7.11.20 - Why does Jesus use parables? What is a parable? The Parable of the Sower.

Matthew Chapter 13 ~ Discourse # 3: The Kingdom Parables

This chapter signals a turning point in Jesus' ministry as he begins to speak in parables. This is Matthew’s third great discourse. In Chap 13 – which is called "The seven Kingdom Parables" – Jesus teaches seven parables which the Church will cover over three Sundays. These are:

(1) Parable of the Sower, (2) Parable of the Weeds among the Wheat, (3) Parable of the Mustard Seed, (4) Parable of the Yeast, (5) Parable of the Hidden Treasure, (6) Parable of the Pearl of Great Price, and (7) Parable of the Good and Bad Fish.

What are Parables?

Parable in Greek (parabole = comparison) means a story that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison. However, the Hebrew word also means proverb or riddle. In Biblical usage, it is all of these.

Therefore, a parable is a conveyance of a profound thought by comparison to an everyday life activity. Often, the messages are hidden in what is left unsaid as in what is said. This forces the hearer to reflect on the story, since expansion of the mind from its current state to a new state is its goal. Reflection is also necessary because there may be more than one meaning.

Since the comparison involves a simple life activity, this opens the door to anyone – educated or not.

To figure out what the message(s) might be, it is helpful to look for unusual twists in the story that don’t normally occur in those everyday activities. For instance, the Parable of the Sower, the Sower seems to spread seed carelessly everywhere. Jesus’ audience would know that a good farmer would take much more care where he spreads his seeds. So, this is a twist in the story where one might want to ask, “Why did he say this?”

Finally, since the parables are from Jesus – the Word of God in person, we have the added intrigue that there is not one word being wasted; in other words, everything means something. Good grief!

Parable of Sower – Matthew 13: 1-23 (a long reading so I will break it into 3 with questions)

Part I

On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. And he spoke to them at length in parables, saying:

“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up.Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirty-fold. Whoever has ears ought to hear." (Mt 13:1-9)

Q: What does the seed represent?

Q: Who is the sower of the seed?

Q: Why is the sower so careless putting down the seed? How does this resemble Jesus’ teaching of the Word?

Q: Who do the birds represent?

Q: What do the different soil conditions represent?

Q: Is there anything unusual about producing 30, 60, or 100-fold?

Q: Is there any meaning to Jesus being in the boat and the audience sitting on the ground?

Part II

The disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”

He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. For to him who has, more will be given and he will have abundance; but from him 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 listen or understand. In them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says:

'You shall indeed hear but never understand and you shall indeed see but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and their ears heavy of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart, and turn for me to heal them.’

“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it." (Mt 13:10-17)

Q: Why has knowledge of the Kingdom been granted to the disciples?

Q: Why isn’t the knowledge of the Kingdom granted to others?

Q: Jesus uses a kind of proverb to say why he speaks in parables: “they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.” Explain.

Q: Jesus says: “To anyone who has, more will be given, and to anyone who has not, what he has will be taken away.” Explain.

Q: What is the Isaiah prophecy?

Part III

“Hear then the parable of the sower. The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. As for the seed that was sown on rocky ground, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. But he has no root in himself and it lasts only for a while, and when some tribulation or persecution comes because on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but worldly anxieties and the delight in riches choke the word, and it bears no fruit. But the seed that was sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundred , in another sixty, and in another thirty.” (Mt 13:18-23)

These different types of soil represent types of human hearts, or 4 different ways the Word of the Kingdom is received by humans. More than trying to pin these soil types on others, Jesus warns all of us that these conditions are potential obstacles for all of us, which we need to reflect upon in order to avoid them. For the sake of discussion, I will categorize them as Path Man, Rocky Man, Thorn Man, and Nitrogen Man, and provide a chart Monday night that characterizes each.

See you Monday!