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No.8.
The Interpretation of the Parables.
pp. 85 - 89
The root meaning of the word "parable" is "a placing alongside" for the purpose of
comparison, and basically it is therefore a method of illustration. It is important to note
when parables are introduced into the Gospel records, and the reason for them, which we
shall find is very different from the average Christian conception. In Matthew's Gospel,
parables are not introduced until the thirteenth chapter. It is quite wrong to think that
parabolic teaching characterized Christ's ministry from the start. It is evident from
chapter 11: onwards that events were moving to a climax:
"Then began He to upbraid the cities wherein most of His mighty works were done,
because they repented not" (Matt. 11: 20).
In chapter 12: the Lord is presented as greater than the Temple and its priesthood
(verse 6), greater than Jonah the prophet (verse 41), and greater than Solomon the king
(verse 42). He had come to His earthly people Israel as Prophet, Priest and King, and the
majority manifested that they were not going to receive Him as such. Chapter 13:
immediately follows with the account of Christ beginning to teach in parables and we are
left in no doubt as to the reason. "And the disciples came, and said unto Him, Why
speakest Thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is
given unto you to know the mysteries (secrets) of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is
not given . . . . . Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and
hearing they hear not, neither do they understand" (Matt. 13: 10, 11, 13). Then He went
on to quote Isa. 6: 9, 10, which predicted the very state of the people to whom He was
speaking, with blinded eyes, deafened ears, and a hard, non-understanding heart or mind,
which was going to be repeated in the generation that followed, during the Acts period,
when at the end, this prophecy is quoted for the third and last time. This terrible
condition has characterized the Jew, as a race, ever since. It is evident that in parabolic
teaching the Lord was veiling the truth not making it simple to understand, very different
from the usual idea that a parable is a simple earthly story with a heavenly meaning,
suitable for children in a Sunday school. The very reverse is true. The Lord is wrapping
up the truth, as it were, and making it more difficult to understand to those who were
rejecting Him. To those who were willing and responsive to learn, as the disciples, He
said: "But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear"
(Matt. 13: 16; cf. Luke 8: 8). We must be prepared, therefore, to face the fact that
the interpretation of parables is not easy. There are four points at least to consider:
(1)
A parable is some well known earthly event or custom.
(2)
Behind the earthly illustration is the spiritual lesson or truth which the parable sets
forth.
(3)
The earthly picture bears a relationship by analogy to the spiritual truth behind it.
(4)
Because every parable has two meanings they all stand in need of interpretation.