The Way: In Parables
I. The Introduction
Communication is very important, unless you live on a mountain all by yourself. But, even then, you will still talk to yourself as you go through the day. And, whether we talk to our friends, our children, our husbands, our wives, or ourselves we all use extra stories to get our point across. Yes, even when we talk to ourselves, we use examples, illustrations, analogies, comparisons, contrasts, correlations, parallels, and parables to explain our point or to get our point across to the person with whom we are talking. Without this process in our communication we would never be understood and probably go through life frustrated or confused. Go and try to explain something that you know nothing about to a repairman. Try to explain a problem with a computer, a TV, a washing machine, electricity, or a car engine. If you have never studied these things or don¡¯t understand how they work, then, when they break, you have a great difficulty in explaining to a repairperson what is wrong with the broken thing. As an example, your car has a knock in the engine. The knock only occurs at a certain time, or only when you¡¯re doing a certain turn, etc. This could be one of at least 20 to 50 different things. So, not knowing if your car is okay or not, you go to the car repairperson to get your car fixed. And, again, not knowing anything about cars you try to explain to the person what is wrong with your car. You try to compare it to something that you¡¯re familiar with. You try to explain it according to something you¡¯ve had an experience with, ¡°Well, it sounds like a bass drum!¡± Or, ¡°it sounds like someone is knocking on the table with a coin.¡± Well, this doesn¡¯t help the repairperson very much at all. However, if you go in and tell him, ¡°My exhaust valves sound like they are not seating well,¡± he would know exactly what you were saying, and how to fix the problem. You¡¯re speaking his language.
Jesus spoke the language of the people, in parables. He spoke the message of salvation in a way for all to hear, in parables. He spoke of the kingdom of Heaven, in parables. Yet, not everyone wanted to hear it.
In this message today, we will talk of:
The Way: In Parables
Who Spoke in Parables?
Why did He Speak in Parables?
How did He Speak in Parables?
What did He Say in Parables?
II. The Message
Who spoke in parables?
Many times we take the Bible and all its promises and its many lessons for granted. We may read passage after passage, and may begin to think of them as stories or folk tales, rather than reading them as a God reconciling men to Him and a chronological history of mankind. We may begin to read the stories for entertainment rather than for enlightenment. We may begin to read the stories for amusement rather than for God¡¯s direction. We may even begin teaching the Word as stories or folk tales to our children rather then telling them it¡¯s the Word of God.
Many times, we take the Word for granted, and when we do it means we will seldom hear God speaking to us through the Bible.
The center of God¡¯s will for each and every person is found in the Bible, which is God¡¯s Word, and His Word is Jesus. So we can say figuratively that our Bibles are Jesus.
As we continue along our Path to Jerusalem, we should approach ¡®Jerusalem¡¯ with seriousness, but with joy. He, Jesus, is the One Who spoke in parables. But, we must think deeper than that. We must think beyond the name, beyond the parables and think of Who He actually was and is.
Jesus, is the Word of God and the Word of Life
In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, verse 1, we read,
¡°In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.¡±
There is much emphasis throughout the Bible about the ¡°Gospel of God,¡± the Word of God, but in some of those instances there is no direct correlation between the written word or scriptures and THE WORD (Jesus). The writers of the various books and epistles seem to write with the idea that the readers are Christians and that the association with the written word to THE WORD (Jesus) will be made without any thought on the matter. But, John was a little different. He makes it very clear from the start. He says at the very beginning of the Gospel of John, that Jesus is THE WORD. Then he tells us that THE WORD (Jesus) is GOD. Then later, in his First Epistle (1 John), he tells us in verse 1,
¡°That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched--this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.¡±
The Apostle John takes it one step further, bridging the gap in our minds the thoughts that we have of God and Jesus. He states earlier that the Word was God and now says, the Word of life. Make no mistake about it. When you read the Word of God you are reading Jesus and Jesus will give you life, therefore, reading the Bible will give you life!
Reading the Bible with the idea that all references to the Word of God are, in essence, references to Jesus helps us to further understand the character behind the verses that we read. Look at Luke 11:28,
¡°He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.¡±
This verse tells us that we are blessed when we hear the word (Jesus) of God and obey it. In Acts 8:14, it says,
¡°When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.¡±
The Samaritans had accepted the word (Jesus)!
In Acts 11:1, we see the gentiles accepting the word (Jesus), ¡°The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.¡±
The Word is active; the Word is alive, and able to stand on its own without any help from man. Acts 12:24,
¡°But the word of God continued to increase and spread.¡±
The Word (Jesus) brings conviction, cutting right to the soul of man and his sin, Hebrews 4:12,
¡°For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.¡±
The Word (Jesus) teaches, and is useful for training in life and worthy of imitation:
(Hebrews 13:7) Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
The Word (Jesus) is capable of saving you from hell,
(1 Peter 1:23) For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
The Word (Jesus) provides protection,
(1 John 2:14) I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
John again tells us in Revelation just who the Word of God is,
(Revelation 1:2) who testifies to everything he saw--that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
(Revelation 19:13) He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is the Word of God.
Jesus is the Son of God.
God Himself declares that Jesus is His Son, the Son of God.
(Matthew 3:17) And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
That should be enough, but there¡¯s more. The angels themselves tell us in Scripture that Jesus was and is the Son of God.
(Luke 1:35) The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.
And there¡¯s more. Even the demons recognize that Jesus was and is the Son of God.
(Matthew 8:29) "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?"
(Mark 3:11) Whenever the evil spirits saw him, they fell down before him and cried out, "You are the Son of God."
And, yes, there is even more. The apostles worshiped Him as the Son of God.
(Matthew 14:33) Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
And, then finally and not the least of any of these, Jesus Himself confesses to the High Priest that He is the Son of God.
(Matthew 26:63-64) But Jesus remained silent. The high priest said to him, "I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God." 64 "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied. "But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven."
Jesus, the Lamb of God.
Yes, Jesus was and is the Son of God. When we study and read the Bible we must remember that He is the Word, and the Son, but we also must remember that He is the Lamb of God.
(Isaiah 53:7) He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
(John 1:29) The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
(John 1:35~36) The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. 36 When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!"
In the Old Testament, from the time of Abraham, God has used the sacrifices to offer atonement for the sins of the people. But in Jesus, these sacrifices were put to an end. He was the last sacrifice for the people. When He gave His life on the cross, He became the only atonement for sins committed in the flesh. He is the Lamb of God.
Jesus, the Promise of God.
Not only is He the Lamb of God, but He also was the Lamb that was Promised by God.
(Jeremiah 33:14~16) "’The days are coming,’ declares the LORD, ’when I will fulfill the gracious promise I made to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah. 15 "’In those days and at that time I will make a righteous Branch sprout from David’s line; he will do what is just and right in the land. 16 In those days Judah will be saved and Jerusalem will live in safety. This is the name by which it will be called: The LORD Our Righteousness.’
(Romans 4:13~16) It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith. 14 For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, 15 because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression. 16 Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham’s offspring--not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.
God made a promise to Abraham that was, in fact, a promise to the rest of the world for all eternity to come. He promised that He would reconcile the world to Him. And, that reconciliation comes through His Son, His Promise.
Jesus was and is the PROMISE of the world. And, He is a Promise that will never be broken, for you will be forever in HIS HANDS when you put your faith in HIM. He is the Promise that leads to Salvation.
Jesus, the Salvation of the World.
He is the Salvation of the World.
(Luke 1:69) He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David.
(Luke 2:28~30) Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying: 29) "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation,
(Luke 3:6) And all mankind will see God’s salvation.’"
(Acts 4:12) Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
(1 Thessalonians 5:9) For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Why did He speak in parables?
The apostles asked Jesus a couple of times in scripture, ¡°why do you speak in parables?¡±
To fulfill the scriptures
God doesn¡¯t do anything without a reason for doing it. He loves you and I, and could never go against His nature or His spoken Word. It was spoken of in scriptures that the Messiah would speak in parables.
(Psalm 78:2) I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old--.
(Hosea 12:10) I spoke to the prophets, gave them many visions and told parables through them."
To call the chosen unto Him
Jesus spoke to the people in parables to call the chosen unto Him.
(Matthew 13:11~15) He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: "’You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
To seek and to save
Jesus came, speaking in parables, to call the chosen unto Him. In another manner of speaking, He came to seek and to save. He came to this earth, speaking in parables, seeking those that would hear His words and be saved. That those that hear His words would turn from their evil ways and be saved for all eternity.
(Luke 19:10) For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
To teach the chosen
Not only did He come speaking in parables to seek and to save, but to teach the chosen, to teach the ones that turned to Him. Many times in scripture we see lessons contained in the parables.
The parable of the farmer that went out to sow and the seed feel in various places teaches us about how the Word goes out into the world. After Jesus had fed the two different groups (5,000 and 4,000) He was in a boat with His disciples and gave them a very short parable about the yeast of the Pharisees, which teaches us how false doctrine can get into an organization, even an organization of God, and spread like yeast through the bread dough.
Jesus¡¯ parables teach Christians many valuable, life-long lessons, especially lessons on salvation and dealing with the unsaved.
How did He speak in parables?
How did He speak? Meaning, in what manner. What mode?
He spoke with wisdom and knowledge
Jesus spoke with wisdom and with knowledge. The wisdom of His parables amazed the people! They were apropos, they fit not only the occasion but cut to the heart of the matter at hand.
Jesus, Himself tells us that wisdom is not only expressed through speech, parables, or stories, but in actions as well.
(Mat 11:19) The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ’Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners." ’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions."
He spoke according to the Scriptures
It is essential that every action or deed that is performed by God and for God be founded, be grounded, and abound with scripture and scripture proof. Jesus used the scriptures, HIS WORD, in His parables to confirm and explain His preaching to the people. We must take this as an example and back up our own preaching and teaching with scriptures as well.
Paul tells us in
(Acts 17:11) Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.
Jesus spoke with wisdom and knowledge, according to the scriptures and He spoke with Permission.
He spoke with Permission
Jesus came to this earth with His Father¡¯s permission. Remember what it says in John 3:16,
(John 3:16) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
This is verse that has been taught since it was recorded in scripture, but what about the next verse that contains the permission?
(John 3:17) For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
Then later, in John 7:16~17, we have Jesus, Himself, telling us with Whom, His teaching originated.
(John 7:16~17) Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. 17 If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
He spoke with Authority
In our world today, people speak out against all different causes. People talk about political parties, soccer teams, actors and actresses, but most times they do not have the permission or the authority to say the things they say. Or, they may have permission to speak but they may not have the authority. What does that mean? Well, I may say that it is wrong to steal a car, but I am not the authority. I have the permission of the law of the land to teach my children that law, but I am not the authority that will ultimately hold them accountable for stealing a car.
Jesus had His Father¡¯s permission to speak, and, He was given the authority to speak as well. Listen to these verses and see for yourself WHO had authority:
(Mat 9:6) But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins. . . ." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home."
(Mat 9:8) When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men.
(Mat 28:18) Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
The authority that Jesus was given came directly from the Father in Heaven. Not only was He given the permission to speak, but He was also given the authority to speak on His Father¡¯s behalf. But, What did He say? What did He say in the parables?
What did He say in the parables?
He spoke of the Father
He spoke of the Father and ¡®our¡¯ Father¡¯s love for us, and His desire to reconcile us to Him.
He spoke of the Son (Himself)
He spoke of Himself, and how He was sent to save the world from sin, and how that would be accomplished through His death on the cross.
He spoke of the Holy Spirit
He spoke of the Holy Spirit, the comforter that would come and speak and direct us on behalf of the Father and Son.
He spoke of the Cross and of Salvation
He spoke of the cross and how salvation would be found in His blood.
He spoke of Heaven
He spoke of the Kingdom of heaven, and what it was like.
He spoke of Man and his relationship with God
He spoke of Man and the gap that separates man from God, and how that gap could be bridged through faith in Him.
He spoke of many things not written in the scriptures.
Last of all, there are many things that were not written down. John tells us this in John 21:25¡±
(John 21:25) Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.
Summary
The parables spoken by Jesus cross the centuries! And, whether you understand them or not, like a loaded gun they are aimed at every person that reads them. They¡¯re transferable to us today just as much as they were 2000 years ago when the people first heard them.
