by Natasha L. Kohlhoff Polak

Created on: July 22, 2011

Why Parables Instead of Being Blunt?

I have heard it said before that people tend to tune out the teachings of Jesus because of the nature of His words - every time the Jews asked a question or interacted with Jesus in some way, He always responded with parables. I agree, it must have been frustrating to those who couldn't grasp His words. Instead of trying to understand the lessons within His words, the masses would hide their ignorance with shouts of "blasphemy!" and were stirred to anger.

Jesus was an intellectual, teacher, and a psychologist (in my opinion). Not only did He have much to say, but He had a whole lot more insight to the hearts of man than anyone before or since. Of course, His divinity had something to do with that...but even so, BECAUSE of keenly perceiving the true hearts and nature of each person with whom He interacted, He said exactly what the people needed to hear, whether they acknowledged His words or not. Ultimately, His desire was for as many as were willing to listen to Him to change the error of their ways and be restored to the Father. And since wisdom is not always appreciated, neither were Jesus' parables or quotes from scripture.

There came a time, though, when even the disciples were slow to understanding Jesus' methods. In Matthew 13:10 they point-blank asked: "Why do you speak in parables?" (NIV version). Even in His answer, Jesus spoke the words of the prophet Isaiah (6:9, 10) in Matthew 11-16 by explaining how what was foretold of Jesus included the fact that He would attempt to reach out to the people, but that not everyone would receive Him. We know today that Jesus fulfilled all the prophesies mentioned of Him by the Old Testament writers. Those who pored through the scriptures were able to grasp that Jesus by His actions was the promised Messiah. They revered His miraculous healings. But were all of Jesus' parables easy to understand? No. Just like today, we can read certain passages in the Bible many times over, and still not comprehend them. Yet, there are other times when passages just seem to speak so clearly to us, and we wonder why others don't see it that same way (even though we know that even today not everyone understands or appreciates the Bible's wisdom).

What We Can Learn

The best thing about reading Jesus' parables is that modern Christianity can learn from them.  The lessons contained caution against selfish ambition, Godlessness, disobeying authority, defrauding or harming others, and following poor moral choices, leading us to become better human beings.  Whether people are believers or not, everyone agrees that there is a code of ethics by which we should live.  Jesus' parables fit nicely with the laws of the land in any country.  There is so much more harmony than chaos when Jesus' principles are applied, even in societies that don't recognize God.  Funny how that is.  Since mythological stories and Aesop's Fables are discussed in schools so that students can glean lessons from them, why not include Jesus' parables?  It wouldn't hurt.  It's not like students would be preached to, and they could decide for themselves - just as in reading myths and fables - how best they should live.  And if they decide to become Christians, great!  If not, there's no pressure, because those that choose not to believe think the Bible is a fictional book anyway, and there would be no danger of such people reading the book.  Heaven forbid their minds are enlightened!

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