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Try these short devotional studies based on Jesus' parables. Each devotional study takes only a few minutes and will help you understand the workings of legalism and mind control. These studies are also recommended for those who have left a Super Apostle environment. Discover how Super Apostle dogma crumbles when faced with the truth of Scripture. |
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THE PARABLE OF THE PHARISEE AND THE TAX-COLLECTOR
PARABLES
OF GRACE AND JUDGEMENT INTRODUCTION JESUS WAS A MASTER STORYTELLER The
Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed a powerful message of God’s love, mercy and
grace to undeserving sinners, especially social outcasts. He also proclaimed the less popular themes of God’s judgement,
the necessity of repentance, and the idea of corrupt religion as the universal
oppressor of the human mind and spirit. His
characteristic method of teaching was through parables.
Matthew says, “Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in
parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.”
(13:34). As
a master teller of stories, Jesus effectively communicated his message
in an interesting and forceful way that had a memorable impact on his
hearers. His stories were
easy to remember. When
the crowds heard Jesus they “were amazed at his teaching, because he
taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.”
(Matthew 7:28-28). He used
a story or example, taken from everyday life, to teach a new spiritual
truth. By using pictorial
language and real-life stories about everyday events, Jesus reached ordinary
people with God’s revelation. Although
Jesus was the master of the parable, he was not the first to use parables.
He did not invent the parable as a teaching method.
Examples of parables are found in the Old Testament.
Perhaps the best known of these is Nathan's parable to King David
about the rich man who took the one lamb that belonged to a poor man,
recorded in 2 Samuel chapter 12. WHAT IS A PARABLE?
The
word ‘parable’ has a variety of meanings related to figurative language.
For example, the Greek word “parabole”, that we have included
in English as “parable”, means, "to
lay beside" or "compare”.
A parable is a comparison, an illustration or an analogy.
In a parable something
is placed alongside something else, in order that one aspect may explain
or emphasize the other aspect. A
familiar custom or incident is used to illustrate some truth less familiar
and material things are used to explain spiritual truths.
Thus a parable is a short story or brief saying, designed to communicate
a spiritual truth or a moral lesson.
Jesus told about 30 illustrative stories and about 40 short enigmatic
sayings. A parable
has been popularly defined as “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning”.
Used to preaching to a crowd with a wide range of attitudes, Jesus
based his parables on the common, everyday events of first-century life—family
matters, farmers and merchants, vineyards and fruit trees, sheep and shepherds,
tenant farmers and landlords, rich and poor people, weddings and banquets,
rulers and religious leaders, commercial life, Pharisees and tax collectors,
and things lost and found. His
giving of the bread and wine at the last supper was an acted parable as
was his planned entry to Jerusalem on a donkey prior to his crucifixion. In a sense parables are like jokes.
They are designed to catch people off guard and to stir up a response.
These secular stories capture the listener, make him part of the
story, and lead him to think about God, and consider eternal issues. Often it is the end of the story that is important where the
emphasis falls on the last person or the last action or the last statement.
Sometimes a parable makes use of a literary device called a “triad”
i.e. it has three elements. For example, the story of the prodigal son has three characters:
the loving father, the prodigal son and the elder brother. A PARABLE REVEALS AND CONCEALS TRUTH
As
a method of teaching the parable has two distinct purposes: to reveal
& to conceal truth. Its meaning must be studied.
Parables compel the listener to discover truth, while at the same
time concealing the truth from those too lazy or too stubborn to see it.
To those who are earnestly searching, the truth becomes clear. It
is a question of faith or unbelief.
Believers receive and understand while unbelievers or the disinterested
reject the parables and remain blind and deaf to spiritual truth.
As Mark explains, “That they [unbelievers] may be ever
seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven.” (4:12).
A parable is a test of character with a blessing or a penalty attached
to it. Jesus warned, “If
anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.
Consider carefully what you hear.” (Mark 4:23-24) THE
MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY IS DEVOTIONAL
This
series will look at both the historical background and the historical
meaning of the parables in the context of Christ’s ministry, and the rest
of Scripture, as well as discuss the meaning of Jesus’ parables for today.
The literary structure of each parable is also significant.
A parable was often prompted by either an attitude or a question
or by both. Each parable
has a major point or points with minor details that are related to the
central truth. Some parables
are peculiar to one gospel writer while other parables have parallel accounts
in other gospels, so it is important to compare the details of the different
accounts. No
attempt has been made to classify Jesus’ parables into categories and
there is no discussion of the critical issues that scholars love to debate.
The primary purpose of this series is devotional.
The teaching of Jesus in his parables is as important and full
of life today as it was in his day. When
quoting from the Bible I have usually used the New International Version.
For the convenience of the reader, the NIV text is printed at the
beginning of each parable. SELECT
BIBLIOGRAPHY
E.
W. Bullinger, Figures of Speech Used in the Bible, Electronic Edition,
Libronix. Jim Peacock MA (Hons), Diploma Of Teaching. |
