To do this adequately we must remember (1) that the Lord linked these first parables

with the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 13: 24, 31, 33, 45, 47, 52). We must therefore have a

Scriptural conception of the kingdom of heaven before we can interpret the parables

correctly. (2) As the parables are largely drawn from the agriculture of Palestine of the

Lord's time, a knowledge of this is obviously helpful.  (3) As some details of the

parables are interpreted by the Lord Himself, we must give first place to this fact and not

re-interpret them in any way. (4) The context, as always, must be carefully considered.

Luke 15: records the three parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin and the lost son. The

context gives the setting and the reason for the parables:

The following parables therefore concern publicans and sinners and the heart of God

towards them, and are a rebuke to the Scribes and Pharisees. This setting carries over

into chapter 16: with the parable of the unjust steward, at the end of which we read:

"And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things: and they derided

Him" (Luke 16: 14). The Lord continued to speak to them in the next verses "And He

said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men . . . . ." and He ended up

by speaking to them the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

It may be objected that this is not stated to be a parable and therefore cannot be treated

as such, but this cannot be maintained because several are given without any such

introduction and are obviously parabolic, e.g., the prodigal son (15: 11). We should seek

to discover the central truth of any parable and not try to fix a doctrinal significance to all

the details, which will only side-track from the main teaching. The issue to get clear is:

what did it first mean to those to whom the Lord gave it? It is possible that more truth

resided in the parable than they could apprehend. Even so, this must square with the

teaching of the Lord as a whole and the remoter context of the rest of the New Testament.

It is unwise to base fundamental truths upon parables or symbolic prophetical Scriptures,

such as the book of Revelation. This generally shows a weakness; if such truths are

really basic and foundational, they will be treated as plain doctrine in other parts of

The most important thing is to get a Scriptural conception of that aspect of the

kingdom to which the Gospel parables pertain. In the New Testament we have several

phrases embodying the word kingdom: the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of God, the

kingdom of the Father, the kingdom of His beloved Son, and variants of these. We have

to decide whether all these are synonymous, or have they differences of meaning? The

kingdom of God occurs throughout the New Testament from Matthew to Revelation. It

is found in Paul's earlier epistles written during the Acts and in those written afterwards

from prison. It must therefore be all-embracive, including things in heaven as well as

things on earth, the whole of God's mighty redemptive plan in Christ being envisaged in

it. There can be nothing that pertains to God outside this universal sovereignty. The

kingdom of heaven occurs thirty-two times in Matthew's Gospel and nowhere else. This

phase of the kingdom must therefore be restricted to the scope and purpose of this Gospel