More Than a StoryNäide

Throughout the next few weeks, we are going to dive into some of the parables that Jesus told. A parable is a story told to illustrate the truth. It is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. Throughout Jesus’ ministry, He used these stories to engage and communicate truth to those listening. Over a third of His teachings recorded in the gospels are taught using parables. There are over 30 parables recorded in the New Testament. In today’s passage, Jesus’ disciples even ask him why He speaks in parables so often. Jesus explains to them that He does it for two reasons: so that He can reveal the truth to those who seek it and hide the truth from those who are indifferent to it. For example, many times the Pharisees saw Jesus’ teachings as irrelevant because of their preconceived notions and bias against Him. As a result, they often missed the truth of the parables that Jesus taught, while many others took valuable lessons from them. Oftentimes, Jesus would explain the meaning of the parables himself. For example, in the parable we will read tomorrow, Jesus will share about the sower and then explicitly communicate what each character or element in the story represents. However, there are times when Jesus would not explicitly share the meaning of the parables, so interpretation is left to the listener or, in our case, the reader. With these parables, it is best to use the rest of the Bible and Jesus’ teachings to understand the meaning. Jesus’ parables will never contradict anything taught elsewhere in the Bible. As we study some of the parables of Jesus, we pray that you would not simply hear them as good stories, but seek to understand the truth that Jesus is teaching through them. Lean in and look for the life-changing meaning in these stories.