[Mat 13:10 KJV] “And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?”
Up until this point in Jesus’ ministry, He spoke in plain, clear truths, such as in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). In this He shared the truth in 105 verses, finishing with a simple 5 verse parable. Many people think parables are used to expound upon the truth, to make it clearer. That is the opposite of what Jesus was doing when He used parables. Jesus explained to His disciples, [Mat 13:11 KJV] “He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” Jesus clearly wanted His disciples or followers to understand, but not those who do not follow. Why?
To understand this, we have to look back at the context of what was happening when Jesus changed from a clear, direct approach to teaching to the parable style of sharing the truth in a mysterious way. In the previous chapter, Jesus had cast out a demon from a possessed man and the Pharisees claimed He had done this by the power of Satan (Matthew 12:22-24). Jesus rebukes the Pharisees and goes on to explain the “unpardonable sin”. [Mat 12:30-31 KJV] 30 He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad. 31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.
Jesus points out that what the Pharisees had done was to blaspheme the Holy Spirit. It was at this point He began to use parables as His way of communicating to the masses. A parable, the Greek word for which is parabole, means “throwing” (bole) “alongside” (para), as in the words comparison, illustration, and analogy. With parables there is a connection between spiritual truth and common practice. While parables explain spiritual truths to the followers of our Lord, they also have the purpose of disguising truth to those hardened hearers who oppose Christ. Understanding parables takes careful detective work. As one pastor warns, “It takes care, hard work, and the Holy Spirit’s guidance to help get it right.”
We must always remember that parables reveal precious nuggets of spiritual truth to believing followers and disguise truth to those opposed to the faith. At the time Jesus explains the answer to the question, He goes into the 7 Kingdom parables (Matthew 13), which offer incredible insights to the discerning believers, but are often misunderstood by those who are not. GLJ
