Why Speak In Parables Series

I would like to open with an illustration by Lifeway author Christine Hoover. She tells of the time her husband, Kyle, used her in a sermon illustration and spoke of her inability to perfect a pecan pie. She testifies, “That particular Sunday, I was serving in the nursery, and as parents came to pick up their children, I became deeply confused as to why so many were offering me their favorite pecan pie recipes. After a few of these offers, it dawned on me that Kyle had probably said something about my recent attempts at baking … Just like my fellow church members remembered the pecan pie illustration long after Kyle’s sermon ended, Jesus’ parables are a gift to us as we seek to understand intangible realities of the kingdom. They take gospel truths and create a deeper, more memorable imprint.”(1)

I have entitled our message this morning, “Why Speak in Parables?” based on the very question the disciples asked in our passage. Jesus spoke in parables frequently. There are about thirty-five parables recorded in the synoptic gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke.(2) Fourteen percent of Matthew is comprised of parables, Mark contains seven percent, and the parables in Luke comprise eighteen percent.(3) According to Mark 4:34, “He did not say anything to them without using a parable,” leading us to believe that not all His parables were recorded (cf. John 21:25). As we look at the reason Jesus gave as to why He used this storytelling device, we will discover that there is more to it than helping people remember His teachings. The listener who pursues understanding will receive both healing and blessing, and ultimately come to know God.

He Who Seeks Will Find (vv. 10-12)

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 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. 12 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.”

In verse 10, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” I believe a definition is in order, as week seek to understand the use of parables. The word “parable” is derived from the Greek word parabolé, which literally means “putting things side by side”(4) or “placing beside.”(5) Para means “beside” or “alongside,”(6) and ballo means “to throw” or “to lay down.”(7) Thus, “the word parable means ‘to cast alongside’.”(8) It is a story that is placed alongside a teaching to help illustrate the teaching and make it more memorable, and to illustrate a certain truth.(9) Jesus spoke of objects or situations that correspond to daily life, but represent kingdom principles. The simple definition of a parable is this: It is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.(10)

In verse 11, the answer Jesus provided as to why He spoke in parables is this: “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” This answer seems confusing, especially when combined with verse 12, because it appears as though Jesus has appointed some people to understand the mysteries of the kingdom and others are predestined to never understand. So, let us go deeper and see if we can figure out what Jesus intended by this statement.

The word mystery (musterion) was used in a special way. “To us, a mystery means simply something which is dark and difficult . . . to understand, something which is ‘mysterious.’ But in New Testament times, a mystery was the technical name for something which was dark and unintelligible to the outsider, but which was crystal clear to the man who had been initiated and who therefore had learned to understand its meaning.”(11) “It is not a mystery in the sense that it is incomprehensible,”(12) but rather, it is “known only to those ‘on the inside’ who learn from the Lord and obey Him.”(13)

Commentator William Barclay explains that “Jesus says to His disciples, ‘Outsiders cannot understand what I say; but you know Me; you are My disciples; you can understand.’ The great fact of Christianity is that it can only be understood from the inside. It is only after a personal encounter with Jesus Christ that a man can understand . . . It is only the man who is prepared to become a disciple who can enter into the most precious things of the Christian faith.”(14) To draw a parallel, the unbeliever often finds the Bible confusing and difficult to understand; but once he is saved, the Scripture then comes to life. This is because the new believer now has the Holy Spirit to enlighten him to the mysteries of the kingdom.