Insights for Reading & Interpreting the Synoptic Gospels

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I. Some General Observations about the Nature of Parables

A. Their Common Features / Their General Nature:

They use everyday events that were familiar to his listeners to present and illustrate spiritual truth. ↔ To Note! Parables do not use…
2a The fact that they use everyday events makes them…
2b But the fact that parables use everyday events to illustrate a spiritual truth means…
2c Also, the details in the parables were familiar to people in that time; but they might not be familiar to people today. Two examples:
- How did Jews view Samaritans?
- What is unusual about the conduct of the father in the parable of the prodigal son?
3 Some are very short, just a verse or two. Others are fairly long.
4 The characters in the parables are rarely named.
5 We are never given the date or the time when the story occurred.

Initial Conclusion:

B. The Way Parables Are Framed in the Gospels / Their Local Context

Sometimes they come in a cluster of parables, which are all about the same topic.

Example:

When this is the case, it is a good idea to… read through them
Often, they arise from a conversation, or from a question someone puts to Jesus. When this is the case, it is important to observe two things:
1. starts
2. conclusion
Example: The Parable of the Good Samaritan, Luke 10.
- Q: What is the first verse of the parable itself?
- Q: But where does this account begin?
- Q: What is the last verse of the parable itself?
- Q: What verse gives the conclusion, the application, of the parable?

So we see that, to read the parable in its context, we need to…

II. Are Parables the Same as Allegories, or Different?

A. What are Allegories?

An allegory is an extended story that is told to teach something In allegories,… not quite, has one main point

B. How Are Parables Similar to Allegories?

Parables are similar in that…

C. How Are Parables Different from Allegories?

Parables are different from allegories in that…

The NT parable that comes closest to an allegory is… parable of the sower

An example for practice: The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10).

III. For NT Parables: Identify the Main Point; Identify the Main Characters

A. Identify the One Main Point of the Parable.

For the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10) —

The parable itself begins at which verse?
But where does the overall account begin?
Which verse states the main conclusion / application of the parable?

B. Note the Main Characters in the Parable.

Unlike with allegories, NT parables do not make a point out of every detail.

But the main characters in a parable probably do represent someone or something.

An example: The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15).

The parable itself begins at which verse?
But where does the overall account begin?
For this parable, does Jesus make a concluding statement after the parable in which he gives the conclusion / the application of the parable?
Who are the main characters in this parable? Who or what do they represent?
What is this parable trying to teach us?

IV. Why Did Jesus Use Parables?

Since parables use stories,… Easily to follow
But they also have an additional two-fold purpose:
1. To reveal spiritual truth… whose hearts open and ears to hear
2. To conceal spiritual truth… closed to hearts
  
  The following passages from the gospels describe this two-fold purpose:
  
  Mark 3:23
  
  So Jesus called them over to him and began to speak to them in parables
  
  Mark 4:34 (see similarly John 16:29)
  
  He did not say anything to them [= to the crowd] without using a parable. But when he was alone with his own disciples, he explained everything.
  
  Matt 13:10-17 (see also Mark 4:10-12)
  
  10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
  
  11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why / speak to them in parables:
  
  “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
  
  14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
  
  “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
  
  15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes.
  
  Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and / would heal them. [from Isaiah 6:9-10]
  
  16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and longed to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

V. Summary / Conclusions:

The parables in the New Testament are designed to reveal truth to those who are willing to hear it, but to conceal truth from those whose hearts are hard. If we know something of the customs and the setting of Jesus’ time, it will help us to understand them.

Primarily, we should look for the main point the parable is making. We should also attention to the main characters in a parable. And we should always pay attention to the situation into which the parable was spoken.

Week 4