An Introduction to the Parables, Part 1a

It's always been a desire of mine to be able to tell stories. I sometimes embark on storytelling with my children. It does not usually go very well. I'm not very good at telling stories. I wish that I would be better at it. My father-in-law is a master of it. He can tell all kinds of stories, and he can captivate an audience by just explaining some of the things that he's gone through. I'm just not that way. And I marvel at his ability to be able to communicate that way. In fact, it's been a burden of mind to be able to do that because, you know, most people just don't remember from Sunday to Sunday what the Lord has taught them.

I wish that the people the church could remember. In fact, most of you probably couldn't even remember the outline from this past Sunday. Maybe because it was alliterated, you might be able to remember it, but most people just don't remember the points from Sunday. They might remember some stories. They might remember some jokes or some illustrations, But for the most part, people don't remember what they learned on Sunday or Wednesday or whenever it is they were involved in some kind of Bible study.

I recall the series we did in Genesis chapter 1. We spent five weeks on phrase in the beginning, God. That was a long time ago. And you were all afraid that if we went through verse 1 in five weeks, how long would it take us to get through 50 chapters? But there was a poem I shared way back in Genesis chapter 1. because it was to convey something that I was trying to communicate concerning the difference between man and animals. And so I gave to you a poem that my wife and I shared with our children.

One night my wife was reading from a book, and all the children were gathered around, and we read this story, and some of you will remember this. It's entitled, Blackie. Our dog is big and shaggy, his fur is soft and warm. He lies beside us while we play and watches. out for harm. We call him good old blackie because he's black as coal. And though I know God cares for him, our blackie has no soul. For he cannot love Jesus. He cannot learn God's way. And when he dies, he has an end and he will turn to clay.

Isn't that great? That was just the greatest thing. My wife was reading that to the kids, man. And I just thought that's just so true. When animals die, they just go back to the earth turn to clay because animals don't have that image of God in them that would cause them to live forever. And I recall a lady who had come and visited our church and receives the tapes on a regular basis from our church and teaches 50 different cadets at the Air Force Academy on a weekly basis. And it wasn't too long ago that when she was back here visiting our church again, that she said to me, you know, we've certainly enjoyed our study in Genesis.

But, you know, of all the things that we've learned, we've learned more about Blackie than anything else. And all the cadets remember that poem about Blackie. And she could even quote it verbatim. I can't even quote it. But she could quote it. And the point being is that people remember stories. They remember illustrations. They remember, for lack of a better word, jokes about situations. Those things seem to stick in our minds. And as you look through the scriptures, they are full, full of people who, told stories.

In fact, let me give you a story that's very familiar to you, a story that we all know. It goes as follows. There were two men in one city, the one rich and the other poor. The rich man had a great many flocks and herds, but the poor man had nothing except one little you lamb, which he bought and nourished and grew up together with him and his children. It would eat of his bread and drink of his cup and lie in his bosom, and was like, like a daughter to him. Now a traveler came to the rich man and he was unwilling to take from his own flock or his own herd to prepare for the wayfarer who had come to him.

Rather, he took the poor man's U-Land and prepared it for the man who had come to him. Now, that story was told by Nathan the prophet to King David in 2nd Samuel chapter 12. As you recall, King David had committed gross immorality with Bashiba. Along with the immorality, there was hypocrisy, there was deceit, there was murder, there was a cowardly cover-up, and yet no one was willing to confront the king on his sin until one day this lone prophet Nathan came to him and told him a story. He said, David, I got a story I want to tell you.

I want you to listen to what I got to say. And David said, great, what's a story? And so he tells this story, this parable to King David. And when David hears this story, and because David was a shepherd, because he grew up tending the flocks, watching over them, protecting them, caring for them, doing all he could to raise and nourish little lambs. When Nathan told David this story, he was angry. In fact, the text says in verse number five, then David, David's anger burned greatly against the man.

He said to Nathan, as the Lord lives, surely the man who has done. done this deserves to die and he must make restitution for the lamb fourfold because he did this thing and had no compassion Nathan then said that David you're the man you're the man you're the man who had everything you're the man who had more than you could ever dream of and there was one lone man who had one little you lamb one little bride and you took it You took it for yourself because of your covetous heart, because of your rebellious spirit, because of your desire to have more.

You're the man, David. You're the man. Can you imagine the scene? Can you imagine this lone prophet going to the king of Israel? The great king of whom it was said that this king was a man after God's own heart, a king that everybody loved and respected, a king that for all practical purpose, was was was a super king and one prophet had an enough strength to go before him tell him a story a story that would drive home a truth to make the truth so real to him that David would become incensed with anger would would fume with passion saying this man must die he can't do that that is wrong and then for Nathan to say but David you're the man you're the man Nathan went on and say thus says the Lord God of Israel it is I who anointed you king over Israel it is I who delivered you from the hand of Saul I also gave you your master's house and your master's wives into your care and I gave you the house of Israel and Judah and if that had been too little I would have added to you many more things like these Why have you despised the word of the Lord By doing evil in the sight You have struck down Yariah the Hittite with a sword Have taken his wife to be your wife And have killed him with a sword of the sons of Ammon Now therefore the sword shall never depart From your house Because you have despised me and have taken The wife of Yariah the Hittite to be your wife Thus says the Lord, behold I will raise up evil against you from your own household.

I will even take your wives before your eyes and give them to your companion and he shall lie with your wives in the broad daylight. Indeed, you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel and under the sun. Can you imagine that? Nathan says, this is what God's going to do, David. He's going to expose your sin. And your wives will lie with other men. because you took one man only wife and the sword will never depart from your house David it will be there for as long as you live and David said these words David said to Nathan I have sinned against the Lord not youriah not Bashiba not the children of Israel but who the Lord I've transgressed the law of God I have despised my God.

I have blasphemed his name. I have sinned against my God. And that, of course, is the only response. You'll notice that we're talking about Joseph.

Joseph's response to Potiphar's wife was, how could I do this evil and sin against my God? You see, because all sin is against two, God, primarily, others secondarily. And you see, that's why a lot of people. of us sin is because we don't realize that our transgression is against God himself. If more of us understood that, we'd probably sin a lot less. Joseph realized that. Joseph realized that if he sinned, he would do it against God. Not necessarily. Potiphar, his boss. David, David didn't recognize that until he was confronted with the story by Nathan.

And that story drove a truth so deep into his life, so quick, so hard. that God used that story to turn David's life around. As you recall over in Psalm 32, he would say that his couch was drenched with his tears because God's hand was heavy upon his life. David knew that God's hand was upon him. David knew that his life was miserable. He lived a miserable life for nine months during Bathsheba's pregnancy because he knew he had done wrong, but he tried to cover it up. But can't hide from God, can you?

And God confronted him through the prophet Nathan. You're the man. David said, I've sinned against my God. That is how a parable works. Jesus is the master of telling stories. I've come to the conclusion that if I'm going to tell a story, I should tell one that Jesus told. Because he's the master storyteller. And when I read through the scriptures, we're going to see some very unique things about our Lord Jesus Christ and how he conveys truth through parables, how he takes a very simple story that everybody around him would know there in the Agarian culture, they would realize what he was doing and what he was saying, and they would begin to understand what Christ was telling them.

Nathan had a very powerful story, but Jesus himself, decided about halfway into his ministry that his mission would be to tell stories to people. They're called parables in the Bible. And these parables were so penetrating, so unique, it would cause his men to ask this question in Matthew 13, verse number 10. And the disciples came and said to him, why do you speak to them in parables? Why, Lord? Why this method? Why are you doing this? You see, because parables were a very common way of teaching in those days.

And so when Christ began to tell the parables, they would be prompted to ask, Lord, why is it now you're going to start telling parables to people? And we'll talk more about that in a moment. But Jesus had a mission, and part of telling the parables was to pronounce judgment upon a people who would not listen to the truth of Almighty God. Three things we want to cover this week and our next time together. One is an introduction. What are parables? Second one is the instruction asking the question, why did Jesus use parables?

And thirdly, the implication. What is in this study for you and me? Over the next several months, as we embark on our study of the parables, what's going to be here for you and me? And you'll realize that as Christ tells these stories to people, people the truths are so practical are so phenomenal they will transform the way you see your relationship with the living god and with the world point number one the introduction what are parables matthew 13 if you have your bible turn with me to matthew chapter 13 Matthew chapter 13 there are seven parables they're called the kingdom parables we're going to review them or give you an overview of them this evening so you kind of have an idea where we're going over the next several weeks as you look at the church age.

But Matthew 13, verse number one, says, on that day, Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.

We'll stop right there. On that day, what day was that? This was a very busy day in the life of our Lord. I mean, if you go back and you read Matthew chapter 12, you realize that he dealt with the Sabbath question, whether or not he should heal on the Sabbath or not. And he emphasizes the fact that he is the Lord of the Sabbath. And it says in verse number 14 in Matthew chapter 12, but the Pharisees went out and counted together against him as to how they might destroy him. So the religious establishment of the day was looking for a way to destroy the Messiah.

How can we get rid of this one who calls himself the son of God? They went out to talk amongst themselves on how this was going to take place. Verse number 15, but Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there, and many followed him and he healed them all and warned them not to make him known. The religious leaders despised the Messiah. The people at this time were following him in droves. They were into this Messiah figure. They were into this one called Jesus. They wanted to know what it was about, especially because he was healing everybody.

I mean, after all, if you've got physical ailments and this Messiah one is going to take away those physical infirmities to make you well, you'd follow them too, right? And that's where everybody was. And so a whole multitude of people began to follow them. But he said, you know what? Don't tell anybody what just happened to you. Why? Because they get the wrong idea of who I am. They think I'm just this great rabbit's foot guy that if you come up and touch my garment or I look at you in the eyes and touch you that everything's going to be better and people are going to come and follow me for the wrong reason.

So don't make what has happened to you known to other people. Verse number 22, he heals a demon-possessed man who's blind and dumb. I mean, this guy is really in dire straits, man. Not only is he demon-possessed, but he's blind and dumb. And Christ heals him. An amazing, amazing miracle. And it says in verse number 23, in all the multitude were amazed and began to say, this man cannot be the son of David, can he? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this man cast out demons only by Beelzebel, the ruler of the demons.

When the religious establishment said those words, they sealed their fate. It was over for them. They were as good as dead. They were as good as in hell already. And we'll see that as time goes on. They made that statement. They attributed the works of God. to Satan. They said, this man is not the son of God. This man is not the son of David. This man is not the Messiah. This one is not the long-awaited one. This man is of Satan himself. They attributed the works of God to Satan. They refused to believe that Jesus was a Messiah.

All this is happening on the same day of Matthew 13. So Christ pronounces upon them was commonly called the unpartnable sin. The impartable sin. They had blasphemed the Spirit of God. They had spoken against the Son of God. And they have attributed his works to that of Satan, not of the divine. And so he pronounces that upon them. And then it says, in verse number 38, they ask for a sign. We want you to show us a sign. The Pharisees were always in the signs. And Christ, said, I'm not going to give you a sign, except the one of Jonah.

As Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of fish, so let's have a son of man be three days and three nights in the ground. Same sign he gave in John Chippa two. That's always a sign he was going to give them. But he said, you know what? Even the people of Nineveh repented at Jonah. And yet there are someone among you greater than Jonah. And the queen of Sheba, he would go on to say, would travel a long distance to go and hear the words of Solomon. And Solomon was the wisest of all men.

And there is one among you wise than Solomon. That's me, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. And yet they wanted nothing to do with him. It was on that day that Matthew 13 tells us he was sitting by the sea. And great multitudes, verse number two, gathered to him so that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole multitude was standing on the beach.

Now, you must understand, this marks a significant transition in the ministry of Jesus Christ. He's going to teach them from a boat. He's going to teach them no longer in the synagogues. For whatever he went to the synagogues, nothing but hostility came about. You'll see Christ from this point forward in the Gospels, outdoors, by the sea, in villages, streets, hillsides, countryside. At the beginning of his ministry, he was in the synagogue. He was in homes. Toward the middle and the end of his ministry, he goes outside.

Outside, a whole new dimension toward his ministry. There's a noticeable change. And the text says that a whole multitude, a whole. whole multitude was standing on the beach. Can you imagine that? Now listen, I like what Spurgeon said about this. Spurgeon said, we should have less sleeping in congregations if this arrangement still prevailed today. Isn't that good? Everybody stand on the beach and a preacher out on the boat. That's a pretty good idea, huh? You know? And that's what they were. And there it says these words.

And he spoke many things to them in parables. We'll stop right there. He speaks in parables. Let me give you a definition, and then I'll give you a description.

First of all, a definition. A parable is a story that is a comparison. You take a story and throw it alongside something to compare it, something that we all know well, and that is what we commonly call a parable. Before this time, Christ would speak to people in very clear terms. He was very pointed, very aggressive. There was really nothing to really be confused about. He spoke with great clarity. But people refused to listen.

You ever been there? You tell somebody, look, this is the way it is. This is what God's word says. This is what you've got to do. and they say, well, no big deal. I'm not interested. You ever been there? Sure you have. Maybe with your kids, maybe with your neighbor, your friends, someone you're trying to witness to, someone in one of your ministries. You've told them exactly what the word of the Lord says. And they're saying, well, you know, I'm not sure. I want to do that. You know, I hear what you're saying, but, you know, I got some other ideas.

That basically was the people of Israel. Christ came to him and said, this is the way it is. And they said, well, yeah, maybe. And so Christ decides to speak to them in parables. Why? Because a parable left unexplained to the natural man is nothing more than a riddle. A riddle they cannot understand. Now think about it. People today who are unbelievers know the stories that Jesus told. The most famous of all the parables is the parable of the Good Samaritan. And you'll know that people on the outside of the church know about the story of the Good Samaritan to some degree.

They know the story, but they don't know the implications behind the story. What is really going on there? Or how about the prodigal son? A lot of people on the outside of the church know about the story of the prodigal son, but they don't know the truth behind that story. To them, it's nothing but a story or a riddle that can't be understood because the natural mind cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God. But to us who know the Lord, it has been granted for us the opportunity to decipher and to know the truth behind what God is saying.

name. A parable, simply then is an illustration or comparison put alongside of a spiritual truth. If you have a spiritual truth that's hard to understand and you lay it alongside of a physical, earthly story that is easily understood, then you give understanding to a spiritual truth. In other words, a parable is nothing more than an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. That's a parable. In fact, Christ gives a comparison. If you'll notice over in verse number 24, these words, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man.

Verse 31. The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed. Verse 33. The kingdom of heaven is like leaven. Verse 44. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field. Verse 45. The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. Verse 47. And again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet. cast into the sea. He was using comparisons. He was using contrast to teach a lesson. He would take an earthly story, put it beside a spiritual truth, in order that you might fully comprehend the implications for your life.

That's what Jesus did when he told parables. They shine light in dark places in order for us to see who we really are. Simple stories. giving us profound truth about how we are to respond to the word of God. These stories, when understood by the spiritual mind, will transform your way of thinking as you deal with your relationship with the living God, as you deal with the people you come in contact with every day. There will probably be nothing greater in your life that will change your life. as these stories told by Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Let's pray. Thank you.