Scripture:
Mark 4:1-20
Reflection:
We usually think of parables as being associated with Jesus, but they occur throughout the Bible. In a society where only a minority of the people – the rich and educated - could read and write, stories were an important way of teaching and communicating.
Parables are a form of teaching which uses a familiar illustration from which the listeners can draw a moral or religious truth. They might be a protracted simile, or a short story, but they are normally designed to illustrate a single truth or answer a single question.
Parables are not simply pleasant stories to make the narrative more interesting, but play an important role in our understanding, and preachers and lecturers today still employ similar methods. In the story of Nathan the prophet (2 Samuel 12:1-13), King David had allowed his eyes to lead him into adultery, and Nathan employed a parable to open David’s eyes to his sin.
The parables of Jesus serve a deeper purpose, however, because his parables leads us from something familiar and understood, to a new truth, or to see things in a new way. They challenge us to make a decision. Take, for example the parable of the sower in Mark 4, told on the shores of lake Galilee. Jesus was illustrating that a person’s reception of God’s Word is determined by the condition of their heart. Maybe in this case, there is also a secondary lesson in that salvation is more than a superficial hearing and obeying of the gospel. In hearing this, the listener would inevitably be challenged to think: ‘Which one am I?’
Of course, Jesus was speaking to the people of his day, so many of his parables centre on situations and events familiar to them - agriculture or fishing for example. They understood well the different types of soil Jesus spoke about. We may have to do some work to understand 1st century Palestinian society and put the parables in their context. Then we can learn the point Jesus was seeking to convey, and apply it into our own situation. We will soon find that people’s hearts are just the same today, and the variety of responses to the Gospel is just the same.
But vv.11-12 suggest that the parable may actually harden a person in their unbelief. Jesus and his parables are inseparable, so if we fail to understand him, we will fail to understand his parables. If we can only understand his parables as earthly, moral stories, we will fail to see the deeper significance in relation to the kingdom of God.
Prayer:
When I was a child, we used to sing the following chorus, which is really a prayer:
By blue Galilee Jesus walked of old;
By blue Galilee wondrous things He told.
Saviour, still my teacher be,
Showing wondrous things to me
As of old by Galilee, Blue Galilee.
***
Lord,
Here is my Bible,
Here is this quiet room,
Here is this quiet time,
And here am I.
Open my eyes;
Open my mind;
Open my heart;
And speak.
AMEN
Songs:
The Sower’s Song – Andrew Peterson
Food for Thought:
Take time to read again some of the parables of Jesus, and ask the Holy Spirit to
give you understanding.
In recent years, the Eastern Baptist Association have published a number of modern
parables to challenge us, particularly in relation to our Mission as a church. I have
used some of these in our church meetings, but you can find them HERE.