Using Parables

 Jesus was the Word. The gospel of John tells us that "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." Jesus came to show us the Father and to communicate the truth in a relevant way for all people to understand. He was the Truth, too. Therefore, He was a master speaker, and we can learn from the ways that Jesus taught. Mark makes it clear for us that Jesus used many parables, and He never spoke without using parables. (Mark 4:33-34) He did this to help the masses of people understand spiritual concepts that were hard to grasp since they were so out of touch with God and His truth. Then, when Jesus was alone with His disciples, He explained everything even more to them, so they could see clearly and explain it to others, too. I believe this gives us a method of sharing God's truth that we should all use when we share with others.

Of course, a parable is a story. It is a story about something with which most of us are familiar. We tell the story so that we can relate the familiar to the spiritual truths others need to understand. When we use parables like this, the story and the truths stick in our minds, so we don't forget and so we can mediate on the meaning until we really comprehend the spiritual truth fully. Just think of all of the sermons we have heard. How many outlines do we remember? Probably, we do not remember very many of them. However, how many stories or illustrations do we remember? Yes, we remember more of them. Then, we go on to tell others those stories when we need to teach them that truth. Once we get the truth, like Jesus's disciples did because of their faith in Jesus, then we can learn more from more in depth teaching. So, we need both parables and teaching for God's Word to be planted in our hearts, so we remember, and we apply it in our lives.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Mark 5-8.