That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:1-9, ESV)
What is a Parable?
Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” (Matthew 13:10, ESV)
The word translated as “parable” in the English comes from the Greek word παραβολή (parabole). The Greek word parabole has the meaning of a comparison, placing one thing side-by-side with another, or comparing two things with likeness or similarity.
Parables are fictional narratives, involving metaphorical characters, that tell a story to illustrate a spiritual message. Parables make use of simile (a comparison between two things, using “like” or “as”) to help the reader, or listener, understand and relate to the underlying message.
Why did Messiah Teach 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.But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Matthew 13:11-17, ESV)
When Jesus publicly spoke, a large crowd gathered to listen. Some of the crowd were genuine believers, and they had the faith in Messiah necessary to begin understanding the kingdom of God. Many in the crowd were unbelievers and antagonists; they lacked faith in Messiah and, therefore, had no understanding. The faithful followers of Messiah were receptive to the parables as a teaching method; and, through the parables they received knowledge and understanding of the kingdom of God. The unbelievers would never grasp Jesus’ teachings, and putting his teachings in the form of parables concealed the knowledge that was not for them.
Mark chapter 4 recounts the same event as described in Matthew chapter 13. But, Mark’s account gives us some additional clarity by recording that Jesus always gave the straight teaching to his disciples but would only ever address the mixed crowds in parables. The parables would give disciples a spiritual message they could consider and meditate on for a time. Then, in private, Jesus would fully teach the meaning of the parable and raise the disciples’ understanding to a high level. So, for the disciples, parables presented deep teachings they could meditate on and seek answers to before the Messiah (their rabbi and master) would explain to them thoroughly for complete understanding. But for the unbelievers, the parables were a riddle they wouldn’t understand, and they wouldn’t seek the meaning any further.
Parables were a way of publicly disseminating spiritual teachings that only those who sincerely seek God would meditate on and pursue the deeper meaning of. People who would hear the parables and understand would seek more, and more would be given them. But to the unbeliever, the word of God is foolishness and they wouldn’t seek it out even if it were given to them plainly.
Interpreting Parables
The key to interpreting parables is to identify the simile. Since parables are structured to draw comparisons between things by use of simile, we have to clearly identify what two things are being compared. After we identify what is being compared, we can understand the object of the parable.
The second step in interpreting parables is to follow the narrative, keeping in mind who or what the main character represents in simile. Then, answer basic questions such as:
What do the other characters or objects of the parable represent (as similes or metaphors)?
How do the other characters or objects in the parable relate to the main character?
What actions are the characters taking, and what does the action represent?
How does the overall message of the parable relate with other scriptural teachings?
Example: The Parable of the Pearl of Value:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (Matthew 13:45-46, ESV)
In this parable, the main character is the merchant. The simile is comparing the merchant with the kingdom of heaven, and the word “like” tells us so.
What: Kingdom of heaven
Simile: is like a merchant
Action: searching for fine pearls
Now that we identified the simile, we follow the remainder of the narrative and interpret its remaining components and message.
What Next: when the merchant finds a pearl of great value
Then: he sells everything he has to buy it
To finish understanding this parable, we have to identify who or what is being compared to pearls. What the pearls represent is not immediately clear in the parable, so we must reason through the parable and compare it with other scripture.
What does the kingdom of heaven want? What does it search for?
What does the kingdom of heaven spend as currency to purchase with?
What is a treasure the kingdom of heaven values and will sacrifice something of value to obtain?
When we compare this parable with what we know of other portions of scripture, we understand the parable is describing the basic gospel message. The kingdom of heaven, headed by Jesus, is searching through mankind for people of faith. When he finds one, he pays his own life to obtain it for his kingdom.
To recap:
We identified the merchant of the parable is the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, the merchant must consistently be understood as the kingdom of heaven throughout the parable.
The pearl is something, or someone, valued by the kingdom of heaven. It’s not immediately clear what this is in the parable, but when we consider the rest of scripture we understand mankind is the only thing in the world valued by YHWH.
If pearls are representative of mankind, a pearl of great value must be a person who has genuine faith and love for YHWH. This lines up with scriptural doctrine as the type of person YHWH loves, that YHWH calls his child, and that can be a person after YHWH’s own heart.
What the kingdom of heaven has to “sell” in order to purchase mankind is the life of the Messiah, as our atoning sacrifice.
Conclusion: Messiah’s Explanation of His Parable
Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Matthew 13:18-23, ESV)
Jesus identified who the characters of the parable are.
The seed is the word of the kingdom of YHWH
The ground is mankind who hears the word
Jesus didn’t explain who the sower is, but we might interpret Jesus himself is the sower who brought the word of the kingdom of YHWH into the world and began sowing it among mankind. Apparently, the sower’s identity was not the main point of the parable and is likely why Jesus didn’t identify him.
After identifying the characters, we see Jesus identified the simile.
The four types of ground are metaphors for the receptivity and response of people hearing the word. Some people are like one type of ground, and other people are like another type of ground. Each type of ground is a simile describing whether the person receives or rejects the word, whether he or she obeys or falls away from the word.
Understanding the characters and similes of the parable, we follow the narrative and understand the message.