Jesus walked the earth and taught 2000 years ago, and today people are still studying, amazed by, and affected by His teachings. Even atheists who reject His divinity can’t ignore the power of what He taught. His impact is undeniable. He was both a brilliant teacher and skilled communicator—the best there ever was.

Our Savior often taught using short, fictional stories called parables. He used about 40 scenes and references that His audience could relate to—agricultural metaphors, household items, and common people. Most are in Matthew and Luke; none are in John. These stories have a way of sticking in the listener’s heart and mind. I’ll read about the prodigal son and then, a week later, wake up in the middle of the night imagining what it would have been like to be the father welcoming home his long lost son. Or perhaps I’ll wonder whether I would have been the good Samaritan if presented with a similar opportunity to help. As the Master Teacher, Jesus gets us thinking. 

If Jesus were here today, teaching us in person, what new parables might He tell? What common items or cultural references might He use? Perhaps He would use social media to illustrate the difference between who we really are and the image we like to project. Maybe He would begin, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a computer virus…” Or perhaps Jesus would reference Peter texting three young ladies for a date. Two of them have him blocked but the third accepts the invitation and reaps the benefits.

“Parable” comes from two Greek words – para (“beside”) and ballo (“throw”). Literally, it means “to place alongside”. To help you understand one principle or truth, I’m going to throw something else alongside it that is alike in some way. I’m going to use a metaphor, simile, or some other word picture to help you grasp a truth from the spiritual realm. As one commentator put it, a parable is “an ingeniously simple word picture illuminating a profound spiritual lesson”.

Don’t be surprised if, at first glance, you find a parable puzzling. Its meaning may not be straightforward and clear, and that’s by design. That can be frustrating if you like clear, concise instructions in as few words as possible. “Just tell me what I need to know! Explain everything! You got two minutes!” Jesus flips that notion upside down and invites us to meditate on the story. He wants our minds to marinate in His wisdom. We should approach the tale as we would a riddle, puzzle, or detective story. As we struggle with the mystery, we learn.

With these parables, Jesus is trying to get our attention and get us listening and thinking. Why? Because He knows we’re generally terrible listeners. When I’m focused on one thing—juggling one tennis ball—I don’t always hear my wife trying to go over our plans for the week. When I have three balls in the air—paying bills, writing, and watching the Cardinals play—I may miss her warning that our house is on fire. Or, while she’s talking, I may mentally rush ahead of her. Rather than listen, I’m formulating my rebuttal. My own thoughts and voice stand out. Jesus knows these listening tendencies. It’s truly difficult to hear Him sometimes. If the story or puzzle is too easy, we may race ahead of Him, finishing His thought or preparing our response. In short, Jesus wants us to slow down, ponder the puzzle, and contemplate the meaning.

For more insight on His approach, consider Matthew 13:10-15: “Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
    and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
    and with their ears they can barely hear,
    and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
    and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
    and turn, and I would heal them.’

There’s a lot to unpack there. It seems that for those who want to hear and learn, the parables will reveal truth. However, the meaning is hidden from those who lack the desire to seek out Christ’s meaning. We can also ruin the lesson if we try to filter it through our own human wisdom. If, for example, we believe that the prodigal son who squandered his inheritance is a freeloader who should do jail time before being forgiven by his father, we’ll muddle Jesus’ message on repentance and forgiveness. We become the older brother.

To illustrate the above passage by “throwing something alongside it,” consider you’re in a classroom full of students. The teacher divides you into two groups and gives each group the same difficult, unconventional, 2000-piece jigsaw puzzle. There are odd shapes and colors and far too many blue sky pieces. The teacher informs the class that once the puzzle is completed, it can be flipped over to reveal an important message. Group 1 is too tired, lazy and disinterested to solve the puzzle. They just sit there. Their eyes might as well be closed. Group 2, on the other hand, is highly motivated. They attack the puzzle, work it diligently, and eventually complete it. They flip the completed puzzle over and the special message is revealed.

In a sense, Jesus’ approach was a divine judgement against those who met His teaching with scorn, unbelief, or apathy. His self-righteous, self-sufficient hearers closed their hearts and minds to His instruction. They learned nothing and their hardened hearts were revealed. However, the same parables revealed those eager souls with childlike faith. Those who hungered and thirsted for righteousness could solve the mystery, complete the puzzle, and learn the important, life-changing truth.

Let’s set the stage for these parables. Matthew 13:1-2 reads, “That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.” Jesus has come on the scene and is attracting big crowds. It makes sense that He would go out on boat to create separation in order to teach the masses. The natural amphitheater would allow His voice to carry over the water.

As for his core message, we turn to Matthew 4:17 and 4:23. “From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” … “Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.” Jesus focused heavily on the arrival of God’s Kingdom—God’s reign and rule was happening in the here and now, through Him. The Kingdom of Heaven, or Kingdom of God, was/is a spiritual kingdom and a near-term reality—made up of his followers, the church. Christians are citizens of God’s Kingdom. The Kingdom is also referenced in the Bible as a future reality… “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne…. Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:31, 34) 

So, to recap, God reigns eternally over his entire creation. Jesus arrived on the scene to usher in a new manifestation of God’s rule, the Kingdom of Heaven, with the subjects being his followers, i.e. Christians, i.e. the church. If you want in the Kingdom, you want in the church. And you can’t have Jesus without the church because the church is Christ’s body. There’s also a final/future manifestation of the Kingdom, commonly known as heaven, where Christians will spend eternity.

The parables are not just self-contained moral tales about being kind and not lying and such. Rather, they revolve around a main idea. Something has happened with Jesus’ arrival—with God’s reign and rule over the world; heaven has invaded earth, in the person of Jesus. As a young Christian, I wrongly thought that we’re here on earth and God’s Kingdom is “up there,” in heaven. So, the goal is to survive/get by here on earth, bide our time, and then go to the Kingdom of Heaven. 

A better way to look at it is that we are to repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is here. Heaven invaded earth, in the person of Jesus, and He established a spiritual Kingdom, His church, made up of Christians. God reigns and rules in us and His Holy Spirit guides us. We are to be new creations—transformed in His likeness (See Romans 12:2). We’re called to be Kingdom people—while here on earth. We don’t just sit here, waiting it out, quietly biding our time, waiting on heaven. We’re IN the Kingdom now and we ARE the Kingdom now and we need to be about Kingdom business now. 

Jesus’ parables, then, are designed to help us think through what life in that Kingdom looks like. We’ll discover that Matthew’s versions are shorter—just the facts. Luke’s accounts give the characters more story and personality. If you notice some differences in the accounts, note that Jesus could have told different versions at different times, with the spiritual message being the same. Also, there’s usually one main point so be careful not to try to find meaning in every detail. For example, in order to repent, I must hit rock bottom in a pig pen. Well, sort of, but not literally. 

Your homework assignment for this week: Read the Parable of the Sower — Luke 8:4-15. Consider times in your life when your heart could be described by one or more of the types of soil. Also, consider the different soils (hearts/receptiveness) of the people you have tried to teach and reach. 

Over the next couple of months, I hope you’ll join me as we immerse ourselves in Jesus’ parables. I believe that you’ll come away a better person and a more committed disciple by the end of the study. The words of Jesus have the power to do that. And if you ever want to become a Christian, I’ll be happy to talk to you about that as well.