I was, as usual, forum surfing, I love forums and I came across a thread on parables.  The initial thread was not about how we interprit parables but it eventually went that way, if you use forums you will know what I mean.  The main argument that I was against, is that, parables are allegorical and that they have deeper meaning, almost abstract, infact in one post it was implied that if you did not see it this way you were basically on an elementary level of understanding, and did not posses the keys to understand Jesus’ teaching.

As with all the Gospels, they have been woven together by the authors as a potrait of the life of our Saviour through the Holy Spirit, there is nothing abstract about Jesus’ teaching,  it always elicitate a response from the hearer or reader.  So to reply to this post I dug out some books and wrote out my thoughts on the matter.

The English word for parable refers to short narratives. The Greek and Hebrew words for ‘parable’ are much broader, Jesus’ parables are both works of art and weapons he used in the conflict with his opponents.

Jesus used ‘parables’ as a teaching method as was common form in those days and before. Jesus chose this method frequently to explain the kingdom of God and to show God’s character and God’s expectations for His people.

The Greek word for parable, ‘parabole’ is a broader definition than the English equivalent, it can mean: Proverb (LK 4:23), a riddle (MK 3.23), a comparison (MT 13:33, a contrast (LK 18:18) and both simple stories (Lk13:6-9) and complex (MT 22:1-14).

Parables are intended to stimulate thought and elicit a response from the hearer, as they were originally spoken to the people (and might I add to us who now read them).

A ‘similitude’ is an extended ‘simile’ (an explicit comparison using ‘like’ or ‘as’), it is a comparison relating a typical or recurring event in real life. cf, Mt 13:31-32.

Examples of this are all in Luke: ‘the good Samaritan, the rich fool, the rich man and Lazarus and the Pharisee and Tax collector’.

Other parables are extended metaphors (implied comparison) referring to a fictional event or events to express a moral or spiritual truth. In this sense ‘allegory’ is a series of metaphors, the parable of the sower is a good example.

Some use Hyperbolic statements and are pseudo-realistic in nature: It would be very unlikely that in 1^st century Palestine that anyone would be in debt of 10,000 (equivalent now of a few million Pounds/Dollars) Mt 18:23-35.

Parables elicit thought, 22 parables start with a question such as ‘ who from you….?’ or ‘what do you think….?’ Most of the parables are theocentric in that they focus on God, His Kingdom and expectations. Parables are often invitations to change behavioral patterns, change your ways.

There are allegorical elements within the parables but the parables are not Altogether allegorical, as We have seen in my post above on how St Augustine used allegory to incorrectly interpret the ‘Good Samaritan’.

Below is a quote from my earlier post:

If you take your approach, that is totally allegorical, you end up with serious problems. I will use St Augustine as an example. St Augustine with out a doubt was one of the great theologians, however his use of allegory in the parables was wrong. look at the good samaritan and how he used allegory to interprit it.

Basically, the  rich young man asked Jesus a question (who is my neighbour?) and Jesus answered him in a parable, the gist of the story is that the Samaritan was the good neighbour (samaritans where despised by the Jews).

St Augustine took this and said all sorts,:

1, The traveller was ‘Adam’
2, Jerusalem was the heavenly city of peace from which he fell
3, Jericho was the human mortality that he inherited from the Fall
4, The robber were the devil and his angels, who stripped him of his mortaliy
5, The priest and levite were the priesthood and ministry of the OT
6, The good samaritan was Christ himself
7, and it goes on.
(Augustine, Quaestiones Evangeliorium 2.19)

Now, that is were allegory gets you, The real message of the parable was, who the real neighbour was, an answer to the question in a real situation to a person.

Most of the parables, are about the Kingdom of God/Heaven and are Eschatological in theme.

Now regarding the Passage Mark 4:10-12, one of the keys to understanding the parables lies in discovering the original audience to whom they were spoken and why the evangelists placed the parables in the narrative text where they did, many times the parables came down to the evangelist without context. Cf, Luke 1:1-4.

What did Mark mean? Most probably the key to this is a play on words by Jesus’ native Aramaic language. The word ‘methal’ wich is translated ‘parabole’ in Greek (LXX) was used for a whole range of figures of speech in the riddle/puzzle/parable category and not be just for the story variety in English.

Verse 11 probably meant that the meaning of Jesus’ ministry (the secret of the kingdom) could not be perceived by those outside; it was like a ‘methal’, a riddle, to them. Hence his speaking in ‘methelin’ parables was part of the ‘methal’(riddle) of his WHOLE MINISTRY to them.

They saw, but failed to see; they heard – and even understood – the parables, but they failed to hear in a way that led to obedience.

Now, these parables were not some form of abstract, needing special interpretation as we know that people heard them and understood. Cf:

1.  Jesus told parables to people LK 15:3; 18:9; 19:11, with the clear implication that the parables were to be understood.

2. The ‘Expert in the Law’ clearly understood the parable Jesus spoke (Lk 10:25-37)

3. The chief priests and Pharisees understood the parable of the ‘tenants’ (Mt 21:45)

Their problem was not with understanding, but with letting the parables alter their behaviour!

Various, works/scholars have been cited in this post.

Gordon D Fee

Douglas Stuart

K R snodgrass

J Drane

I H Marshall

Works:

New Bible Dictionary

Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels

Introduction to the New Testament

How to read the bible for all its worth

 And various bible translations, ESV< KJV< NLT<NIV

 These books would be well worth geting if you have not already got them

Soli Deo Gloria

Phil