Teaching In Parables

“The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.  And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.  And he spake many things unto them in parables…” (Matthew 13:1-3)

A parable is a short story or description of a common object or occurrence used to explain something unfamiliar by comparing similarities between the two.  Jesus used a lot of parables in his teaching, especially in teaching the large crowds. 

“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.” (Matthew 13:10-15)

Many times, even the disciples were not sure what Jesus was talking about in the parables until he explained it to them.  They questioned why Jesus didn’t just explain things more clearly instead of speaking in parables.  As Jesus explained, many of the people didn’t really weren’t interested in learning what God wanted. 

There are some basic principles involved if one is to teach effectively.  One of them is that you need students who are willing to learn.  It is almost impossible to teach those who think they know everything they need to know or who don’t want to know.  Students who don’t want to learn frequently disrupt classes, misbehaving, or arguing with the teachers.   They often hinder even motivated students learning as much as they can.   A second principle of teaching is that all learning has to be built on what one has learned previously.  For example, it is impossible to learn to add until one learns to count.  One cannot learn to read until he learns to combine the sounds represented by the various letters to form a word.   Several programs for teaching math or reading have failed because they forgot this basic principle.    

The scribes and Pharisees were sure they knew everything about God and were not interested in learning.   By teaching in parables, Jesus could hold their attention.  The stories would entertain and distract them so that they did not interfere with those who wanted to learn by trying to argue with Jesus.  At the same time, he could use things those who wanted to learn were familiar with to demonstrate godly principles, which he could explain more fully when the scribes and Pharisees were not present. 

The disciples and others who were interested would think about the meaning of the stories and learn from them, staying to learn more after the others left, enabling them to get the most from his other teaching.  As a result they would learn things that even the prophets the Pharisees revered had not understood, according to Matthew 13:16-17.  “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.  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.” 

The desire to know what God wants is crucial if we are to understand his word.  When we do, we will make an effort to read and study what the scriptures say, rather than simply clinging to what we have always thought.  People who don’t care won’t make the effort, and may not listen even when the meaning is clear.