Why the Parables

If you have a bible open it up to Matthew 13. I have titled the message this morning. Why the Parables. Pray with me..

So I am going to be something a little out of the norm the next few weeks and that is skipping around chapter 13. teaching you about the various parables in this chapter. Now today we are going to look at Matthew 13:10-17, 34-35, 51 and 52. And we are going to see the truths in those scriptures but also we are going to see why Jesus teaches in Parables.

Before we dive into the text we have to ask ourselves. What is a parable. Now I remember in the my New Testament Class I had a teacher named Benjamin Merkle he is a brilliant scholar has written tons of books served as an IMB missionary and he had one of his classes dedicated to Jesus teaching on the parables. And I am going to use alot of what he taught me to teach you about Parables. One what is the Definition of Parable Simply put a parable is An earthly story with a heavenly meaning.Its often a brief story of everyday life used to convey a moral truth.

In the OT it would often be a proverb, taunt, allegory, etc... In the OT, a parable is not always a story.

4) NT Greek–parabolé –used to describe

proverbs (Luke 4:23), metaphors or figurative

sayings (Mark 7:14-17), similes (Matt 13:33),

allegories (Mark 4:13-20), story parables

(Matt 22:1-14; Luke 13:6-9), and riddles (Mark 3:23).

Sometimes it will be a figure of speech in which there is a brief or extended comparison.

Now The NT contains 50-100parables. One-

third of Jesus’ teaching is in parables. 43%

of Matthew, 16% of Mark, 52% of Luke.

When you study parables its important to not press the details of the parable.

And you might ask then well Why are the details given? The details make the story come alive and make it seem real and allow the point to be made.

4) Avoid allegorizing the parable

a) Some items have to be representative or else there is no comparison to the at story.and don’t seek to find significance to every detail.

So what is the Purpose of the Parables

1) To illustrate truths ( ill dig into this idea more as we continue. Also to

2) To conceal truth from those who were

hostile another one I will dig into more as we go along today. (Sower, Mark 4:10-12). Also Jesus teaches this way to 3) To disarm listeners (Luke 7:36-50; 15:1-32; 2 Sam 12:1f.).

Now when we look to understand parables we have to Interpret the parable through a first century Jewish context

a) If the original readers would not have understood the comparison, then it is not a valid comparison.

b) Jesus did not give these parables 21st century man but to Jews living at that time. For us to understand them properly we must ask ourselves how they would have understood the parable.

c) The Good Samaritan: Terms “Samaritan” and “Priest”.d) The Prodigal Son: Remember they did not yet know of Christian baptism or the Lord’s Supper. Therefore, if the original readers would not have understood the comparison, then it is not a valid comparison.

Some Principles to think about just Interpreting Parables

1) Parables for the most part only teach one basic point.

2) Consider the context of the parable (the

reason Jesus gives the parable, Luke 10:29,

36; 15:1-3). you have to see what clues does the author give us as to how we should understand Jesus’ parables? Parables in groups can be mutually informing.

b) What introductory or closing editorial comments does the Jesus provide to help us understand the parable?

6) Sometimes what is stressed at the end of

the parable clues us as to Jesus’ main point (Luke 15:7, 10).

7) Often what we can do to understand the parable better is to compare the parable with any parallel in the other Synoptic Gospels. Seeing what aspects of the parable is the evangelist stressing? Then we can seek what God is saying to us today through the parable.

Major Themes of the Parables

1) Kingdom of God is a present reality: Remember Jesus Christ came preaching the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

2) Kingdom of God as a call to decision. (Jesus preaches for a response.

3) “The primary focus of the parables is the coming of the kingdom of God and the resulting discipleship that is required. When Jesus proclaimed the kingdom he meant that God was exercising his power and rule to bring forgiveness, defeat evil and establish righteousness in fulfillment of the OT promises”

So that is an overview of why the parables. I can send you that info later if you want me to.

With all that being said the main idea for the sermon today is…

The purpose of the parables lead us to have a deeper understanding of the kingdom of God.

let us look at some scripture together.

Matthew 13:10–17 ESV

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 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. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Matthew 13:34–35 ESV

34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

Matthew 13:51–52 ESV

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

To unpack the text we need some more points. 1st is this..

Jesus reveals the mysteries of the kingdom to those who believe.

So we see in verse 10 the disciples ask this question… Why do you speak to them in parables.. So Jesus answers them to you it has been given to know the secrets of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

And this word secrets or mystery is there because Jesus is telling them that parts of the kingdom were hidden in the Old Testament they could not understand the fullness of the kingdom without the coming of Jesus Christ, and this as we know was a big trip up for the likes of the pharisees, and other religious leaders of the day, because they put the messiah who was to come in this box which they believed he had to be they though he was this conquer who would free them from this bondage they had from the roman empire, and Jesus did not come to do that the mystery of the gospel is that he came to conquer a greater problem a problem that has plagued man since Adam. which is sin.

And his kingdom would be about this love that he had for sinners and that would be realized through the death of the cross. And these lowly disciples who were not noble in any sorts got to see this mystery with their own eyes and got to understand with their own hearts and ears. God had graciously and mercifully revealed the truths of the kingdom to them and not the Jewish leaders of the day.

And as Jesus uses this parables he tells stories.

Remember Matthew 13:34-35

Matthew 13:34–35 ESV

34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

Now as I was studying this week and came across this pastor who made a good illustration through a story and he said. When I pastored a church in Illinois, for our Sunday morning services we rented an old Roman Catholic church building, now owned by the Park District. It was a beautiful limestone building with spectacular Christ-centered stained-glass windows.

Every Sunday morning as we worshipped together and as the sun would strike the glass, one glass pane depicted Christ's death, another pane his resurrection and ascension, and then in the back, over the choir loft, there was a picture of Jesus surrounded by angels, portraying his glorious heavenly reign and also his eminent return. Each detail of every window-whether subtle like the three conjoining circles representing the Trinity or the striking details of a bloodied white lamb sitting atop a book with seven seals-shared a gospel story or depicted a deep theological truth.

On the inside of the building, when that bright sun shone through, we could see these creative depictions of the person and work of Christ. But at the same time of day if you were standing outside and looked up at the glass it was dull, gray, and lifeless. You might be able to make out some of the shapes, but you would see nothing of the brilliant color and the artistry and intricacy of the images. You have to be inside to see that.

So too with the parables of Jesus: the secrets of the kingdom have been revealed to those on the inside, but for those on the outside they are still concealed. Like the outside of those stained-glass windows, Christ's parables conceal facts about his identity and mission from those who refuse to believe, and like the inside of those same windows, Christ's parables reveal aspects of the kingdom to those who seek to know him and to submit to his Lordship over their lives.

Great illustration in my eyes, because when you believe in the mystery of the gospel of Jesus Christ your eyes are truly opened to see Jesus for who he is. Its often said the the parables conceal and reveal, and Jesus through the teaching of his parables is revealing the kingdom of God.

And Jesus says in this text there are in many prophets and righteous people who longed to see what we see and did not see it, and to hear what you hear and did not hear it. Jesus coming was the fulfillment of all those people that you learn so much from in the Old Testament like Abraham, Moses, David and the other prophets and yet they did not see what we get to see. And we get to have that mystery revealed to us.

Paul sums up that mystery well in Ephesians 1:7-10

Ephesians 1:7–10 ESV

7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

Take a moment to think about this mystery in the context that Paul is writing this letter. Even Paul as a Jew doing all the things that make one an elite jewish pharisee gets this mystery of salvation which he lays out here in such a powerful way that would be wreck their lives.

Because he says. In Him we have redemption through his blood. So no more sacrifices again and again and again we have Christ who shed his blood on the cross for what Paul says forgiveness of our trespasses. Meaning what when we are believers in Christ God passes over our sins like he passed over the homes with blood on the door in Egypt he passes over the sins of believers. Incredible mystery they could not have comprehend. And he does that all in his grace. And notice how this comes back to the text we are in. He lavished upon us, in all wisdom, and insight, making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose. We need to understand the amount of grace that God gives us to illuminate our minds and our hearts to see and believe in this once mysterious plan that only God knew how he would carry it out.

This mystery is to be recieved and believed, but for those who don’t there is a clear judgement.

Parables are an act of judgement.

For those who believe the parables there is this great comfort to have ears to hear and eyes to see, but for those who reject Jesus’s teachings that he is the messiah that he is the Lord Jesus Christ there is judgement the parables mean something different for them.

One commentator I was reading said.. Jesus was concealing truth from those who were denying the obvious. In spite of miracle after miracle, teaching after teaching, the crowds and religious leaders refused to believe in Jesus as the Christ. Jesus said that it “has not been given to them" to understand these stories (v. 11), and that even the understanding they had would be taken away (v. 12). Then in verse 13 Jesus tells us why He is doing things this way: "For this reason I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see, and hearing they do not listen or understand." Jesus follows this statement by quoting from Isaiah 6 where, right after the prophet's commissioning, God told Isaiah that he would preach but the people would not listen, for their hearts were dull, their ears were shut, and their eyes were closed (Isa 6:9-10).

Many people in Jesus' day saw His miracles outwardly, but they refused to see what those miracles said about Him.

They heard what He had to say about being the Lord of the Sabbath, but they didn't understand the ramifications of such a pronouncement.

Jesus knew that these parables would not be rightly understood, and according to Isaiah 6:9-10, this was evidence of God's judgment. Even though many had the person of Christ and the words of Christ right in front of them, they were rebelling against Him.

Think about what I just said through that commentator.. We don’t even get to see the miracles that Jesus did over and over again and hear his own words but we need to understand that his miracles were not just some magic tricks his miracles were to show that he was the very Son of God and his teaching showed us that as well, and what we can’t miss about the parables is they is all lead to understanding who Jesus is and what his kingdom should look like and if you miss Jesus you will be judged. So as YOU study these parables take these warnings to heart, and see Jesus for who he really is.

2 Applications really caught my eye in study this week.

which leads to my third and forth point.

Third is this..

Those who truly hear and understand the parables respond in gratitude.

How thankful should we be for the gift of belief. How many of us take for grand-it the amazing grace we have through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Why should we be grateful because God saved us.

I read to you earlier Ephesians 1:7-10, but you know what follows that…

Ephesians 1:11–12 ESV

11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.

The gift of salvation should lead to praise.

One of my books I was reading this week said.. Do you feel blessed today? Can you say to Jesus with awe and gratitude, "My Lord and my God!" Remember Abel and Abraham, Sarah and Samuel, Jacob and Jephthah, and thousands of others longed to know Christ the way we know him, to hear his words read and explained each Sunday, and to sense his presence and power through the Holy Spirit. We are a privileged people.

We are so privileged because we have this wonderful mystery revealed to us through the person and work of Jesus Christ and the fact that we can hear it and read it and understand it should lead us to be grateful people.

Finally it should lead us to this..

Those who hear and understand the parables go into the world proclaiming kingdom treasures.

Listen to these words.. I get this application from verses 51, 52. In verse 51, after he finished his parables, Jesus asked, "Have you understood all these things?" They replied in essence, "Yes, somehow. We see. We hear. We understand." Jesus then replied that school is still in session:

"Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure [who brings out the gospel of the kingdom, ef. v. 44] what is new and what is old" (v. 52). Here Jesus says not only, "Have you been given?" but "Are you giving?" If you have been given understanding (if you grasp the secrets of the kingdom), if you have become a "scribe" trained in the truths of the kingdom, then you must share your treasures with others. You must bring the treasures out and share them. For "to whom much was given ... much [is] required" (Luke 12:48).

What is part of our mission here at Agape to Evangelize the sinner. What is that mission say.. At Agape we believe that every single person on earth needs the gospel. Every single person born is born into sin, and is in need of Jesus to save them. Our goal is that each and every person that walks through the door will hear the good news of Jesus Christ, and those who don’t know him will, by faith, know him as Lord and Savior. 

We believe at Agape their is no strict way to share Jesus with someone, but sharing the gospel involves sharing about our creator, our problem, and our Savior. We believe we are called to share the gospel outside of these walls to the ends of the earth. We believe that Jesus wants us to focus on evangelism until he returns. 

Church why should we share the good news because its a treasure… And being such a treasure we should want to share it with the whole world.

The next few weeks we will dive deep into these parables. Learning its truths, but as we go today.. I have to ask you have do you see and understand the mystery of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Or do you have ears so dull that you cannot hear and see who he is. The bible is clear even in this text that if you turn to Jesus you can be saved and have something that we all desperately need which is a healed soul from our sins, and eternal life through Christ. If you are saved. Are you one who has gratitude and are you sharing the gospel with the world we live in. Let us pray…