Parables: Teaching tools???

Matthew 13:10-17:"And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: "Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.'But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. It is a mistake to suggest or believe that Christ spoke in parables in order to clarify spiritual truth - because, as we see from scripture, the intent was not to clarify but to obfuscate.In another thread some are expounding upon the parable of the sower in a way that prompted me to start this thread. It is wonderful when the truth contained in a parable is understood on a spiritual level; but it seems so much folly to me to expound parables in such a way as to give them more meaning than Christ Himself gave them when He personally explained what He meant when He said them.Just my thoughts on the matter. I didn't want to hijack another thread to make the point.Dan/\\/\\/\\

Hello,About the parables Jesus said:He that hath ears to hear let him hear.If any man will serve Christ you can count on it, you can mark it down in your book, that these things are going to come against him.1.Temptation2.Affliction- It maybe be the affliction of having to endure the spiritual onlsaughts of the devil, but it is still affliction.3.Tribulation- Extreme affliction. Again, could be physical, could be mental, could be spiritual.4.Persecution- You can bet satan is going to persecute you. If he can find a person to use to do it through thats all the better, but he will persecute you.5.Cares of this world- You can count on it, the devil is going try to use the things of this world to draw you away from the narrow path.6.Pleasures of this life- Of course you can't have both, it's either Gods rugged cross or satan's temporary, fat happy way.7.Lust for other things- must be on gaurd always against that and remain stedfast to the call of Christ8.Deceitfulness of riches- Know for certain that you can't serve God and money.To me, this looks like a fine road map for the man who has set his face toward Jerusalem. Every last one of these things lie between us and The Heavenly City. For goodness sake, the content of the parables themselves ought to bear witness that they were more than just sham illustrations to befuddle the Jews. The Jews for the most part were blind and deaf spiritually. If the Jews had been hungry enough for truth to come and ask him to explain what he was talking about he would have told them, they didn't care. His disiples cared, they asked. His prophets of old cared enough to ask.I Peter 1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you.Do we search diligently to understand the way of the Gospel or do we just let it lay there, a mystery.God bless you, I don't presume to be your teacher, just a brother along the way with you trying to read the map to Jerusalem.

Dan wrote:It is wonderful when the truth contained in a parable is understood on a spiritual level; but it seems so much folly to me to expound parables in such a way as to give them more meaning than Christ Himself gave them when He personally explained what He meant when He said them.Dan , I think I understand your valid concern about superimposing a meaning onto any scripture. We have all been guilty, at least a little, of isogetically wrangling something out of a text for effect. However, I see no harm in meditating on the application of the Parables as they relate not only to our lives, but also the rest of scripture. Keep in mind that the Gospels were written after most or all of the epistles. Obviously the writers of the epistles, felt it important for the young churches to have the record of these parables along with other aspects of Jesus' life. Personally I feel their simpleness invites meditation. npautsky wrote:For goodness sake, the content of the parables themselves ought to bear witness that they were more than just sham illustrations to befuddle the Jews... If the Jews had been hungry enough for truth to come and ask him to explain what he was talking about he would have told them, they didn't care. His disiples cared, they asked. His prophets of old cared enough to ask.Amen. What's this npautsky? You and I agree regarding the parables! How funny is that?! The parable was a familiar rabbinic teaching idiom. I'm sure there are those here at SI who could really expound and hold court on The parables of Jesus but one thing I am sure of: Jesus came to teach about the Kingdom of God. I doubt that their only purpose was to demonstrate the hardness of the Jews. Dan wrote:It is a mistake to suggest or believe that Christ spoke in parables in order to clarify spiritual truth - because, as we see from scripture, the intent was not to clarify but to obfuscateHmmm. It may be right to assert that the Parables don't clarify spiritual truth but I think it would be a mistake to think that they don't illustrate spiritual truth. Jesus may have been speaking only to those with spiritual ears but He rejoiced when people understood Him. Hey, I freely admit that I'm in over my head as soon as I crack open my bible. But how else do we learn to swim if we don't just jump right in the deep end? That having been said, it's good to know that the life gaurds can blow the whistle if we get too careless!If you two are headed to Jerusalem, mind if I tag along? :-) Bless you brothers,MC

Hello,I generally don't go on & on trying to prove a point, but since this is important and others may perhaps be influenced, I would point out that Matthew Henry bears out what I say. If you are interested you may want to search it out for yourself.

npautsky wrote:If you are interested you may want to search it out for yourselfThanks,Ragarding Matthew Henry...Could you be more specific with maybe a brief synopsis of his take on the subject? Is there a page number for what you were looking at or better yet an online link?MC

Hello again,I think you will probably enjoy this link considering what you were saying earlier about a renewed interest in the parables. This links to Matthew Henry's commentary of Matthew chapter 13 www.bible.crosswalk.com/Commentaries/MatthewHenryComplete/mhc-com.cgi?book=mt&chapter=013The site below has a big stack of commentaries, concordances, bible dictionaries, and different versions of the bible all online for free. I have found it a very useful place, Hope this helps.bible.crosswalk.com

Thank you npautsky,I'm looking forward to reading through it carefully. This quote stood out to me.The saddest condition a man can be in on this side of hell, is to sit under the most lively ordinances with a dead, stupid, untouched heart. To hear God’s word, and see his providences, and yet not to understand and perceive his will, either in the one or in the other, is the greatest sin and the greatest judgment that can be. Observe, It is God’s work to give an understanding heart, and he often, in a way of righteous judgment, denies it to those to whom he has given the hearing ear, and the seeing eye, in vain.Heavy duty! What strikes me about this perspective is that it seems to blend the two perspectives you and I were tossing about regarding man's responsibility and God's power. I hope we have more opportunity to come together on this subject. Blessings,MC