Why does Jesus speak in Parables?

[MatthewG]

Have you ever been ask this question?

Cause I know I haven’t. How would you answer this question?

 

[MatthewG]

Though I have never been asked the question, or have asked the question other than today.

Google just lead me back to the Bible anyway.


“And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13:10-17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
Matthew 13:10-17 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to t | New King James Version (NKJV) | Download The Bible App Now


Seems their is an answer for most questions founded in the Bible!

 

[GaryAnderson]

I think in plain language, I would say that Jesus used parables to convey messages which are important and he used words like sheep, shepherds or fruit to make these messages eternally relevant for many generations. Because everyone knows what a fruit is, 2000 years ago and 2000 more into the future.

 

[Robert Gwin]

Have you ever been ask this question?

Cause I know I haven’t. How would you answer this question?

Jesus himself explained it Matt: (Matthew 13:10, 11) . . .the disciples came and said to him: “Why do you speak to them by the use of illustrations?” 11 In reply he said: “To you it is granted to understand the sacred secrets of the Kingdom of the heavens, but to them it is not granted.

This may seem openly harsh, but that is not the reason, Jehovah and Jesus want all to be saved, but it has to be their own choosing, their real desire, their heart condition sir. The Bible was authored by Jehovah, penned by His people, for His people, and the invitation to be one of His people is open to all, but one must choose to love God. If they do, Jehovah will reveal Bible truths to them.

That is my take on it Matt

 

[Lambano]

Jehovah and Jesus want all to be saved, but it has to be their own choosing, their real desire, their heart condition sir.

To that end, the listener has to willingly engage the parable. Otherwise, it’s just seeds on the road.

 

[Davy]

Though I have never been asked the question, or have asked the question other than today.

Lord Jesus spoke that answer specifically for His disciples that asked Him. He was not speaking it to the multitudes...

Matt 13:9-18
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

10 And the disciples came, and said unto Him, "Why speakest Thou unto them in parables?"

11 He answered and said unto them, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

To His disciples, their spiritual eyes and hears were to be open, but not the multitudes.


12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

That is essentially His pointing to understanding that comes by The Holy Spirit.


14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, "By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:'
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Jesus was quoting from Isaiah 6, which is related to Isaiah 29, particularly about the unbelieving Jews which God blinded away from The Gospel per Romans 11.

The problem being pointed to is simply about not really 'caring' about getting the Truth; not having a love of the Truth, especially with those living in the west with free education to be able to own and read God's Word for oneself. Thus their spiritual eyes were closed, and ears were dull, their hearts hard and waxen.


16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
KJV

 

[Robert Gwin]

To that end, the listener has to willingly engage the parable. Otherwise, it’s just seeds on the road.

I find parables fascinating sir, of course I like the ones better that are explained, that way there is no misunderstanding about them. I think one of my favorites is the parable of the cultivators, really showed why Jesus was rejected.

 

[bbyrd009]

Though I have never been asked the question, or have asked the question other than today.

Google just lead me back to the Bible anyway.


“And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13:10-17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬
Matthew 13:10-17 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to t | New King James Version (NKJV) | Download The Bible App Now


Seems their is an answer for most questions founded in the Bible!

here the disciples are “given to know the mysteries,” yet elsewhere they seem to be the last to get it, thought the kingdom was literally going to appear as they were entering Jerusalem even right? So thats been a mystery i have yet to clear up

 

[bbyrd009]

Jesus himself explained it Matt: (Matthew 13:10, 11) . . .the disciples came and said to him: “Why do you speak to them by the use of illustrations?” 11 In reply he said: “To you it is granted to understand the sacred secrets of the Kingdom of the heavens, but to them it is not granted.

This may seem openly harsh, but that is not the reason, Jehovah and Jesus want all to be saved, but it has to be their own choosing, their real desire, their heart condition sir. The Bible was authored by Jehovah, penned by His people, for His people, and the invitation to be one of His people is open to all, but one must choose to love God. If they do, Jehovah will reveal Bible truths to them.

That is my take on it Matt

hey Robert that is a JW Bible translation? What is the version called, ty

 

[MatthewG]

I think in plain language, I would say that Jesus used parables to convey messages which are important and he used words like sheep, shepherds or fruit to make these messages eternally relevant for many generations. Because everyone knows what a fruit is, 2000 years ago and 2000 more into the future.

Hello Gary, you are right about the words he used are important and if one decides to seek and learn from the story they will learn about something that is truly profound with in those stories.

Jesus himself explained it Matt: (Matthew 13:10, 11) . . .the disciples came and said to him: “Why do you speak to them by the use of illustrations?” 11 In reply he said: “To you it is granted to understand the sacred secrets of the Kingdom of the heavens, but to them it is not granted.

This may seem openly harsh, but that is not the reason, Jehovah and Jesus want all to be saved, but it has to be their own choosing, their real desire, their heart condition sir. The Bible was authored by Jehovah, penned by His people, for His people, and the invitation to be one of His people is open to all, but one must choose to love God. If they do, Jehovah will reveal Bible truths to them.

That is my take on it Matt

Hello Robert,

Thank you for sharing what your take is on it. Seeking after God is important, and those who seek will be rewarded for doing so. Hebrews 11:6

To that end, the listener has to willingly engage the parable. Otherwise, it’s just seeds on the road.

Hello Lambano,
What do you mean? Can you explain a bit more about this to me?

Lord Jesus spoke that answer specifically for His disciples that asked Him. He was not speaking it to the multitudes...

Matt 13:9-18
9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

10 And the disciples came, and said unto Him, "Why speakest Thou unto them in parables?"

11 He answered and said unto them, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

To His disciples, their spiritual eyes and hears were to be open, but not the multitudes.


12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

That is essentially His pointing to understanding that comes by The Holy Spirit.


14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, "By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:'
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

Jesus was quoting from Isaiah 6, which is related to Isaiah 29, particularly about the unbelieving Jews which God blinded away from The Gospel per Romans 11.

The problem being pointed to is simply about not really 'caring' about getting the Truth; not having a love of the Truth, especially with those living in the west with free education to be able to own and read God's Word for oneself. Thus their spiritual eyes were closed, and ears were dull, their hearts hard and waxen.


16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
KJV

Hello Davy,

To me because they were able to understand was that reason because of them being chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ? That after his death and resurrection, when afterward the holy spirit had dropped out, they learned from each other by reminding themselves of what they had seen and heard from the Lord? They did not understand right away, only when the holy spirit had become, with-in them?

here the disciples are “given to know the mysteries,” yet elsewhere they seem to be the last to get it, thought the kingdom was literally going to appear as they were entering Jerusalem even right? So thats been a mystery i have yet to clear up

Didn't Jesus something to the effect that the Kingdom of God is in your midst, or with-in you?

 

[farouk]

Hello Gary, you are right about the words he used are important and if one decides to seek and learn from the story they will learn about something that is truly profound with in those stories.



Hello Robert,

Thank you for sharing what your take is on it. Seeking after God is important, and those who seek will be rewarded for doing so. Hebrews 11:6



Hello Lambano,
What do you mean? Can you explain a bit more about this to me?



Hello Davy,

To me because they were able to understand was that reason because of them being chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ? That after his death and resurrection, when afterward the holy spirit had dropped out, they learned from each other by reminding themselves of what they had seen and heard from the Lord? They did not understand right away, only when the holy spirit had become, with-in them?



Didn't Jesus something to the effect that the Kingdom of God is in your midst, or with-in you?

@MatthewG You are right that faith is the key, as per Hebrews 11.6. We have been going through Hebrews 11 recently in our Bible study...

 

[Lambano]

I find parables fascinating sir, of course I like the ones better that are explained, that way there is no misunderstanding about them.

The odd thing is, engaging the parable itself sometimes may be the objective, not necessarily “getting it right”. For example, I’ve heard a spectrum of meanings drawn from the parable of the Prodigal Son (a personal favorite) and the parable of the Talents (not a favorite); which meaning is closest to what Jesus intended? But I think of the Syro-Phoenician woman of Mark 7:26-30 who engaged Jesus’s “dogs” metaphor, did a jujitsu reversal on it (“Even the dogs eat the crumbs from their Master’s table”), and won the argument. How many people can say they won an argument with Jesus? It wasn’t what He intended, but He liked the way she engaged His words in faith.

 

[Pythagorean12]

Have you ever been ask this question?

Cause I know I haven’t. How would you answer this question?

Yes, and I answer with
Matthew 13.

He spoke in parables that not all understand and thus be saved .

 

[MatthewG]

@MatthewG You are right that faith is the key, as per Hebrews 11.6. We have been going through Hebrews 11 recently in our Bible study...

The odd thing is, engaging the parable itself sometimes may be the objective, not necessarily “getting it right”. For example, I’ve heard a spectrum of meanings drawn from the parable of the Prodigal Son (a personal favorite) and the parable of the Talents (not a favorite); which meaning is closest to what Jesus intended? But I think of the Syro-Phoenician woman of Mark 7:26-30 who engaged Jesus’s “dogs” metaphor, did a jujitsu reversal on it (“Even the dogs eat the crumbs from their Master’s table”), and won the argument. How many people can say they won an argument with Jesus? It wasn’t what He intended, but He liked the way she engaged His words in faith.

Lambano, thank you for sharing some of your thoughts. The talent is a very difficult one to understand but I believe it has to deal with us simply sharing the good, and truthful things from the bible when it comes to the spirit, almost similarly the parable of the seeds. I could be wrong though.

Yes, and I answer with
Matthew 13.

He spoke in parables that not all understand and thus be saved .

Hello Pythagorean12, is there a way that we can understand them today even so now?

 

[VictoryinJesus]

Have you ever been ask this question?

Cause I know I haven’t. How would you answer this question?

no I’ve never been asked the question. Although I’ve been asked and wondered myself many times why everyone has a different revelation? How one verse or passage can be argued and debated countless different ways.

this is a lot of opinion but consider the “few there be that find the way” and how much it is debated “few” as being good “respectful”; yet in the same breath boasting “we are the light”…doesn’t light illuminate the way so how is it so few find the way? Because who hides their light under a bushel but instead sets it where others coming into the house can see the way? So my question is are we shooting ourselves in the foot in cheering few find it in the same breath as claiming to be that light?

John 16:22 Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one [will] take your joy away from you.
^interesting to me is the no one will take your joy from you. With the passage you quoted on they will have in abundance and those who don’t have …even what they do have will be taken away from them. To me, it seems like a condemnation on takers and givers “given to you is to know the mysteries of God” and who are those mysterious given to? The poor, the outcasts, the despised, the rejected…those excluded of men but received of God? Which seems to be the topic of John 16:22-33. “These things I have spoken in figurative language; an hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figurative language but will tell you plainly of the Father. In that day you will ask in My name, and I do not say that I will request of the Father on your behalf …for the Father Himself loves you because you have believed that I came forth from the Father.

then their declaration: now you speak plainly, we believe!

“do you now believe?” He asked them.
Then “behold an hour is coming, and has [already] come for you to be scattered.

that in Me you might have peace (reconciliation). All the above of “an hour is coming, and now is” makes me consider the woman by the well who was outcast and went off at odd times to draw water, and how he met her there in the way, to her surprise and astonishment “offering her Living water” but it is His words here that stand out:
John 4:23-24 But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeks such to worship him. [24] God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

Which leads back (Imo) to 1 Corinthians 2:12-14

Still I get that doesn’t answer why proverbs, or parables? except maybe so that blessed is “for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father which is in heaven” Matthew 16:15-17, 1 Corinthians 1:26-28.

 

[bbyrd009]

Didn't Jesus something to the effect that the Kingdom of God is in your midst, or with-in you?

ok, and?

 

[Lambano]

Lambano, thank you for sharing some of your thoughts. The talent is a very difficult one to understand but I believe it has to deal with us simply sharing the good, and truthful things from the bible when it comes to the spirit, almost similarly the parable of the seeds. I could be wrong though.

Thank you, Matthew. I was writing my response to Robert when your post came in; were it not for the race condition, I could've used both as quotes.

When my Bible-study group was doing the parables by assigning each member a parable or two to report on, I always got stuck with ones that make you go "Huh?", like The Dishonest Steward. Why couldn't I get a good one like The Good Samaritan? I think God does it on purpose. That was my "lesson-learned": You gotta engage the parable. When doing The Talents, I always wanted to ask, "Well, what about the fourth servant who in good faith invested his master's money in Enron stock and lost the whole bundle?" One of the non-canonical books, I think it was the Gospel of Philip, actually has this particular variation. But while listening to some talk show on the local Christian radio station, one of the guests noted that the servant who buried the money in the ground perceived that his master was harsh and dishonest man and was afraid of him. If you perceive God that way, of course you're not going take any risks. Faith encompasses how you perceive God.

Someone on this board made a similar observation. I may have to look it up and give him or her due recognition.

 

[Lambano]

Have you ever been ask this question?

Cause I know I haven’t. How would you answer this question?

The use of figurative language such as parables and metaphors forces the listener to think about what the speaker says, which I have to conclude is what Jesus wants.

The power of Parables can open your eyes - and blind those who say they can see.

(Bonus points to anyone who identifies the song I’m alluding to.)

 

[MatthewG]

ok, and?

What are your thoughts about when Jesus had stated that no one should point there it is, or there it was, the Kingdom is with in you?

20When asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, Jesus replied, “The kingdom of God will not come with observable signs. 21Nor will people say, ‘Look, here it is,’ or ‘There it is.’ For you see, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” 22Then He said to the disciples, “The time is coming when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it.…

 

[MatthewG]

The use of figurative language such as parables and metaphors forces the listener to think about what the speaker says, which I have to conclude is what Jesus wants.

The power of Parables can open your eyes - and blind those who say they can see.

(Bonus points to anyone who identifies the song I’m alluding to.)

Lambano,

I have no idea about the song, but would like to also mention that not only the parables themselves sort of hard to understand sometimes however the study bibles normally have more scripture quotes that lead to other areas of the bible that is alluding to as well which can make it difficult if someone doesn't know where the says are that may actually expound a bit more on the case sometimes. I am not 100% sure but I believe that there are 44 parables all together.

There is message in them, of course. Even the ones that are statements against Israel.