pin Email. Jones Why did Jesus teach in parables? The reason why Jesus taught in parables was not to explain spiritual truths to the crowds, but to keep spiritual truths from the crowds. Why Did Jesus Teach in Parables? Email Signup. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Stay Updated. Jones Dr.

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But those uncommitted—perhaps listening only because of the initial excitement—would reject the teaching as unintelligible. Share this. Why Did Jesus Teach in Parables? Alfred Edersheim. Talking to the Pharisees Rather than about Them?

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