Parables of Jesus

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The parables of Jesus, found in the synoptic gospels, embody much of Jesus' teaching. Jesus' parables are quite simple, memorable stories, often with humble imagery, each with a single message. Jesus, for example, likened the Kingdom of God to leaven (an image usually meant as corruption) or a mustard seed. Like his aphorisms, Jesus' parables were often surprising and paradoxical. The parable of the good Samaritan, for example, turned expectations on their head with the despised Samaritan proving to be the wounded man's neighbor. The parables were simple and memorable enough to survive in an oral tradition before being written down years after Jesus' death and resurrection.

His parables are sometimes interpreted as allegories in Christian tradition and, rarely, in the gospels themselves. In such an allegory, each element corresponds metaphorically to a class of people (e.g., false Christians), a heavenly reward, or some other topic. The gospel of John includes allegories but no parables.

In Western civilization, they are the best known examples of stories referred to as parables, and so form the prototype for the term parable.

Contents

[edit] Occurrence

Of the four canonical gospels the parables are almost all in the three synoptic gospels. The Gospel of Luke contains both the largest total number of parables (24) and the largest number of unique parables found nowhere else (10); the Gospel of Matthew contains 23 parables of which six are unique; and the Gospel of Mark contains eight parables of which only one (the Parable of the Growing Seed) is unique.[citation needed] The Gospel of John contains only the story of the Vine, which some consider to be a parable.[citation needed]

The noncanonical Gospel of Thomas contains 15 parables of which two are unique.[citation needed]

The parables are thought to have been transmitted orally for years before being written down. The hypothetical Q document is seen as a source for parables in Matthew and Luke.

Parables also exist in the Old Testament and in many other writings, see parable.

[edit] Purpose

Mark 4:10-12, Matthew 13:10-17 and Luke 8:9-10 offer an explanation as to why Jesus would teach in parables. These verses say that whenever Jesus would go off by himself (away from the crowds of followers he attracted)[1] those close to him and the disciples would ask about the parables. He told them that they had been given the secret of the Kingdom of God (a concept commonly called the Messianic Secret),[2] but that outsiders did not have this secret, so everything to them is given in parables, never to be fully understood, otherwise they might find forgiveness, citing variations of Isaiah 6:9-10. Matthew 13:12 adds: "Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him." It is a saying also found in the Gospel of Thomas 41 as well as Mark 4:25, Matthew 25:29 and Luke 8:18, and 19:26.

Mark 4:33-34 and Matthew 13:34-35 repeat that Jesus would only speak to the "crowds" in parables, while secretly, in private, explaining everything to his disciples.

Stephen L Harris has, on the other hand, surmised that Jesus used parables because they provoked thought and coaxed the listeners into participating more actively as they considered the parables' ambiguous content. According to him, the belief that Jesus taught secret meanings to his disciples is a product of the Early Christian tradition and does not originate with Jesus himself.[3]

The Jewish Encyclopedia states:

"The simple meaning of these parables, however, was lost later on, and they were taken to be allegories and mysteries, especially when they alluded to the Messianic expectations, about which it was not safe to speak in public, as they assumed the end of the kingdom of Satan (Rome; comp. Mark 4:11, 4:34; Matt 13:1-52, especially 13:35 and 13:39). Thus "the parable of the fig-tree" (Mark 13:28; see Wellhausen, who is at a loss to explain it) is actually a "symbol" of the Messianic advent, according to the Midrash (Cant. R. ii. 13), but was no longer understood by the evangelists, either as an allegory or as a sign of Messianic success or failure, in the story of the blasted fig-tree (Mark 11:13-14, 11:20-23)."[4]

Medieval biblical exegesis often treated Jesus' parables as detailed allegories, with symbolic correspondences found for every element in the brief narratives. Modern critics, beginning with Adolf Jülicher, regard these interpretations as inappropriate and untenable.[5] Jülicher held that these parables usually have just one point of comparison, and most recent scholarship agrees.[6]

[edit] Framing material

Some parables are unadorned. Other include framing material, often an explanation at the end of the parable explaining its meaning. Historians often consider the short, memorable parables authentic and the explanatory framing material as a later addition, although there are exceptions.[6]

[edit] Examples

The Catholic Encyclopedia states: "There are no parables in St. John's Gospel. In the Synoptics ... we reckon thirty-three in all; but some have raised the number even to sixty, by including proverbial expressions."[7]

  1. Drawing in the Net, Matthew 13:47–50
  2. Laborers in the Vineyard, Matthew 20:1–16
  3. Lost Money, Luke 15:8–10
  4. The Faithful Servant, Luke 12:35–48
  5. The Good Samaritan, Luke 10:30–37
  6. The Seed Growing Secretly, Mark 4:26–29
  7. The Lost Sheep, Matthew 18:12–14, Luke 15:1–7
  8. The Mustard Seed, Matthew 13:31–32 Mark 4:30–32 Luke 13:18–19
  9. The Pearl, Matthew 13:45–46
  10. The Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11–32
  11. The Sower (The Four Soils), Matthew 13:3–23 Mark 4:1–20 Luke 8:5–15
  12. The Wedding Feast, Matthew 22:1–14, Luke 14:16–24
  13. Pharisee and the Publican, Luke 18:9–14
  14. Ten Talents, Matthew 25:14–30, Luke 19:11–27
  15. The Budding Fig Tree, Matt 24:32–36, Mark 13:28–32, Luke 21:29–33
  16. The Friend at Night, Luke 11:5–8
  17. The Hidden Treasure, Matthew 13:44
  18. The Importunate Widow, Luke 18:1–8
  19. The Leaven, Matthew 13:33, Luke 13:20–21
  20. The Master and Servant, Luke 17:7–10
  21. The Rich Fool, Luke 12:16–21
  22. The Rich Man and the Beggar Lazarus, Luke 16:19–31
  23. The Tares, Matthew 13:24–30
  24. The Ten Virgins, Matthew 25:1–13
  25. The Two Debtors, Luke 7:41–47
  26. The Two Sons, Matthew 21:28–32
  27. The Unjust Steward, Luke 16:1–9
  28. The Wicked Husbandmen, Matthew 21:33–46, Mark 12:1–12, Luke 20:9–19
  29. The Wise and the Foolish Builders, Matthew 7:24–27
  30. Unmerciful Servant, Matthew 18:23–35
  31. Building a tower and waging war, Luke 14:28–33
  32. The Barren Fig Tree, Luke 13:6–9
  33. The Guests, Luke 14:7–15

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ The Complete Gospels, Robert J. Miller, ed., notes for Mark 1:35-38: "...Jesus is often shown trying to avoid the presence of the crowds, sometimes seeking privacy in order to perform miracles or impart special instruction (e.g., 1:45; 5:37; 6:31; 7:17; 24, 33; 8:23; 9:28, 30; 10:10, 32b."
  2. ^ Complete Gospels, note for Mark 1:43-45: "Jesus' anger (v.41) and stern warning not to make him known, conveyed by snapping (literally "snorting") at the cured leper, is connected to a key narrative theme in Mark's gospel, the mandated "secret" of Jesus' true identity. Jesus repeatedly attempts to hide his actions, at least until he reaches Jerusalem, but usually without much apparent success (see also 1:25-28, 34; 3:12; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26)..."
  3. ^ Harris, Stephen L., Understanding the Bible. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985.
  4. ^ New Testament: The Sayings. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.
  5. ^ Adolf Jülicher, Die Gleichmisreden Jesu (2 vols; Tübingen: Mohr [Siebeck], 1888, 1899).
  6. ^ a b John P. Meier, A Marginal Jew Volume II, Doubleday, 1994.
  7. ^ Catholic Encyclopedia: Parables. Retrieved on 2008-02-16.

[edit] External links

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