Since we are reaching the part of the life of Christ where he teaches in parables, our devotional thought for today will introduce us to Jesus’ parables. Of course, Jesus taught many times in his sermons, going point by point, but the parable seems to be Jesus’ favorite way of teaching.
There are two questions we need to ask about parables.
First: What is a parable?
In its simplest form, a parable is a story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.
Second: Why did Jesus teach in parables?
In Matthew 13:10, we read: “Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Why do You speak to the people in parables?’”
Answer #1: Jesus answered in these words: Matthew 13:11-13
“The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’
Let’s paraphrase his answer as: I teach in parables because I am saying things you need to hear, but the unspiritual person does not want to hear, or at best is not ready to hear.
We are all familiar with this kind of answer. If you have children, you sometimes spell things out to them that they are too young to understand: “Today, I am going to take little Johnnie to the D O C T O R.”
If you just said the word, that is all the young child would hear.
Answer #2: Because people remember stories better than statements.
When Jesus taught people often only heard him once. He wanted to tell them a spiritual truth in such a way that the spiritual people would remember it.
To accomplish this, Jesus, the greatest storyteller ever, would teach them the greatest stories ever told, his parables. An illiterate crowd didn’t take notes. They just went and listened, remembered and reflected. The parables made it easier for people to remember and reflect.
Lonnie Davis