Why does Jesus speak in Parables?

Robert Gwin · Nov 23, 2021

Lambano said:
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.

Of course the prodical son is easy to understand, but the spiritual meaning is one who has left Jehovah, and returns to Him. Jehovah will accept him with open arms. The parable of the talents may seem harsh, and so many "chirstians" believe that faith is solely what you are judged on, but that is not the case, those who know but do not do, have buried their talents. Jesus assigned his disciples to make disciples, all based on their capabilities are expected to do that very thing. God's people are not pew sitters.

amigo de christo · Nov 23, 2021

MatthewG said:
Have you ever been ask this question?

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

He says why . Remember . To those who were NOT OF THE KINGDOM HE spoke this
that seeing they would not percieve and hearing they would not understand .

Ronald Nolette · Nov 23, 2021

MatthewG said:
Roland thank you so much for sharing your insights, thank you. You brought for a memory of when the Pharisees and Scribes in that generation considered Jesus the King of Demons. Could you imagine that type of mindset in seeing healings and miracles and yet considering the one who healing some type of monster?

Sadly that spirit still lives in men today!

Nancy · Nov 23, 2021

bbyrd009 said:
hey Robert that is a JW Bible translation? What is the version called, ty

NWT?

Jay Ross · Nov 23, 2021

Robert Gwin said:
Of course the prodical son is easy to understand, but the spiritual meaning is one who has left Jehovah, and returns to Him. Jehovah will accept him with open arms. The parable of the talents may seem harsh, and so many "chirstians" believe that faith is solely what you are judged on, but that is not the case, those who know but do not do, have buried their talents. Jesus assigned his disciples to make disciples, all based on their capabilities are expected to do that very thing. God's people are not pew sitters.

Sadly you have swapped out Satan from this parable of the Talents, and instead been conned into inserting Jesus into the parable as if Jesus is telling this parable about himself. Remember that Jesus is entitled to the return given in the harvest because it is He who is planting that seed in people, whereas the master, i.e. Satan, is not entiltled to the harvest because he did not plant, water or tend the field when the seeds have been planted. All that Satan has lanted are the tares amongst the harvest of wheat.

You are ignoring that all that is required of His disciples is that "we, His Disciples, simply believe in Him Who He has Sent."

Sadly the Parable of the Talents has been used for centuries to jerry up the preachers congregations to work at bringing in the Kingdom of God when in reality they are bringing Satan's kingdom of lies into reality.

Shalom

Robert Gwin · Nov 24, 2021

Jay Ross said:
Sadly you have swapped out Satan from this parable of the Talents, and instead been conned into inserting Jesus into the parable as if Jesus is telling this parable about himself. Remember that Jesus is entitled to the return given in the harvest because it is He who is planting that seed in people, whereas the master, i.e. Satan, is not entiltled to the harvest because he did not plant, water or tend the field when the seeds have been planted. All that Satan has lanted are the tares amongst the harvest of wheat.

You are ignoring that all that is required of His disciples is that "we, His Disciples, simply believe in Him Who He has Sent."

Sadly the Parable of the Talents has been used for centuries to jerry up the preachers congregations to work at bringing in the Kingdom of God when in reality they are bringing Satan's kingdom of lies into reality.

Shalom

You understand me correctly Jay, the parable is about Jesus leaving, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with satan.

Jay Ross · Nov 24, 2021

Robert Gwin said:
You understand me correctly Jay, the parable is about Jesus leaving, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with satan.

Robert,

If Jesus knew the Law and did not change or alter the law then why would he have told the "wicked" servant that he should have given the money in the form of a talent to bankers so that he could have received interests on the value of the talent.

If Jesus knew the Law, then why did He not commend the supposed "wicked" servant for complying with the Law in that he returned what had been given to him, i.e. the one talent, in the same condition to Him as he had received it.

If Jesus was the son of God, and the lead character in this parable, then why did Jesus agree with the "wicked" servant that He was not entitled to the harvest that he did sow or tend.

Matthew 25:24-27: - 24 "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.'

26 "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest."

NKJV

Now in the parallel parable in Luke 19, we are also told that some of his servants, i.e. Israelites, no longer wanted their master to reign over them, and so they sent a delegation after him stating this fact. Now when their master returned, he had those who no longer wanted him to be king over them brought before him and to be killed. In Revelation 12, are we not told that this is what Satan will do when he is released from the Bottomless Pit, the prison he is cast into when he is kicked out of heaven in our near future, and that he will attempt to kill them all, but God will not allow this to happen at that time. When Satan does not succeed in killing the people from the nation of Israel, does he then not go after the other saints from all of the other nations to kill them?

If this is your image/understanding of Jesus, then I know that you have grasped onto the wrong understanding of these two parables that Jesus told, during His first advent, about what will happen during the Millennium Age.

These two parables have been twisted by "teacher" who want to act God like to bring in God's kingdom in their own lifetime. In John 6, Jesus told those around Him that all that is required of them to bring in the Kingdom of God is for them/us to do, is "to believe in Him Whom He has sent" which is not a prescription of the "works" that you, as well as many others, are advocating that is required to do the same.

Shalom

PS: - What you believe is the understanding that comes from Satan and does not come from God or the revelation of the Holy Spirit.

Taken · Nov 24, 2021

MatthewG said:
Have you ever been ask this question?

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

1) to fulfill prophecy
2) to allow people without the truth IN them, to carnally understand the parable as a riddle of sorts that men could conclude the Meaning in multiple “Carnal minded” results.
3) to teach a revealing of Gods Truth that had not been revealed before. Every word of Jesus’ parables are absolute Truth ... that is:
If a person BELIEVES Jesus IS the Truth and can not Speak What IS Not True. <- Amen!

Glory to God,
Taken

Desire Of All Nations · Nov 24, 2021

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

It's not about listening or willingly being engaged with the parable, because the crowds Jesus spoke to did all that and still didn't understand a thing He said. God's Spirit wasn't drawing those people, so anything Jesus said to them had might as well been in Spanish.

Marymog said:
Parables were a common method of teaching used by Rabbis and prophets in the ancient world (see 2 Sam. 12:1-9). It was a teaching style well known and accepted.

Jesus spoke in parables to make the Kingdom of God more easily understood by the people. Often times when trying to explain something using a story to illustrate the point is the most effective way to communicate the information. Parables invite the listener into the story. Which character do we identify with and why?

This is incorrect theology. Christ plainly said it wasn't for those people to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God:

"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.'" - Matt. 13:11

In verses 13-16, He even went out of His way to explain why God didn't want those people to know the meaning. Verse 36 even shows Christ sending the crowd away from His home in Capernaum(and yes, Matt. 4:13-16 and other passages shows Jesus owned a house, contrary to the mainstream belief that He was a homeless preacher) before explaining the meaning of the parables exclusively to those individuals. Matt. 13 shows Jesus deliberately told the parable in a way that they wouldn't understand. If it was done in a way people would understand, common sense says the disciples wouldn't have had to ask Jesus for the meaning.

MatthewG · Nov 24, 2021

Taken said:
1) to fulfill prophecy
2) to allow people without the truth IN them, to carnally understand the parable as a riddle of sorts that men could conclude the Meaning in multiple “Carnal minded” results.
3) to teach a revealing of Gods Truth that had not been revealed before. Every word of Jesus’ parables are absolute Truth ... that is:
If a person BELIEVES Jesus IS the Truth and can not Speak What IS Not True. <- Amen!

Glory to God,
Taken

Thank you for sharing more of your insights.

I would go as far as to say to anyone reading this comment of how important it is. To consider, everything that is in the Bible. When engaging a parable always asks these principles. Who, what, when, where, why, and how. Also induct anything and everything you can from the Bible in its internal evidences, and to top this off. Pray for God to help you understand what it is he is trying show you, by the spirit which teaches us and reminds us of all things.

God bless and take care all of you.

Taken · Nov 24, 2021

MatthewG said:
Thank you for sharing more of your insights.

I would go as far as to say to anyone reading this comment of how important it is. To consider, everything that is in the Bible. When engaging a parable always asks these principles. Who, what, when, where, why, and how. Also induct anything and everything you can from the Bible in its internal evidences, and to top this off. Pray for God to help you understand what it is he is trying show you, by the spirit which teaches us and reminds us of all things.

God bless and take care all of you.

Amen brother! Have said the exact same!

Glory to God,
Taken

Robert Gwin · Nov 25, 2021

Jay Ross said:
Robert,

If Jesus knew the Law and did not change or alter the law then why would he have told the "wicked" servant that he should have given the money in the form of a talent to bankers so that he could have received interests on the value of the talent.

If Jesus knew the Law, then why did He not commend the supposed "wicked" servant for complying with the Law in that he returned what had been given to him, i.e. the one talent, in the same condition to Him as he had received it.

If Jesus was the son of God, and the lead character in this parable, then why did Jesus agree with the "wicked" servant that He was not entitled to the harvest that he did sow or tend.

Matthew 25:24-27: - 24 "Then he who had received the one talent came and said, 'Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. 25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.'

26 "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest."
NKJV

Now in the parallel parable in Luke 19, we are also told that some of his servants, i.e. Israelites, no longer wanted their master to reign over them, and so they sent a delegation after him stating this fact. Now when their master returned, he had those who no longer wanted him to be king over them brought before him and to be killed. In Revelation 12, are we not told that this is what Satan will do when he is released from the Bottomless Pit, the prison he is cast into when he is kicked out of heaven in our near future, and that he will attempt to kill them all, but God will not allow this to happen at that time. When Satan does not succeed in killing the people from the nation of Israel, does he then not go after the other saints from all of the other nations to kill them?

If this is your image/understanding of Jesus, then I know that you have grasped onto the wrong understanding of these two parables that Jesus told, during His first advent, about what will happen during the Millennium Age.

These two parables have been twisted by "teacher" who want to act God like to bring in God's kingdom in their own lifetime. In John 6, Jesus told those around Him that all that is required of them to bring in the Kingdom of God is for them/us to do, is "to believe in Him Whom He has sent" which is not a prescription of the "works" that you, as well as many others, are advocating that is required to do the same.

Shalom

PS: - What you believe is the understanding that comes from Satan and does not come from God or the revelation of the Holy Spirit.

Feel free to call me Bob, Jay. I guess you do not understand what the illustration is about, it is not about money sir. Can you give me your interpretation of what it is talking about?

Jay Ross · Nov 25, 2021

Robert Gwin said:
Feel free to call me Bob, Jay. I guess you do not understand what the illustration is about, it is not about money sir. Can you give me your interpretation of what it is talking about?

It seems that the interpretation that you are seeking is that today the parable is now about how "thick" we are, because of the question you asked.

It also seems that you want to tell me what you believe the intended message of the two parables is. So go ahead and prove me wrong if you can.

So here is a brief synopsis for you.

It seems to me that Jesus is telling us that Satan will set up his influencers, called by him, "the Good Servants," during the 1,000 years he is locked up in the bottomless pit where he is not able to influence people directly himself, in an attempt to stop the establishment of the Everlasting Kingdom of God during this 1,000 year period, while he is in the Bottomless pit with the kings of the earth, the beast, i.e. the four beasts of Daniel 7:1-12 who when they return after being locked up in the bottomless pit for 1,000 years, return and act collectively in unison with each other in an attempt to destroy God's Everlasting Kingdom, and the Little Horn which in Revelation is called the False Prophet. But Satan and his planned overthrowing of God finally fails, which is what the Book of revelations tells us and he too is thrown into the lake of fire along with all of those who are judged to be unrighteous.

This is but a limited and brief overview of what is to happen in the next 1,000 plus years from now.

So I guess that it is you who does not understand what the significance of these two parables is from now until the time of the final judgement at the end of the age of the ages. So what you are suggesting is that it is Jesus who goes away for a time into the Bottomless pit for the 1,000 years? Oh well each to their own understanding.

Shalom.

Enoch111 · Nov 25, 2021

MatthewG said:
Have you ever been ask this question?

I have never been asked this question, but the answer is right there in the Bible. When people chose to become wilfully blind, then Christ "blinded" them by speaking in parables. They would not be able to understand the deeper and more spiritual meaning. But for those who seek the truth, the parables are quite plain.

Enoch111 · Nov 25, 2021

bbyrd009 said:
hey Robert that is a JW Bible translation? What is the version called, ty

In case you did not get a response, it is called the New World Translation (NWT). And it is as phony as they come.

bbyrd009 · Nov 25, 2021

Enoch111 said:
In case you did not get a response, it is called the New World Translation (NWT). And it is as phony as they come.

oh well all of the english ones are, some way or another

Marymog · Nov 28, 2021

Desire Of All Nations said:
This is incorrect theology. Christ plainly said it wasn't for those people to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God:

"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.'" - Matt. 13:11

In verses 13-16, He even went out of His way to explain why God didn't want those people to know the meaning. Verse 36 even shows Christ sending the crowd away from His home in Capernaum(and yes, Matt. 4:13-16 and other passages shows Jesus owned a house, contrary to the mainstream belief that He was a homeless preacher) before explaining the meaning of the parables exclusively to those individuals. Matt. 13 shows Jesus deliberately told the parable in a way that they wouldn't understand. If it was done in a way people would understand, common sense says the disciples wouldn't have had to ask Jesus for the meaning.

Lol...sooooo no one but the Apostles "know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven"? Even though Jesus explained his parables and we have his explanation of those parables in Scripture? Hmmmm......Your theory is interesting....and wrong.

amadeus · Nov 28, 2021

MatthewG said:
Have you ever been ask this question?

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

I just posted this on another thread, but it seems to fit here:

What is the purpose of God's Word?

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Isaiah 55:11

If we are unable to understand the parables, why is that?

"And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
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.
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.
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
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:
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." Matt 13:10-15

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Why does Jesus speak in Parables?

Robert Gwin

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amigo de christo

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Ronald Nolette

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Nancy

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Jay Ross

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Robert Gwin

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Taken

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Desire Of All Nations

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