Jesus teaching in the Temple, from the book Standard Bible Story Readers, Book Five (1928) Authors O. A. Stemler and Bess Bruce Cleaveland
Those who have read the four Gospels will have noticed two things about the way Jesus taught his followers. He used miracles and parables. We can understand how the miracles worked as a teaching device, but the parables? Not so much. The disciples were very curious about this approach also, and even asked him one day. (Matthew 13:10-17)
Unfortunately, not everyone that had the opportunity to hear Jesus speak wanted to hear it. Sounds like people today too, doesn’t it? When Jesus explained the parables, it was usually only after the disciples were taken aside. Those who truly want to hear the word, will take the time to sit down with it and work on understanding it.
Based on what Jesus was facing in his time, here are seven reasons why he taught in parables.
- Prophecy Isaiah 6:9-10
- Confound the spies and Pharisees
- Challenged His disciples to greater spiritual discernment
- The Hebrew people were familiar with the method
- Easy to remember
- Interesting
- The teachings were unsuitable for use against him in court
The next time you read from the gospels, look for the subtle differences a believer and a nonbeliever would see in those parables.
March 4, 2014
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