“Why Parables?”

Scripture: Matthew 13:10-17

Have you ever wondered why Jesus didn’t just speak plainly instead of seemingly beating around the bush all the time? There were those times when he told others to keep what they had discovered about him quiet (Mark 9:2-10), there was the teaching that was totally in opposition to the traditional law and was offered without explanation, and then there were the parables. To my way of thinking, he could have been far more effective, and could have won far more converts, if he had come right out and told the people exactly what he wanted them to know! But then, what do I know? Certainly the Lord knows a lot more and a lot better than I do!

In verses 34 & 35 of this chapter, we read that everything that the Lord taught to the crowds were in parables, but this was nothing new. In Isaiah 6:9-10, God told the prophet to do the same. And the reason? “Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” It seems that seeing and hearing are outward senses, while understanding is inward, a function of our heart.

Let’s see what that means for each of us.

Read Matthew 13:10-13

As Jesus begins to explain to his disciples why he speaks in parables, he begins with the thought that the secrets of heaven, the mysteries of the universe, are revealed to some, but not to all. At first glance, this would seem to be rather narrow minded, maybe even cruel. But we know that the Lord is anything BUT cruel, so he must have something else in mind. Perhaps it isn’t so much about what God gives, but more about what we receive and accept.

Remember our previous reference to Isaiah 6? We can see and hear the word of God, but until it lives within our heart, we can never know the spiritual significance that it contains. And until that time, the word can only have a cultural meaning for us. So I believe that Jesus’ point is that until we love both him and his word, until he is more than just one more possibility, one more option in this life, he can never truly be our Lord and Savior and Life.

The second thought, and one that has also perplexed folks for many years, is that those who have will have more, and those who have nothing will lose everything that they might still have. Our God has always been known as a generous God, one who loves to bless us, one who has no limits and no restrictions. But if we consider the old saying “Use it or lose it”, we might begin to understand what Jesus wants us to understand.

As an example, when I was in high school, I took 4 years of Spanish. I didn’t do all that well in that class, but a couple years later, as a member of the US Navy, I had the chance to use some of what I had learned when we had a port of call in Valencia, Spain. My cousin Jeanne, who was studying abroad that year, was visiting a friend in that city, so I met her and we went out to dinner. I remembered enough Spanish to order dinner for us both, and to get directions to both the rest room, and later back to my ship.
But that was a long time ago (never mind how many years that was!), and now I remember almost nothing that I learned during those 4 years of Spanish classes. I haven’t used it, and have lost most of it. And of course, the opposite is equally true – that if I had continued to use my Spanish knowledge, I would have made up for what I didn’t learn in class, and would probably be quite proficient by now.

Those who have faith, and continue to grow in the truth of Jesus Christ, will come to understand more and more in him. But if we allow the world to intervene, and if we stop using what we have learned from the Lord’s teaching, his way and truth and life will begin to diminish within us, and eventually will vanish from our hearts and minds.

Read Matthew 13:14-15

The people’s hearts had become “calloused”, and their seeing and hearing had also been damaged. Callousness in the hearts and minds of Israel, as well as in the lives of the people of today, has created barriers between us and God since time began. And when the faithful try to share the glory of God in Christ, and when we run up against nonbelievers who are still mired in their lack of trust in Jesus’ teaching, we find it hard to understand what their hang up is all about. Why don’t they get it? What am I saying that is so confusing?

But we have to keep trying, no matter what their reaction may be. We need to be careful with our own faith, though, so that we don’t become discouraged, or even worse - hardened! God will work through our witness, but it is always in his time and way, and practically never in ours. If our faith falters, if our trust wavers, if our love of Christ’s way dims, how will the Lord ever work through our “fog”?

Over and over we read about the hardening of the people’s hearts which, in and of itself, inhibits function, and it is only by faith in Christ that our hearts can begin to understand correctly again. And when the “hardening” ends, Jesus tells us that we might see again with our eyes, hear again with our ears, and then understanding can lead us to greater and greater faith and trust in the Lord and his wisdom. And God wants us to be part of his softening of other hearts!

Read Matthew 13:16-17

Remember Thomas and his need for proof of Jesus’ resurrection? He wanted to put his finger into the nail holes in Jesus’ hands, and to put his hand into the spear wound in his side. (John 20:24-29) And when the truth finally sets in, Jesus tells the disciple that he believes because he has seen, but that others will believe, even though they haven’t seen what Thomas has. That is what faith is all about – believing and staying the course, even though we have never actually seen what we believe.

But what is there about seeing and hearing that is so important to people? Did any of us actually take part in the American Revolution? Were we part of the Apollo 11 space crew when they landed on the moon? How many other events in the past occurred without us actually being present, and still we believe? What is there about Jesus and his life that is so difficult for people to accept?

The truth is that Jesus’ life and teaching is just too radical for some! He not only overturned the moneychangers’ tables in the temple, he overturned societal norms – he turned lives upside down and inside out! And the one absolute truth about the human psyche is that we don’t like to be told that everything we had always thought and believed is wrong, and that we have to accept some new, hard to understand truth, if we want to be one with the Lord.

Faith begins with believing that Jesus is God, and that all that he taught, and all that he did, is for our benefit. This doesn’t mean that our life suddenly becomes perfect, but it does mean that by faith, the Holy Spirit can begin working in and through us. It’s about beginning to see with our heart instead of only depending on our eyes and ears.

Jesus’ parables were designed to share the truth of God with all who would believe in their heart, instead of through hard fact. But those who were still “iffy” in faith were also welcome to come and listen, and when they began to believe, they also began to understand, while those who persisted in their unbelief remained clueless.

First faith, then understanding, and then the revealing of the mystery of God that has existed with us since the beginning. In faith, may the parables speak the truth of eternity to you and through you, and may we all know that the Lord our God will lovingly bless us in his truth.