Parables

Introduction

In 1955, Carl Henry wrote to ask one of Christianity’s foremost apologists to write for what would become the flagship Christian magazine: Christianity Today. Here is how CS Lewis responded:

My thoughts and talents such as they are now flow differently, though I trust, not less Christian channels. And I do not think I’m at all likely to write more directly theological pieces. The last work of that sort which I attempted had to be abandoned. If I’m now good for anything, it is for catching the reader unawares through fiction and symbols. I’ve done what I could in the way of frontal attacks, but I now feel those days are over.

For Lewis, fiction was a way to smuggle Christian theology past the “watchful dragons” of the modern world. Hence, no more direct apologetic works like Mere Christianity. Instead Lewis gave us Narnia and Perelandra.

As we begin our study of the parables, the question confronts us, “Why did Jesus turn to parables instead of more direct instruction?” There are serious implications to the answer because in the Western church, the focus on story-telling is sometimes justified by Jesus’ use of parables. The idea goes that since Jesus was a master storyteller, preachers should also become storytellers.

The synoptic gospels all describe the parable of the sower and the soils, but Matthew records the question the disciples’ posed to Jesus. Not the question recorded by Mark and Luke regarding the meaning of the parable. Rather, the disciple’s questioned the method of the parables:, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” (Matthew 13:10) Jesus’s answer is somewhat surprising and reveals two misconceptions that many people have regarding parables. These misconceptions are not 100% wrong, but they do fall short in a significant way.

Misconception #1 – The purpose of a parable is to reveal truth.

The idea that stories can reveal truth in a more interesting, meaningful, and memorable way than straight didactic teaching is an idea that must be prevalent today, because so much preaching revolves around storytelling. Or “illustrations”, as they might be called in homiletics.  The word “parable” is a compound Greek word meaning “to cast alongside”. Thus, a parable is a comparison and the popular and, in my opinion, rather apt definition of a parable as “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning” lends credence to the notion that telling a story alongside a doctrinal point will help people to understand. But read the response of Jesus in Matthew 13 to the question posed by the disciples, “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. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.”

It is as if Jesus is actually saying that the reason He is speaking in parables is so that some of the listeners would not understand. Rather than using parables to enlighten, Christ is using parables to keep them in the dark. And that needs a little unpacking, so we’re going to unpack it.

The synoptic gospels present Jesus beginning His earthly ministry as a preacher and a healer (or miracle worker). His Galilean ministry included very straightforward teaching like the Sermon on the mount, as well as powerful manifestations of His power over sickness and evil spirits. At this point, Jesus of Nazareth was without question “a man approved by God” (Acts 2:22). The synoptics then all record a particular episode in the life of Christ when the Pharisees, who had been witness to His teaching and miraculous power, openly attack Christ and accuse Him of being in league with Satan. “Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, ‘This fellow does not cast out demons except by Beelzebub’” (Matt 12:24). Out of their pride and the desire for the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God, the Pharisees reject the revelation of Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah of God. It is at this point that Jesus Himself turns from a more straightforward didactic style of teaching to speaking in parables.

When Jesus tells the disciples that “whoever has, to him more will be given”, He is speaking of revelation. Of truth. Of understanding. Those who have received Him as a man approved by God will be able to understand the parables and gain more truth. But those who have already rejected what truth was accessible to them will be barred from further knowledge of the kingdom. How? By the gatekeeper of parables.

Jesus’ use of parables is a way to continue dispensing truth in a hostile environment to His followers, while defending Himself against further attacks from His persecutors. This is really explicit when Jesus tells the parable of the wicked tenants in Matthew 21- a parable that foretold the rending of the kingdom away from Israel and given to another. According to this text, “Now when the chief priests and Pharisees heard His parables, they perceived that He was speaking of them. But when they sought to lay hands on Him, they feared the multitudes, because they took Him for a prophet.” You can’t arrest a guy for telling a story. You can’t claim offense when you willingly identify as the bad guys in a story.

Misconception #2 – Parables teach moral lessons

This second misconception is, like the first, not a falsehood so much as a falling short of the fulness of the parables. There are lessons to be learned from parables, such as the wise man and the foolish man. But the parables are often times as descriptive and predictive as they are prescriptive. Sometimes parables are just helping us see the lay of the land. Sometimes they are, like the parable of the wicked tenants, predicting the future. But always the parables are about life in the kingdom of God. A kingdom that is very much unlike the kingdoms of this world.

Consider the parable of the Good Samaritan. It can make for a very good moral lesson about the way we are to treat those who are in distress. “Don’t be like the priest or the Levite! Be like the Good Samaritan”. But it makes for an even better kingdom lesson! After all, we are far more like the man beaten and left for dead by the roadside than any other character. If anyone is like the good Samaritan, it’s Jesus! He finds us, helps us, pays for our healing, and establishes us in a condition of health and hope.

To teach the parables only as moral lessons would make them more equivalent to Aesop’s fables than reflections on life in the kingdom. To only teach them as moral lessons would often rob them of their surprising, backward, upside down way of viewing life.

Conclusion

 Stories really can help us see truth. But stories are also up for interpretation. Stories can conceal and confuse as much as they might reveal. It’s a bit shallow to suggest that preachers should tell more stories from the pulpit because that’s what Jesus did. Sure, if preachers want to prevent spiritually backward hearers from understanding truth this sounds like an effective strategy. In fact, as long as such people find it interesting and entertaining, they might come back for more next week. But we should not kid ourselves that those spiritually dead people are actually gaining understanding in the ways of the kingdom because we are telling stories.