The Purpose of Parables

"Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; He did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet; "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world." Matthew 13:34-35

The Old Testament is full of prophetic words foretelling what Jesus would do. This particular prophecy is foretold in Psalm 78:2, where the use of parables is explained as a future teaching tool. People need to hear stories in order to understand truth. Raw doctrine is not easy to consume. An illustration so often really brings home the point of teaching. This is a sound and practical practice. All pastors and teachers use parables or stories to illustrate the points of the teaching they are trying to convey. We must find common ground experiences in order to be able to teach the principles of the Word of God. For example, illustrations about television would have been out of place in the time of Jesus, because folks wouldn't know what you were talking about. Today, some illustrations about farming are more difficult to apply because not as many people are familiar with farming as they were even 50 years ago. Parables about supermarkets would be more teachable.

In His day Jesus used many parables to teach. In this verse it says that for the day He only spoke in parables. Parables must illustrate the truth. Not just be associated with the truth. A teaching parable or story has to make the point of the doctrinal teaching. It is easy to get caught up in storytelling without explaining why you are sharing the story. We sometimes remember a truth because we remember the context of the story that illustrated it.

Truth has to emerge from the context of real life. We can appropriate (make proper application) of the truth when we can make the application of the truth to real life experiences.If you have the opportunity or responsibility to communicate God's Word, it is a good technique to use a story. Just make sure that you connect it with the truth you are supposed to share. I often remember the story, then remember the truth. Parables are wonderful as long as they point to and illustrate the principle of the truth.

That is the story today. In His Word,
Pastor Fred

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