THE PURPOSE OF THE PARABLES

 

THE PURPOSE OF THE PARABLES

In today’s Gospel the disciples ask Jesus why he speaks to the people in parables.  Christ was in the habit of speaking in images and stories to the crowd.  He also sometimes spoke this way to the religious leaders.  Jesus answered that “For to him who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” He invites people into the kingdom by the use of parables, which must be heard, pondered, and then put into practice.  Those who do so are wise.  They are open to the Holy Spirit, and are willing to learn and change.  They will receive more and go deeper with God, while those who are stubborn will lose what they already have.  The Jews had much; the true God and his Word.  They had the prophets, the Scriptures, and right worship.  Jesus came to complete this divine inheritance: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets.  I have come not to abolish but to fulfill” (Mat 5:17).

How could the Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees be accountable for not being open to Jesus’ teaching?  Jesus calls them to account because the law and the prophets looked forward to an “anointed one” who would follow Moses and take his place.  Moses told the Israelites before he died that “A prophet like me will the Lord, your God, raise up for you from among your own kindred; that is the one to whom you shall listen” (Deuteronomy 18:15).  In Jesus’ day there was an expectation of the coming of a Messiah – an anointed one – which is evidenced by the reaction of the crowds to Jesus’ preaching and miracles.  For example, in John 7:40 some who hear him said, “This is truly the Prophet, the one who is to come into the world.”  St. John the Baptist had reinvigorated the messianic expectation by his preaching and baptism.  When John was in prison Jesus comforted him by sending a message through John’s disciples: “Go, and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.  And blessed is the one who takes no offense at me” (Luke 7:22-23).  These were the characteristics that were expected in the new messianic age, and they were there to be seen by all.  In a certain sense, his miracles themselves were parables, having a deeper meaning than just the healing of bodies.   

By his use of parables Jesus addressed the stubbornness of his opponents.  Perhaps more importantly, he helped the common people to grasp profound subjects.  Matthew offers another reason: “All this Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable.  This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world” (Mat 13:34-35).  Jesus taught according to the tradition of the prophets, some of whom would actually act out a parable in their lives.  Perhaps the best example is the story of Ezekiel and his unfaithful wife, who represented Israel (see Ezekiel 16:1-63).  One of the most famous parables was given by the prophet Nathan to King David, to move him to acknowledge and repent of his grievous sins of adultery and murder (2 Samuel 12:1-9).  Parables are an excellent means of teaching because they appeal to the heart and the imagination.  A picture will often help us to see what we do not see in letters.  Parables are also an aid to memory, for it is easier to remember a story than a speech.  As the best of teachers, Jesus used language and imagery which were familiar to his culture and made his parables accessible to the learned and to the simple. 

Finally, parables reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of God, and so they are themselves somewhat mysterious.  Jesus spoke in parables “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted” (Mat 13:11).  Sometimes Jesus explained the meaning, but only secretly, to those who were his true followers.  Faith and commitment to the lordship of Christ are necessary to understand the parables, and indeed, all of Scripture!  God is the ultimate Mystery.  Those who know the mysteries best are the Saints, for their minds are fixed on God.  “Who is wise enough to understand these things?  Who is intelligent enough to know them?  Straight are the paths of the Lord, the just walk in them, but sinners stumble in them” (Hosea 14:10).