8/12/2019 1996 Issue 9 - Luke: The Parables of Jesus Christ - Counsel of Chalcedon

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he

Parables

of]

esus hrist

1 he

List

of

Parables

The parables

of

Jesus may be

categorized in a variety of ways: ,

by

theme

by

the period of Jesus'

ministry

in

which

they were

given, or by the times of their .

occurrence in

the gospels.

Those parables that occur

ONLY IN THE GOSPEL OF

'MATTHEW are: the wheat and

the tares, 13:24-30 36-43; the

hidden treasure, 13:44; the pearl

of great price, 13:45,46; the

dragnet,

13:47-50; the

unmerciful

servant,

18:23-35; the '

laborers n

the vineyard,

20:1-16;

the

two sons,

21:28-32; the

royal

marriage

feast,

22:1-14;

the

five wise and

five foolish

virgins, 25: 1-13; the talents,

25:14-30.

The

parable that occurs

ONLY IN THE GOSPEL OF

MARK is

the

parable of the seed

growing in secret, 4:26-29.

Those parables that occur

ONLY IN THE GOSPEL

OF

LUKE are: the two debtors,

7:40-50; the good Samaritan,

10:29-37; the embarrassed host

11:5-13; the rich fool, 12:13-21;

the watchful servants, 12:35-48;

the barren

fig tree, 13: 1-9; the

chief seats, 14:7-11; the great

supper 14:15-24; the

rash

builder, 14:28-30;

the

reckless

Idng, 14:31-33; the lost coin,

15: 8-lO; the prodigal son,

15:11-32; the unrighteous

steward, 16:1-13; the rich

man

and Lazarus, 16:19-31; the

unprofitable servant, 17:7-10;

the persevering widow, 18:1-8;

the Pharisee and the publican,

18:9-14; the

pounds

19:11-27,

Those parables that occur

ONLY IN THE GOSPELS OF

MATTHEW AND LUKE are: the

two builders, Mat. 7:24-27,

Lk

6:47-49; the children sitting in

the market, Mat. 11:16-19, Lk

II.

The Definition

of

a Parable

The word parable n Greek

means to throw

or

place

alongside of It carries the idea

of placing one thing

by the

side

of another for the purpose of

comparison or contrast. A , '

parable, then, is atomparisbn in '

which a

known truth

from

creation or everyday life is used

to teach a divinely-revealed

truth

, which is otherwise

unknowable except by divine

revelation, Mat. 22:1,33.

The parable is essentially a '

oe

Morecraft III

fonnal

comparison,

and

reqUires

the

interpreter to

go beyond its

own narrative

to bring in its

meaning; the

allegory is

an

extended

metaph,or, ,

and

contains

its

interpretation

7:31-35; the

return of

the

unclean Spirit, Mat. 12:43-45,

Lk.

11

:24-26; the leaven, Mat.

13:33, Lk 13:20; the lost sheep,

Mal. 18:12-14, Lk 15:1-7; the

fai

th

ful and unfaithful servants,

Mat. 24:45-51, Lk 12:42-46.

Those parables

that oc

c

ur

in

THE GOSPELS

OF

MATTHEW,

MARK AND LUKE are: the

sower, Mat. 13:3-9, 18-23,

Mk

4:3-9 14-20 Lk 8:4-15; the

mustard seed Mat. 13:31 ,32,

Mk 4:30-32, Lk. 13:18,19; the

wicked tenants, Mal. 21:33-41 ,

Mk 12:1-9 , Lk 20:9-16.

within itself.

The parable, therefore, stands

apart by itself as a mode and

style of figurative speech. It .

moves in

an

element of sober

earnestness, never transgressing

in

its imagery the limits of

probability, or of what might

be

actual fact. It may tacitly take

up

within itself essential

elements of enigma, type,

symbol, and allegory,

but

it

differs from them all, and in its

own chosen sphere

of

real,

everyday life,

is

peculiarly

adapted to body forth special

teachings of Him who is the

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(Truth). - Milton Terry,

BIBLICAL HERMENEUTICS,

(Grand Rapids, Mich.,

Zondervan Publishing House,

reprint 1975).

A typical parable has three

basic features. FIRST each

parable

is

a masterful example

of

popular story-telling. There is

repetition in the progress

of

the

story. Various issues and

subjects are brought into sharp

contrast. The story usually has

three main characters. And the

focus usually

falls

on the last in

the series of characters or issues.

The rule of repetition

is

seen in

the parables of the Talents and

the Two Builders; the rule

of

contrast in the parables of the

Rich Man and Lazarus and the

Wise and Foolish Virgins; and

the rule of end stress in the

parable of the Laborers in the

Vineyard. SECOND, the

parables arise out ofJesus' living

encounter with people in real

situations. A sonnet grows

slowly in the soil of a quiet

study; a parable is often

improvised

in the cut-and-thrust

of conflict. - A.M. Hunter,

INTERPRETING THE

PARABLES (Philadelphia, The

Westminster Press, 1960), And

THIRD, .each ofjesus' parables

is

meant

to

evoke a response and

to compel a decision. They were

not

told to entertain, or simply

to

inform, but to press the

hearer

to

decision with reference

to the person, claims and

kingdom ofjesus Christ. In this

light, consider the parable of the

Two Builders.

III. he Interpretation

of a Parable

Interpreting parables

is

not

as

easy

as

one might think. Keep

these

five

principles

in

mind as

you work to interpret Jesus'

parables.

The hristocentric Principle

Understand each parable in

its relationship to the person

and kingdom of Jesus Christ.

They are not merely illustrations

of morality. They reveal

something of the person of the

One telling the parable, and of

the nature of His kingdom. Ask

the parable the question: What

does this parable tell me about

the person and mission of

Christ? What does it tell me

about His kingdom? When the

parables are tied to the Christ of

the Gospels and His

message---the breaking

in

of the

reign of God, they become

vehicles not of moral

rearmament

but

of a radiQlI

revolution. This radical

revolution begins with

the

individual; it forms new societies

or

communities within existing

social structures; yet it

contemplates the total

transformation of all human

society with Jesus Christ

reigning as supreme king. - A.

Berkeley Mickelson,

INTERPRETING THE BIBLE

(Grand Rapids, Eerdmans

Publishing Company) . The

parable of the soils, for example,

centers around a sower, who is

Christ; and the entire parable

must be interpreted in this light.

The Kingdom Principle

The theme ofjesus' parables

is the kingdom of God, Matthew

D:19 24, 31, 33. In fact, it

is

through Jesus' preaching of His

parables that the kingdom

comes with power into

human

hearts

and

lives.

The kingdom

of God is the sovereign,

omnipotent and gracious

intervention of God

in

Christ

into human history to give

salvation. The kingdom of God

is God restoring His

order

[or

His creation

in

Christ. As A.M.

Hunter has written: The heart

ofjesus' message was that this

royal intervention of God

in

human

affairs was

no

longer a

shining hope

on

the far horizon

of history---but a fiat accompli.

The appointed time had fully

come, said Jesus, the Kingdom

had

arrived, was invading

history. The living God was

laying bare His arm for men's

salvation, was visiting His

people decisively in grace an d .

judgment. The Good News of

the Gospel was therefore

not

so

much a program for human

action as the proclamation of an

act of God

in

Jesus Christ. ---

'

the career

ofjesus

as the

Servant MeSSiah from Jordan to

Calvary,

IS

the kingdom

of

God,

God acting in His royal power,

God visiting

and

redeeming His

people.

The ultural Principle

The parables must be

understood in the light of the

cultural background from which

they arise. They are drawn from

ideas and subjects familiar to the

farmer, businessman

and

peasant. In the interprefation

of every parable it is necessary to

recover as much as possible the

local color employed in it. For

example, farmers sowed their

fields and then plowed them,

thus making the pa,rable of the

sower much

clearer. Harvest,

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wedding, and wine were jewish

symbols of

the end of the

age.

The fig tree was a symbol of the

people

of

God. Lamps were

put

under baskets

to

extinguish

them, hence to light a lamp and

put it under a basket is to light it

and

immediately

put

it out. The

lamb which strays from the fold

lies

down and

will not move, so

he

must be carried back.

Mustard trees grew from small

seeds to trees eight

to

ten feet

tall. One speck of leaven

penetrated enough dough to

feed 162 persons. - Bernard

Ramm, PROTESTANT

BIBLICAL

In order to avoid the

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for humility. He stresses to

them that the disciples are not

to

exclude any believer, not even

believing little children. Instead,

they are to have a Caling concern

for

all

Then Jesus reinforces this

point with the parable of the lost

sheep, saying, in effect: look at

the concern of the shepherd

who left the ninety-nine to find

the lost sheep. He applies it

to

His disciples in verse 13

stressing the loving and seeking

concern of God the Father even

for little ones who may wander

off and become lost. Jesus'

disciples are to be as concerned

for these as God tlle Father

is

.

In Luke, Jesus uses the

parable to answer His critics. In

Matthew, He uses it to instruct

His disciples. In Luke, the

emphasis is on God's joy over

sinners who repent. In

Matthew, it is on God's will that

no believing child perish. With

one parable used on two

occasions, in two different

settings, Jesus teaches us that

God has compassion toward

sinners (Luke) and lOving

concern for all believers

(Matthew). Paying attention to

the setting of a parable is always

essential in discovering tile main

point of a parable.

V The Focus o

the Parables

The ingdom o

God

As we have already seen, the

parables of]esus teach us about

the kingdom ofJesus. Jesus'

parables can be placed in four

groupings according to what

tiley emphasize about His

kingdom.

1 THE COMING OF THE

KINGDOM

The parables make clear that

the powerfully redemptive

kingdom of God in all its

transforming operations has

dawned in the person and work

of

Jesus Christ by His Holy

Spirit. Christ makes

THREE

CE

N

TRAL

EMPHASES

.about

the coming of His kingdom in

His parables: First, THE

KINGDOM

HAS

COME, the

kingdom-seed has been planted

in

history two thousand years

ago with the incarnation of

Jesus,

Mk

4:30f; Mat 11:12;

Mk 13:28f. Jesus began His

ministry by preaching that the

time is fulfilled and the kingdom

of God has arrived,

Mk

1:15.

God's recreative power has been

released in the world

in

Christ.

Second, THE KINGDOM IS .

GRAD

U

ALLY

COMING, the

kingdom-seed

is

growing toward

maturity. Several parables bring

out this element of the growth

and progress of the seed, once

planted in human hearts and

human societies. The small

mustard seed, once planted,

now grows to great heights, .Mk

4:30f. The small piece of leaven,

once worked into the dough,

powerfully affects the whole

loaf, Lk 13:20. The history of

the seed from planting to harvest

is one of ongoing, gradual

growtil and maturation,

Mk

4:26f.

As the mustard seed, Mk.

4:30f, the kingdom ofJesus may

seem of little importance; yet it

is destined to span the earth

with its empire and to embrace

in its sweep the Gentiles from

afar, Dan. 4:12; Ezek. 17:22f;

31:6. - Hunter. In comparing

the kingdom to leaven, Lk

13:20, Jesus is comparing the

growili

and

influence of tile

kingdom to

what

happens to

the

leaven in the dough--- a

heaving, panting mass, swelling

and bursting with bubbles, and

all the commotion indicating

something alive

and

at work

below:

in

one phrase, a ferment,

pervasive, dynamiC, resistless.

Even so when God's rule enters

tile world, there must arise a

disturbing process which

ultimately nothing in the world

can escape. - Hunter. Both

leaven and mustard are

insignificant

in

the beginning,

but impressive in

time---unremarkable

beginnings, unimaginable

endings. - Hunter.

Third, THE KINGDOM

WILL COME IN PERFECTION,

the kingdom-harvest is coming,

Mk 4:26f; Mat. 13:23; l3:40f.

There will be a great

consummation

and

total

perfection of Christ's kingdom at

the end of history. God's new

kingdom-order has come in

Christ, is advancing, and its final

outcome will surpass man's

imagination. Christ's righteous

kingdom will make victorious

progress until it triumphs over

all

2 THE

GRACE

OF THE

KINGDOM

The kingdom of Jesus is a

kingdom

of

unmerited,

unearned, sovereign grace, of

the free love and mercy of God

in Christ for undeserving men

and women. This is the very

heart of the gospel and a :ntral

theme of several of Jesus'

parables. The parable

of

the

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Laborers in the Vineyard, Mat.

20:1-15 speaks of the

extravagant goodness

of

God.

Hunter. God gives a place to the

most undeserving in His

kingdom. In the parable of the

Two Sons, Mat. 21:28-31 , jesus

points

out

that God's mercy is

extended to repentant publicans

and prostitutes. In Luke

7:36-50; Luke 14 and Matthew

22:1-10, jesus parables teach us

that God honors those who have

no title to His favor. In the

parables

of

Luke 18:10f; Mat.

18

:12f; Lk. 15:8 and Lk.

to

be

forgiving, Mat. 18:23f, and

merciful with the undeserving,

Mat. 5:

7. They are to love their

neighbors, Lk. 10:30f. As far as

their relation to the world is

concerned, they are to be salt,

light, and like a city on a hill,

which cannot be overthrown

or

hidden, Mat. 5:14. In other

words, they are to be

impregnable and visible to

preserve the world from

corruption. And they are

to

be

so

by

establishing their entire

life, thought and endeavors

by writing: First, they (the

parables) illuminate the Good

News with which jesus began

His ministry, telling how the

kingdom of God comes and

grows. Next, they speak to us of

the sovereign grace of the Father

who brings the kingdom. Third,

they suggest some of the

qualities that jesus looked for in

the men of the kingdom. And,

last of all, they take us some way

into the meaning of that

supreme crisis in which He who

embodied

in

His own person

15:

11,

Jesus reaffirms the

fundamental principle

that

God

deals with ,

undeserving sinners in

sheer grace. God freely

forgives the person who

has

no

claim on His

When people expel'ience the power

of the kingdom of Christ, they are

never the same again. They become

disciples of Jesus, for where Jesus

is,

there the kingdom is.

God's saving sovereignty

went to His death,

believing that by it the

New Covenant would be

established and the

kingdom opened to all

believers.

What happened is

forgiveness.

3. THE PEOPLE OF THE

KINGDOM

When people experience the

power

of

the kingdom

of

Christ,

they are never

the

same again.

They become diSciples of Jesus,

for where Jesus is, there the

kingdom.is.

AndJesusmakes

great claims on those who aR

members of His kingdom by

grace. They are to serve Him

selflessly and totally, Mat.

13:44f; Lk. 14:28f; Lk. l7:7f.

Furthermore, His diSciples are to

exhibit prudence, shrewdness

and

saVvy.

He wants

kingdom-memberswho show as

much practical sense in God's

business as the unbelievers do in

theirs, Lk. 16:1-8.

Kingdom-members are to trust

totally

in

God, Mat. 7 :9f, for

their every need, Lk. 11 :5f;

18:2f. Like their king, they ate

upon Christ and His Word, Mat.

7:24f; Lk. 6:47f. f we obey

jesus, our King, we will weather

any storm; if

we neglect His

words, we coun disaster.

4 . THE CRISIS OF THE

KINGDOM

The parables of]esus

put

people in a crisis situation. They

confront people with the

. necessity to decide for or against

Christ

and

His kingdom.

Consider the urgent appeal of

Luke 19:42; 12:54f; 11:34f;

7:31; 12:16f; 14:34f; 11:3;

12:42; Mat. 25:14f; Lk. 19:12f.

A

common

appeal

of

the

parables is unless you repent,

God's judgment must fall on

you, Lk. 13:6f; 12:57f; 16:19f.

Conclusion

A.M. Hunter summarizes

these teachings of the kingdom

8 THE COUNSEL

of

Chalcedon November,

1996

history. The day of

reckoning came and the

judgment of God, against which

Jesus

had

warned them, fell

upon the jewish temple and

people. But

iflhe

Old Israel fell

from grace, the New Israel was

born.

By

Christ's death and

resurrection, the kingdom of

God 'came with power; Mk. 9:1;

Rom. 1:4, the Holy Spirit

descended on Jesus' waiting

followers, and the new people of

God, which is the Church of

Christ, went forth from the

Upper Room, 'conquering and to

conquer.'

The

Christian Sabbath .

I. The Governing Principles o

Jesus ot Sabbath-keeping

Mark 2:23-28) Works

o

Necessity May e Done

On

the Sabbath

See I Samuel 21:1; Deut.

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23:25; Exod.

34

:21; Lev. 24:5-9.

And remember that in

interpreting and applying God's

law, all the details must be

considered in the light of the

purpose of God's law, i.e., to

guard, promote

and

enhance

life, not to squelch life, Deut.

30: 15f; Rom . 7:10.

Sunday not Saturday into the

day of joy. --- How could His

disciples ever again celebrate the

sorrowful horrors of the last old,

joyless, Saturday Sabbath? How

could they ever cease celebrating

the joy and gladness of that first

new Sunday Sabbath? - F.N.

Lee, THE COVENANTAL

SABBATH.

Since Divine example is as

valid and instructive a gUide to

duty as express Divine

command, we keep the

r ====== ======= ===i l Sabbath on the first day of

1J .ln interpreting and the week for the same

God's law may never be

disregarded,

but

neither may

God's law be so interpreted that

it becomes a deterrent to life,

making it inIpossible for

people to meet their basic

physical and spiritual

the Sabbath. They were carrying

out divinely-given orders. But

according to rabbinical

traditions, they were breaking

the sabbath. Here Jesus is

accusing the Pharisees of putting

th

eir own standards above those

of God. That is where

self-righteousness always takes

us: we

think we are better

or

know more than God, Col.

2:16f.

Works pertaining to worship

needs. The first table of

the law is not to

be

so

interpreted that we break

the second table. This

applying (jod s law, all the reason Adam kept the

details must be considered in Sabbath on the seventh

day of the week: THE

the light of the purpose of

. ..

DIVINE

EXAMPLE OF

(jod s law, i.e., to guard, JESUS CHRIST. Hebrews

rror of Pharisaism has its

roots in a concern for

external conformity to the

neglect of internal

.promote and enhance life

J

4 tells us that there

remains a

conformit

y.

Mark

3:1-6)

Works o

Mercy May Be Done

On

the Sabbath

The law of God must never

be

interpreted in

such

a way that

it forbids showing compassion.

It is always right to do good,

even on the Sabbath. A lack of

love and absence of compassion

are often veiled

by

strict doctrine

and external detail. Law without

love is ugly; it crucified Christ.

Love is the summary, Mt.

11

,

and the fulfillment, Rom.

13

,

of

the

la

w.

Matthew

12:1-8)

Works

o

Worship May

Be

Done

On

the Sabbath

Jesus is being mildly sarcastic

in Matthew 12: 1-8---the J..evites,

in preparing for worship at the

Tabernacle, were NOT breaking

and in preparation for worship

may be performed, especially

those which cannot

be

done

on

any other day. Therefore, tie up

all loose ends on Saturday, so

Sunday will be as free as

possible to be given over to

REST AND WORSHIP.

II. Tile

Day Changed and The

Sabbath

Preserved

The key to the change of

Sabbath days, from Saturday to

Sunday, from the seventh day of

the week

to

the first, is the

physical resurrection of the Lord

Jesus Christ. It is important to

note that Christ did not rise on

the Saturday Sabbath, turning

that day into one of joy, but

deliberately passed it by in

death,

and

fulfilled the prophecy

to rise on the third day by rising

on Sunday, the day after the

Saturday Sabbath, thus turning

Sabbath-keeping,

(SABBATISMOS) for Chlistians

to celebrate the rest for sin we

have through faith in Christ.

The word for rest or

Sabbath-keeping in verse 9 is a

different

word than

the

other

words for rest in Hebrews 4.

SABBATISMOS is the Old

Testament word for keeping a

weekly Sabbath holy. In

Hebrews 4:10,

we

are

told

the

day of the week Christians are to

keep as a Sabbath---on the day

that Jesus rested from His

redemptive labors, i.e. on the

first day of the week when He

arose from the dead,

just

as God

rested from His creative labors

on the seventh day.

TO

BE

CONTINUED)

IT

hese

four groupings are taken from

A.M.

Hunt

er's book,

INTERPRETING

THE PARABLES,

(Philadelphia, The

Westminster

Pr

ess , 1960).

November, 996 THE COUNSEL of Chalcedon 9