Using Parables to Teach

Luke 6:39-49

We learn new things by building on what we already know. It is what makes the ability to remember so critical. If we lack the ability to remember, we will never be able to progress. One reason much education fails is that it does not produce long term memory. A major factor in remembering something is having given it thought. Rote memory usually only produces short term effects, because the learner only memorizes the words or facts, rather than what they mean.

One of the most effective ways of teaching is to relate a new subject to something the learner already knows but encourages him to think about what he is hearing. Modern videos allow one to passively observe and are easily forgotten, but listening to a story makes one think about what is being described. Since the hearer is already thinking, making a comparison or contrast is only a slight increase of effort, and pupils unconsciously learn what is offered. The more dramatic and easily understood, the less effort is required to learn the new material.

A parable is simply a comparison or contrast of a new concept with a familiar one to enable easy understanding. In modern English, we call it an illustration. Jesus was very skilled at using parables. His first parable in this passage refers to the easily imagined event of one Blind man trying to lead another down the road.

“And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.” (Luke 6:39-40)

It is instantly obvious that if the leader doesn’t know know where they are going they probably won’t get there. Jesus compares this to a pupil who decides what they are to learn rather than allowing the teacher decide what is needed.

One of the high schools in Albuquerque failed the state test requirements because students were being allowed to set their own schedules, rather than having to take required courses. I was amazed at the number of graduates from a local college who got a degree in self directed studies. I wonder if they learned what they needed to know or just what they wanted to study.

Sadly, a lot of churches are taking self directed studies, rather than studying what God has directed us to learn. Few churches today actually study the Bible itself. I have not read The Purpose Driven Life, so cannot speak as to it’s doctrinal position, but it is a man’s ideas, rather than the word of God. Many churches have studied it as a substitute for studying the Bible. Are they learning what they should know, or just what the leaders want them to learn? After all, they are just student teachers themselves.

The second parable Jesus uses relates to what he said about not judging each other. Again he uses the easily imagined case of a man who has a stick stuck in his own eye and thinks he sees a speck of dust in his brother’s eye.

“And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.” (Luke 6:41-42)

It is probable that what he sees is in fact the end of the stick in his own eye, rather than something in his brother’s. His efforts to pull it out may blind his brother, or at least make his problem worse. When we begin to judge others, we often attribute our own sins to them, like the habitual liar who assumes everyone else is lying or the thief who assumes everyone else is a thief. Our efforts to fix what we think is wrong with their lives may turn them away from God, and does not benefit us. For example, assuming others are sexually tempted can titillate and lead to sexual sin rather than deterring people.

It is less painful to try to fix the other person’s problem than to address our own and we tend to focus on other people’s sin rather than our own. Unfortunately our judgment is distorted by our own sin.