Preaching the Parables, pt. 2: The Purpose and Place of Parables
A parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” There you go—end of article.
That is a familiar and accurate understanding of the parable genre, but it is inadequate for the expositor who desires to preach from this packed quiver of pointed arrows of truth.
Jesus often spoke in parables when he taught. That observation is patently obvious. But defining the essence and employment of parables has proven to be difficult and requires further examination of Jesus’ use of this simple yet powerful teaching method. Only when this tool is properly understood can the preacher draw from this wealth of knowledge and wisdom packaged in few and simple words.
Defining a word is the first and best place to start. The word “parable” is based on two Greek words that indicate something cast aside, generally for comparison. Parables are used to compare something known to something unknown in order to enlighten the hearer.
In order to better understand the parables and properly exegete them, it helps to recognize what they are as opposed to what many preachers think they are.
A parable is “an ingeniously simple word picture illuminating a profound spiritual lesson.”[1] The parables are “dark sayings” (Psalm 78:2), revealing part of their meaning but leaving the rest to be inferred. They are in the same family as similar genres but eternally different in their character.
Fables, such as those written by Aesop, deal with earthly moral themes using unnatural characters in impossible situations, such as talking animals having races. Whereas, parables present heavenly, eternal lessons using real characters acting in possible situations, such as people, seeds, and leaven.
Allegories and parables are near neighbors but differ in length and complexity. Allegories are extended stories, such as Pilgrim’s Progress, where nearly every element represents an idea or principle. Allegories contain their own interpretation. Parables are short, succinct illustrations presenting one moral lesson, such as “Love your neighbor.” Their hidden message is meant to be properly interpreted by the hearer. There is a danger in assigning a “deeper meaning” to every element of a parable. The point is to take the parable as a whole, taking the elements on face value in order to understand the lesson. The details are real; there are no talking rabbits or enchanted forests, just soil, slaves, and sand.
Myths, such as stories about the “gods,” are “true” within their stories, but weak on moral lessons. They are usually explanations of inexplicable realities or tales meant to inspire one to valiant deeds. Parables use down-to-earth, familiar elements to inspire holy living.
Parables and proverbs are a DNA match in that they both teach moral truths; also, the Hebrew word is the same for both. A parable can be thought of as a stretched-out proverb, not as pithy but more wordy.
Why did Jesus teach in parables?
The answer is found in Jesus’ answer to the disciples’ question in Matthew 13: “‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ And he answered them, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:10–13, ESV; cf. Isaiah 6:9–10). The purpose of parabolic teaching was to hide the truth from those who had no interest in heavenly truth while making those same truths understandable to those who wanted to hear.
As Trench explains: “There is a natural delight which the mind has in this manner of teaching, appealing as it does, not to the understanding only, but to the feelings, to the imagination, and in short to the whole man; calling as it does the whole man with all his powers and faculties into pleasurable activity; and things learned with delight are those longest remembered.”[2]
Did Jesus always teach in parables?
Matthew 13:34 and Mark 4:34 are often misunderstood. They say Jesus never spoke to the crowd without a parable. This has led some to believe that everything Jesus said had a hidden, heavenly meaning, leading to some fanciful hermeneutical gymnastics. The verses mean Jesus interspersed his plain-speech sermons with parables. As an aside, he fulfilled the words of Hosea 12:10: “I spoke to the prophets; it was I who multiplied visions, and through the prophets gave parables,” proving that he was God and a prophet of God.
Jesus began using parables after a particularly revealing day with the Pharisees. He had performed undeniable miracles but encountered fierce opposition and unbelief. He pronounced woes upon unrepentant cities and was accused of casting out demons by Satan. The Pharisees were more concerned about their rules than human needs. That did it! From then on, Jesus used parables to reveal and confirm their wicked hearts and their fate (Matthew 13 & ff.). Even when the Pharisees understood a parable that targeted them, they refused to repent (Matthew 21:45).
Barclay sums up the purpose of parables well: “He wanted to persuade men to pass a judgment on things with which they were well acquainted, and then compel them to transfer that judgment to something to whose significance they had been blind.”[3]
[1] John MacArthur, Parables (n.p.: Nelson Books, 2015), xxvi
[2] Richard Chenevix Trench, Notes on the Parables of Our Lord (New York: D. Appleton & Company, 1852), 27
[3] William Barclay, And Jesus Said (Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 1970), 13
Alan Allegra
