I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world. -Psalm 78:2 and Matthew 13:35
As I continue my Bible reading plan this year, I have found myself fascinated yet again with the parables of Jesus. He was an incredible storyteller, and it reinforces for me the idea that God created human minds to love stories and to grasp concepts best in narrative form.
Much of what Jesus revealed to his hearers, and to us, about life in the kingdom of God was new, and in some respects, revolutionary information that had not been considered or understood by anyone prior to his advent (Matt. 13:16, 35). Christ invited us into his hidden counsel when he shared what the kingdom of God is like. Therefore, when we read the parables of Jesus, we are not reading about light matters. Jesus’ parables teach us, encourage us, challenge us, and at times rebuke us (at least those of us who are listening and being led by the Spirit). Hence, Jesus challenged his listening audience more than once with this phrase: “Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.”
Those of us who are followers of Christ are kingdom people (we live in a present kingdom that has not been fully consummated—somewhere between the now and the not yet). That kingdom has a king, and that king, although immensely benevolent, has expectations for his subjects. Hence the parables of Jesus teach us not only more about what our king (and his kingdom) is like but how we are to live as loyal subjects in that kingdom. Some of the parables recorded for us in the gospels give us fair warning that our king is returning to his earthly kingdom and demand that we be ready for that return. Some teach us how to distinguish ourselves as kingdom people in a world that includes both subjects of the king and subjects of the king’s enemy. Others remind us just how valuable the king and his kingdom are, how nothing in this present world can compare, and how it is wise to rid ourselves of anything and everything that would get in the way of our participation as kingdom people. Some show us the loving and forgiving nature of our king and how he desires to care for us. Some of Jesus’ parables dig deep into our emotions and some make us cringe and look the other way. So it was and always has been with Jesus, the God/Man who always divides hearts and presses for a decision (Matt. 10:34-35).
We learn about God in the parables of Jesus. Virtually all of God’s attributes (those things that make God…God), whether sovereignty, holiness, omniscience, immutability—even his divine love—are offensive to us as natural men and women. When Jesus came preaching the kingdom of God, he came preaching God’s right to rule over the hearts and minds of all people—not just Christian people. It is his world, and as Francis Schaeffer, the respected American author/theologian, reminded us, no matter what we think or feel or believe about God, we all wake up every day in his world. There are no other worlds from which to choose.
I’m glad for the insight that Jesus brings to us in his parables. They are wonderfully woven discourses, many of which have become rooted in the imagination and vocabulary of our culture. There are very few people in America who do not have at least some idea of what it means to be a prodigal child, or what it is like to run into a good Samaritan, even though most have no idea what a Samaritan is, or what makes a prodigal child “prodigal.”
If you too find Jesus’ parables fascinating, or confusing, or if you would simply like a bit more insight into them, I highly recommend James Montgomery Boice’s book entitled The Parables of Jesus. Reading it will enhance your understanding of this important biblical genre in significant ways. I have benefited from it, but I have benefited from the parables themselves significantly more. They are, in so many ways, beautiful and compelling. Read through a few of them if you have not done so lately. You will find them primarily in Luke and Matthew’s gospels. Like me, I believe you will find them amazingly insightful and practical.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym