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Reasons why Jesus used parables in his teaching
Introduction on Jesus use of parables
The meaning and use of parables in the gospels
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“While claiming full unity and equality with God, Jesus was very active as a teacher and healer. Through his parables, direct teaching on important topics, and miracles, Jesus used commonplace human situations to tell us about God’s interest in each of us, the way to make good choices in our life, and about the Kingdom” (Adult Learner’s Guide).
Parables
What is a parable? A parable is a short story or a brief tale that is told to illustrate a religious, moral, or philosophical idea. About one third of Jesus Christ’s recorded teachings are in the form of parables. Jesus frequently used parables as a means of illustrating profound, divine truths. Stories such as these are easily remembered, the characters are bold, and the symbolism is rich in meaning. Parables were a common form of teaching in Judaism.
We can see the birth of Jesus in Matthew (Matt 1:18-25) (Matt 2:1-12), Luke (Luke 2:1-2) and John (John1:1-18). Both Matthew and Luke tell us that Jesus’ birth place was in Bethlehem in Judea in the time of King Herod of Judea and Emperor Augustine of the Roman Empire. The gospels tell us that Jesus was born in a stable under an inn (Luke 2:7). This is unlikely because Bethlehem was the birthplace of David, who was Joseph’s ancestor. This means that there may have been a house with his cousins or extended family there. The Hebrew word for inn can also be described as ‘the upper room’ and in traditional Jewish houses, there was an upper room where the family stayed and underneath this was the place where the animals were kept. This could have been seen as the stable under the ‘inn’. Now because of the census performed by Emperor Augustine the Jews had to travel to their ancestral home that meant that the house Mary and Joseph were staying at could have been full, so the upper room was full, making the only available room for the baby to be born in the stable below. Jesus was thought to be traditionally born in 1AD after the Monk Dionysus Exigus tried to calculate the year, from the Birth of Jesus, by taking away the reigns of Kings. Unfortunately Exigus made a few errors and Jesus is now thought to be born a few years BC. We know that in Matt 2:1 and Matt2:16 (Luke 1:55) that King Herod the Great was the ruler of Judea. From Roman records we know that King Herod died in 4BC near the feast of the Passover. This means that the earliest time Jesus could have been born was early 4BC. Herod plays an integral part in determining Jesus birth date because it also could explain the Bethlehem Star, which we...
The book, The Meaning of Jesus: Two Visions, by Marcus Borg and N.T. Wright is a conversation of sorts between, “The Leading Liberal and Conservative Jesus Scholars” as they “Present the Heart of the Historical Jesus Debate.” In the introduction, the scholars note that the inspiration and writing of the book grew out of friendship. The book is evidence of the public and private conversations between these scholars and friends, sharing in Christian faith and practice as they work through these complex issues in hopes of understanding each other better. Both, “…acknowledge Jesus of Nazareth as Lord, and [we] regard the no-holds-barred study of his actual history as a vital part of what we mean by that” (viii).
The last way that Jesus demonstrated His discipleship was in the way he took care of people’s spiritual needs. The first time we see this is in Mark 1:21-28. In these verses Jesus is i...
The resurrection of Jesus is a topic in Christian Apologetic that confirms the faith of a believer. Groothuis submits, “Of all the world’s religions Christianity alone purports to be based on the resurrection of its divine founder. No other religion or worldview makes such an audacious and consequential claim. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus himself predicts his own betrayal, death and resurrection.”1 The Bible reveals the importance of the resurrection in Corinthians 15:14-17, “And if Christ wasn’t raised to life, our message is worthless, and so is your faith. If the dead won’t be raised to life, we have told lies about God by saying that he raised Christ to life, when he really did not. So if the dead won’t be raised to life, Christ wasn’t raised to life. Unless Christ was raised to life, your faith is useless, and you are still living in your sins.”
The use of parables in the novel facilitates to describe the different cultures of people and help us see more clearly, what has happened to people and their way of life throughout history. We begin to think about history in a different light, looking at it from a completely different perspective than the ways that we were taught in school and by our parents and grandparents things, we believed to be true, our entire lives. Quinn’s use of one of these first parables discusses how people in the beginning of time made decisions and choices that created the culture that we have today:
A parable is any image or story taken from everyday life to instruct with hidden meaning. The word for parable came originally from the Hebrew word “Mashal.” When it was translated into Greek, it was written παραβολή (pronounced parabolē). This Greek word meant to “throw beside,” showing that parables throw a story alongside the truth, just using fake figures.
... for a particular cause and Jesus did this with his influence, charisma, virtue, patience, empathy and selflessness. Everything he did was to teach the way to salvation.
People think that they have no need for parables any more. In the modern day parables would be useful and effective, and are still very relevant, however people in the modern day think that they are no longer significant .
Loving people unconditionally was another aspect of Jesus’ worship lifestyle. The Gospels depict countless examples of Jesus interacting with people. Every interaction was filled with love. He met people’s needs when he healed the sick and the blind and the dumb. He met the needs of the hungry thousands. The marginalized of society were always on His mind. From the women to the children, the aliens and the outcasts, He was a...
The Parables are a section of the Matthews Evangelium in the Christian Bible. It is a common inspiration and focus for interpretation or themes during sermon.
What are parables of Jesus Christ? The word parable in general may mean the placing of two or more artifacts together to make a comparison or explain an ideology. This same concept could be related to the parables of Jesus Christ the son of God. Some people may choose to define these in various meanings depending on their own understanding. However, in my opinion, a parable is basically an analogy consisting of human circumstances that is accompanied with a spiritual or biblical lesson. Altogether, there are thirty-two parables; which could be found in the books of Mathew, Mark and Luke. Out of all these parables, eighteen of them are found in Luke and ten in Mathew. The eighteen parables found in Luke include, the Lost Coin, the Lost Son, the Unrighteous Steward, the Rich Man and Lazarus, the Unprofitable Servants, the Unrighteous Judge, the Pharisee and Publican, the Pounds, the Two Debtors, the Good Samaritan, the Friend at Midnight, the Rich Fool, the Watchful Servants, the Barren Fig Tree, the Chief Seats, the Great Supper, the Rash Builder, and the Rash King. The ten in Mathew include, the Laborers in the Vineyard, the Two Sons, the Marriage of the King's Son, the Ten Virgins, the Talents, the Tares, the Hidden Treasure, the Pearl of Great Price, the Draw Net, and the Unmerciful Servant. Again, the parables of Jesus Christ could be compared to a class of students with a teacher in the front. Basically Jesus Christ was the teacher and the whole world would be considered as the students. Out of all the parables of Jesus Christ, the main ones I will be talking about will be the parable of the good samaritan, and the parable of the sower.
Throughout the first three gospels, Jesus uses short stories to illustrate or teach the truth known as parables. A parable is simply an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. In Matthew chapter eight verse ten, the disciples asked Jesus, “Why speakest thou unto them in parables?” Jesus replied, “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the heaven, but to them it is not given.” There have been many discussions about the meaning of these parables as ministers and religious leaders have continued to spread God’s word. A parable, not so well known is about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. Jesus uses this parable to stress the evils of wealth, particularly towards the Pharisees who believed that riches bought righteousness. Patrick Hogan believes this parable is a statement that the very life of wealth is damnable, and that the poor deserve to be raised up. He believes the parable is a harsh condemnation of those who perpetuate a system of wealth and poverty .
Teaching and teachers have been around for a long time. In the Old Testament, the instruction was provided by the scribes. Even though we don’t have an in-depth description of teaching techniques, we do have an idea that the usual method was rote memory. The teacher’s role was to communicate the message and the hearer was to recite that same message back to the teacher. Teaching then moved to another phase – this next phase was to arouse the listener’s aptitude by presenting problems and to cultivate the students use of his powers by demanding that he exercise those powers. This background just mentioned was to help us understand the Old Testament teaching, which laid the groundwork for the ultimate teacher – Jesus the Christ.
Jesus served as example for all of humanity. His life work was to solve the fundamental problem of humanities sin and to provide eternal life with the Father. Jesus Christ demonstrated the way humans should live. He modeled behavior to the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, women, tax collector, to His friends. He came to set the example of the way to live for Christians. Basically, Jesus life was an outline of how to live your own life. Jesus confirmed that you should love your neighbor as yourself. That you should love your God with all your heart, with all your mind and with all your strength. This was demonstrated on a daily bases. Jesus verified that although humans are prone to sin, one can make a choice to not sin. When tempted by Satan, Jesus refrained from sin and turned to God the Father for strength to turn away from the temptation. Jesus was the teacher of complete, true knowledge.
Jesus was raised in Nazareth in the home of Joseph, a carpenter, and his wife Mary. Jesus most likely went to school in a room attached to the synagogue. He