I didn't grow up going to church, I didn't grow up reading the Bible. The most experience I had with scripture was from my sorority ritual, and two weeks I spent going to Awana with a friend in elementary school. So when I gave my life to Christ, I really needed something like a Cliff's Notes version of scripture to really understand what I was reading. Think along the lines of written out VeggieTales or something like that. Luckily for me, when Jesus was teaching, he thought about people like me. That's where Jesus is teaching with parables comes in.
Remember how I said many of the parables are repeated throughout the Gospel? I think this signifies not only the importance of these applications to everyday life, but also serves as corroboration. It’s not like the four Gospel writers were working from an outline, so the repetition of the parables as told by witnesses or first-hand accounts serves as proof that Jesus took into account who his audiences were. And the differing details in the writings? Think of it like four separate accounts of a vehicle accident. The writers have different details included based on their perspective, but the end point is still the same.
Upon a quick Google search, it tells me that there are 55 usages of parables in the New Testament. Now I don't have time to fact check that right now but it seems about right. Many of them are repeated through all four books in the Gospel, but have different details included. Why did Jesus use parables to teach?
When Jesus was teaching disciples and “fishing for people,” he wasn't recruiting biblical scholars or people with advanced degrees, sure, some of them were doctors (paging Dr. Luke) but mostly, he was recruiting fishermen, farmers, tax collectors--everyday people like you and me. Jesus was coming down to our level and explaining things in ways that we can understand relating it to our lives. He wasn’t just rambling on about sheep, or harvests, or lamps, he was relating his teaching of things way beyond our human comprehension to situations we could understand. Now, granted, times have changed and we’re not all out in the fields harvesting, but the parables are in broad enough terms to understand the gist of them, even if you’re not into farming (if Jesus came to me now and wanted me to understand, he may relate something to car pickup lines or laundry day…). For example, Jesus tells us the Parable of the Lost Coin (Luke 15:8-10), and also tells us about the Lost Sheep (Luke 15:8-7). One may be easier for a banker to understand and one may be easier for a shepherd to understand, but they both relay the message that Heaven rejoices when one sinner repents, regardless of how many righteous folks there already are.
I am so grateful that Jesus taught using parables. Granted, it was to fulfill
the scriptures, but it also helped to relate his divine truths to everyday lives. The Parable of the Lost Sheep is what brought Jesus into my life, so in my book, he’s always going to be Teacher of the Year--for eternity.
the scriptures, but it also helped to relate his divine truths to everyday lives. The Parable of the Lost Sheep is what brought Jesus into my life, so in my book, he’s always going to be Teacher of the Year--for eternity.
Originally posted on the LowCountry Community Church blog.
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