Introduction
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. Matthew 13:34
A true parable is a story with characters and a plot—a beginning, middle, and end. It contains points of reference, parts of the story with which the audience can identify. To make a point, a parable throws together ideas that aren’t usually put together. The story often has an unexpected turn—the good guys are really the bad guys, the bad guys are good; outsiders become insiders, insiders become outsiders. A speaker uses a parable to call forth a response from the hearer.*
Jesus used parables at a time when His audience was divided into two very different groups: those who were seeking to follow Him more closely and those who were becoming more hostile toward Him. Jesus called for a response to costly discipleship. If the audience didn’t understand His words, it was because they were hardening their hearts. They didn’t want to change. However, to His disciples who had left all to follow Him, He explained everything privately (Mark 4:34).
As you study the parables, consider these important questions:
- What is the context: what happened just before the parable and what happened next?
- Who was the original audience?
- What are the points of reference: characters with whom the audience would identify or objects whose symbolism they’d recognize?
- Is there an unexpected turn in the story?
- What change of behavior was Jesus seeking to bring about in His listeners?
- How did the original audience respond to the parable?
- What is your response?
Devotions in this series include the following: The Wheat and the Weeds, The Lost Son, The Ambitious Guests, The Vineyard Workers, The Unmerciful Servant, The Lost Sheep, The Ten Virgins, The Hard-Working Servant, The Mustard Seed, The Persistent Widow, The Builder and the King, The Rich Fool, and The Great Banquet.
* Fee, Gordon D., and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.