Why Parables?

In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus actually explains his use of parables as a teaching technique, “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’” (Matthew 13:10,11).

It was only those who spent the time thinking about the message of the parable who benefited from what it taught. He quoted to the disciples the word of the prophet Isaiah about a people “whose heart was grown dull” (Isaiah 6:9,10). In Isaiah’s time, the Israelites had become insensitive to God’s message; they were both unwilling to think and unready to try to understand the terrible situation they were in.

They thought that because they were the people of Israel, they were all right, but in fact they had drifted slowly but firmly away from God. Serving Him had become a ritual, empty of any real meaning. Jesus explained that only those who want to understand will be able to see through the story to the deeper meaning that lies behind it. So let us dig deeper to discover the truth for us to harvest eternal life in the Kingdom of God which is to appear soon.

Bro Martin W Barasa (Kitale, Kenya)