Parables are stories or illustrations designed to teach, especially those that are slow to understand. A parable is both an effective and memorable vehicle for the conveyance of divine truth. Needless to say, one major advantage that they have is that they are easily remembered.

In Jesus' earthly ministry, He continuously taught in parables. Until recently, I've always believed the reason why Jesus taught in parables was to conceal truth and confound the unbelieving Jews.

Many, just like me came to this wrong conclusion because of the way we read and interpret Matthew 13:10-15:

“And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.”
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It appears from this rendition of the KJV that Jesus is deliberately hiding the mystery of God's kingdom from some set of people. However, this is not the case, as this translation, if not carefully read and understood, could be misleading.
Come to think of it, Jesus is the Light of the world. Light symbolises knowledge. The utmost desire and drive of Light is to abundantly dispense knowledge without holding anything back.

Obviously, the hearts of the people were already hardened. So, there's no sane reason why Jesus will teach them in parables to make the hearts more hardened. Clearly, Jesus's aim in teaching in parables was not to prevent the people from understanding Him, but to nudge the people toward receptive insight.

Any explanation that is not straight can mean so many things.

madegreatbygrace:
Obviously, the hearts of the people were already hardened. So, there's no sane reason why Jesus will teach them in parables to make the hearts more hardened. Clearly, Jesus's aim in teaching in parables was not to prevent the people from understanding Him, but to nudge the people toward receptive insight.

Receptive insight?

Jesus spoke to them in parables because parables, just like your dreams, stick easily to the human mind more than a good long sermon. A parable was the simplest thing they could understand. Parables and dreams paint a picture of an idea in your mind, and both are different ways God speaks also.

So the idea, I think, was to keep a picture in your mind, so that the Holy Spirit gives the meaning.

Remember, He said His words are 'spirit and life. " Therefore only the Holy Spirit in you can "shine the light" or reveal the spiritual content of His spiritual words, which your natural self can't grasp.

When Peter identified Him as Christ, He knew and said that only the Holy Spirit revealed it to a man like Peter.

His disciples did not even understand some of the parables. So He promised them the Holy Ghost.

So, I think He (Jesus) painted the picture or planted the seed of the word in their hearts as simple parables, so that the promised Holy Spirit will "remind" them(of His words/parables even after He had ascended to the Father), "reveal" to them all things, including the parables.

[quote author=liquidmetal post=90571313]Jesus spoke to them in parables because parables, just like your dreams, stick easily to the human mind more than a good long sermon. A parable was the simplest thing they could understand. Parables and dreams paint a picture of an idea in your mind, and both are different ways God speaks also.

So the idea, I think, was to keep a picture in your mind, so that the Holy Spirit gives the meaning.

Remember, He said His words are 'spirit and life. " Therefore only the Holy Spirit in you can "shine the light" or reveal the spiritual content of His spiritual words, which your natural self can't grasp.

When Peter identified Him as Christ, He knew and said that only the Holy Spirit revealed it to a man like Peter.

His disciples did not even understand some of the parables. So He promised them the Holy Ghost.

So, I think He (Jesus) painted the picture or planted the seed of the word in their hearts as simple parables, so that the promised Holy Spirit will "remind" them(of His words/parables even after He had ascended to the Father), "reveal" to them all things, including the parables.







You're right my brother. The means was to teach using parables, but the end was for the people to understand Him.

[quote author=iKingsley post=90568918]Any explanation that is not straight can mean so many things.


Let's start with Matthew 13:10-12:

“And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13:10-11‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The disciples were wondering why Jesus taught the people in parables instead of using plain speech just as He used to teach them in private.
See how Jesus responded in v11-

"Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given."

Seems Jesus was saying, you have been chosen to understand the parables but the meaning of the parable is deliberately hidden from the people.

No, not really.

He was basically saying, Just because you're privileged to understand God's kingdom, and how it works, you must realize that it’s not everyone that has the insight. You’re privileged to know because I take time to expound the parables to you when alone with you. As a result, you’re way ahead of them because your mind is prepared or made ready. Because you have a ready mind for this, the insights and understanding flow easily. But they are not presented with the same opportunity, where they are taught in the secret. Thus, their heart is hardened and unresponsive.


Then you’ll probably assume that they’re been punished in v12......

12. “For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.”

What do the disciples have which the people do not have?

A ready heart! A heart that has been prepared to receive deeper truth.

Since there is no readiness/ preparedness in the heart of the people, they lose any trace of receptivity. But the one that has , that is, has the readiness, such receives more insights and understanding.

It’s just like a man that has gone on a 7-day fasting without food. This man is not expected to break his fast with pounded yam. He must break with something light, so that the system can digest something heavier later.

So Jesus starts His teachings with the light food ( parables) so as to create an appetite or readiness for deeper understanding and insights.


In essence, He taught the people in parables to create this readiness which will nudge the people toward receptive insight .

Then, Jesus continues :



“Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 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; 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.’”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13:13-15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Notice Jesus says in v13, Therefore I speak to them in parables : because ........"

He's making it clear that these people, in their present state, will not understand a single word about the Kingdom, even though they can hear the message, unless He creates a readiness in their hearts by using parables.

In v14, He reveals that Isaiah had already prophesied about these people, but He's on earth to help them come out of their present condition .

This way, they'll eventually understand His purpose on earth- His sufferings and glorification and the significance of all these to mankind.

Jesus knew He was dealing with natural people that are geared towards their natural minds and He wanted them to reflect on spiritual things.To make them to see and comprehend the invisible world, He had to use everyday illustrations that the people can relate to, which will also provoke their thought life to think on spiritual things.

This is a brilliant rendition of Luke 8:9-10 by the Message Bible;


“His disciples asked, “Why did you tell this story?” He said, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom—you know how it works. There are others who need stories. But even with stories some of them aren’t going to get it: Their eyes are open but don’t see a thing, Their ears are open but don’t hear a thing.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭8:9-10‬ ‭MSG‬‬