OCTOBER 29
Between the many heated
confrontations, Jesus continues to teach his disciples quietly concerning the
kingdom of God. As the Great Teacher, Jesus uses numerous methods of
instructing his disciples. He employs hyperbole, warnings, laments, and
denunciations. He presents truth through beatitudes, proverbs, and dialogue. Of
all his methods, however, perhaps the most interesting and distinctive mode of
teaching is his use of parables. These illustrations of a moral truth or
principle are usually in the form of a simple comparison. As often as not,
Jesus' parables are comparisons with things either found in nature or known
through human experience.
Although
Jesus says the parables will have the effect of concealing truth, he must have
in mind those hearers whose hearts are closed to his teaching. Most of the
lessons are fairly simple to understand and especially well-suited for the
common man, to whom Jesus directs his teaching.
Many
parables are recorded by the Gospel writers throughout Jesus' ministry, but a
particular series has been collected, principally by Matthew, which gives
unique insight into Jesus' use of these simple illustrations.
PARABLE OF THE
SOWER Mt. 13:1-9 [Mk. 4:1-9, Lk. 8:4-8 ].
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear."
PURPOSE
OF PARABLES. Mt.
13:10-17 [Mk. 4:10-12, Lk. 8:9,10 ]
The
disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in
parables?"
He
replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been
given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have
an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.
This is why I speak to them in parables:
"Though
seeing, they do not see;
though
hearing, they do not hear or understand.
In them
is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
"
'You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you
will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people's heart has become
calloused;
they
hardly hear with their ears, '
and
they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear
with their ears,
understand
with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'0
But
blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I
tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see
but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
PARABLE
OF SOWER EXPLAINED. Mt.13:18-23 [ Mk. 4:13-20 ,Lk. 8:11-15]
"Listen
then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message
about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches
away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The one
who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word
and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a
short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly
falls away. The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man
who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of
wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received the seed that
fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces
a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
Jesus
told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed
good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and
sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed
heads, then the weeds also appeared.
"The owner's servants came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'
" 'An enemy did this he replied.
"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them up?'
" 'No/ he answered, 'because while you are pulling the weeds, you may
root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At
that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in
bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.' "
PARABLE
OF THE WEEDS EXPLAINED. Mt. 13:36-43
Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
PARABLE OF THE LIGHTED LAMP. Mk. 4:21-25 [Lk. 8:16-18]
He said
to them, "Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead,
don't you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed,
and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone
has ears to hear, let him hear."
"Consider carefully what you hear," he continued. "With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him."
He also said,
"This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the
ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and
grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first
the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. As soon as the
grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come."
PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED. Mt. 13:31,32 [Mk. 4:30-32 Lk. 13:18,19]
He told
them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which
a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your
seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a
tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches."
PARABLE
OF THE YEAST. Mt. 13:33 [Lk.13:20,21]
He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount1" of flour until it worked all through the dough."
PARABLE
OF HIDDEN TREASURE. Mt. 13:44
"The
kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he
hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that
field.
PARABLE
OF VALUABLE PEARL.
Mt. 13:45,46
"Again,
the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found
one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.
PARABLE
OF THE NET. Mt.13:47-50
"Once
again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and
caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the
shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the
bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come
and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery
furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
PARABLE
OF TREASURES. Mt.
13:51,52
"Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked.
"Yes," they replied.
He said
to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about
the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his
storeroom new treasures as well as old."
PARABLES
FULFILL PROPHECY
Mt.13:34,35 Mk. 4:33,34
. Mk With many similar parables Jesus spoke the word to them, as much as they could understand. He did not say anything to them without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything. M' 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."