Preaching the Parables, Pt 5: Exegetical Methods

The Parables of Jesus are some of the most delightful passages to read in Scripture. Within them, Jesus, the God-man, weaves together powerful stories filled with symbols, metaphors, and illustrations that only the greatest Story-Teller would be able to tell. Something in the Parables seems to appeal to that God-given desire all people experience for “story.” Whether a child is being a read a story at bedtime, an adult is sitting down with a book, or people gather around a television or a cinema screen, there is little doubt that people enjoy stories.

These Parables, however, are not merely told by Christ to entertain. Rather, they deliver to us moral precepts, key details about the gospel, and shed light on the very nature of God’s Kingdom itself.

Little surprise, then, that the Parables are quite popular accounts in the Bible. Some of them have even saturated the public zeitgeist in such a way that just simply referencing one character (the Prodigal Son, for example), or a small detail (something like a Mustard Seed), will bring to recollection various parables which Jesus told. But with such familiarity and appreciation has come a serious misunderstanding and misapplication of the Parables.

Misunderstanding and Misapplying Parables

Let me give one example. In the Parable of the “Good Samaritan” (Lk. 10:25-37), we see Jesus explaining that the Christian must love our neighbor as ourselves. A question is posed to our Lord: Who is our neighbor? Thus, Jesus weaves together a tale of Jewish man who is attacked, robbed, and left for dead. Rather than experiencing love from a Jewish priest, he finds the man passes him by. Again, when a Levite comes across the dying man, he is shown no love, but again left for dead. Finally, a man does come to help and save him, but he is an enemy of the Jews—a Samaritan!

Many people read this parable and conclude, “I need to do nice things for others.” But to simply stop there is to miss the wider context. Jesus is not only providing an example of what it means to love our neighbor, but also revealing to us that our neighbor is not simply those who look or act like us, but even our enemies. For the Jew who originally asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus’ parable would have been shocking.

But we still cannot stop with just a moral understanding. There is a redemptive aspect to this parable, too. For, you see, we have this nasty habit of attempting to read ourselves into the heroic characters. Thus, when we read of the Good Samaritan, we like to think of ourselves as filling his shoes. But the reality is that we are not the Good Samaritan. In a redemptive context, we are the man dying along the road, being passed over by all those we thought would save us. We are also like those passing over others, not wanting to be bothered with their plight. Jesus, however, does what we cannot do for ourselves. He is the Good Samaritan of the Parable—despised and rejected by men (Is. 53:3), but mighty to save and loving enough to do just that.

This is just one example of the many layers a Parable may contain. How do we rightly interpret these Parables, though?

Getting Our Exegesis Right

There are two key elements that every preacher (and interpreter) of Scripture must always keep at the forefront of our minds: 1. Context is key; 2. Christ is King. If we can remember those two simple statements, we will be in a far better position to understand Scripture than those who haphazardly open their Bibles, pick a passage at random, and read the text as though it were a fortune cookie. No other book is read this way. In fact, every single book in existence has several guiding principles that help us in understanding what we are reading.

Yet, various parts of Scripture are often misunderstood, misapplied, and twisted into meaning something that they were never originally intended to teach. Some people do this out of ignorance and confusion, but others act out of more nefarious purposes. We who are genuine followers of Christ and teachers of His Word have a lofty task before us, then: Teach and feed the sheep with pure doctrine, while warning those who are straying after falsehoods, and rebuking those whose aim it is to lead the sheep away.

Right preaching and teaching, however, begins with right exegesis. Exegetical methods simply describe the various practices of interpreting a biblical text to bring forth an understanding of its true meaning. For example, many people today speak of the “literal-grammatical-historical” method of understanding the Bible. This method of hermeneutical interpretation is all about paying close attention to the grammar of the Bible, as well as the historical context in which a text occurs, to come to a “literal” understanding of what the Bible means.

Another well-known method of exegesis within the Reformed tradition is the “historical-redemptive” method. This method attempts to view Scripture through the lens of the redemption narrative, reading the Bible as one cohesive and unfolding story about Jesus Christ. Therefore, texts are examined with Christ always in view.

The method I was trained in and now teach others is a combination of the two. Things like grammar, literary genre, historical context, and the unfolding story of redemption always pointing the reader to Christ are all things to always have in view. When we do this, we do not divorce redemptive history from moral teachings, but instead see that God has woven together a cohesive whole—even in the Parables.

Things go awry when we fail to do these things. Recently, I was counseling a man who had done something similar to the “fortune cookie” reading practice. He had come across a passage of Scripture, which he had read at random, and believed that the text had indicated that he needed to do something quite drastic that, in reality, God would never command in the Bible. As we talked through these things, I explained that reading the Bible is a spiritual exercise, but it is not magic. God intends for us to understand what we read, and though He will grant us wisdom and understanding through the Holy Spirit (Prov. 2:1-6), He means for us to put forth the diligent effort of studying the Scriptures to show ourselves approved before Him (2 Tim. 2:15).

Peter likewise commands us to be careful in our studying and interpretation of Scripture, that we be not swept away with false doctrines or ideas:

You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen (2 Pet. 3:17-18).

When we are diligent to study and understand the Bible, we grow in grace and knowledge, to the glory of God. The best exegetical practice—whether in the Parables of Christ or elsewhere—is the practice that remembers context (literary genre, grammar, historical context, location in the Bible, surrounding passages, systematic theology, etc.) is key, and Christ is King. All of Scripture points us to Christ and His story of redemption, again and again. The Parables ought to be read as Parables, and not as poetry, history, or the epistles. They are unique. But they are also part of Scripture, and thus worthy of our fullest attention.

There is no easy way to understand them. The hard work of exegesis can never be removed from our study. But it is always worth it.