And He spoke many things to them in parables
Insights: Yesterday we learned that the day in which
these parables were spoken was the day in which the people’s rejection of Jesus
had reached its climactic point and they declared He was from Satan. I believe all of these parables which we find
in this thirteenth chapter were spoken at one setting. In other words, this chapter is not Matthew’s
compilation of Jesus’ parables from many different teaching moments brought
together for simplicity of the reader.
Thursday we will see the purpose behind the parables and understand why
I believe all of them were spoken at this particular setting. Based on today’s verse, we know that it was
Jesus’ plan to speak in parables to the crowd.
So, what is a parable? It comes
from the Greek word parabole. Para
means alongside. Bole is translated as meaning. When we put them together we get a meaning
that lies alongside something else as a comparison or illustration. To say it another way, a parable is an
earthly story that helps us understand spiritual truths. In the Septuagint, the Greek Old Testament, the
term paraboleis was used forty-five
times, which indicates it was a common style of Jewish teaching. Parables help us understand things, and
parables make things clear, but understand, parables do those things only when
they are explained to us. In other
words, if a parable is not explained then it is nothing more than an impossible
riddle. One would be completely
incapable of understanding what the story teller meant by his words if he did
not explain them to his audience. It was
for that reason later on in the chapter Jesus explained these truths to His
disciples and they were then able to understand the impact of these lessons. Beloved, we need to go the Father and ask Him
to open our hearts and minds to understand these parables. He is the only one that can bring to light
the truths found in these parables to our lives. Seek Him over these next several weeks and
let’s grow in His grace as He explains to us these stories. May He receive glory and praise as we take
these truths and allow them to impact our lives in profound ways.
Questions:
- Have you had the Spirit of God explain to you the
secret of the kingdom parables?
- Are you able to carry the truth of those parables around with you?
Prayer: Father, I
understand that it was Your plan to use parables to explain this mysterious
church age. I pray You open my heart and
mind to the truths of these stories to help me grow in my relationship with You. Amen.
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