Introduction To The Spoken
And Lived-Out
Parables Of Jesus
By Jonathan Mitchell
Our English word "parable" is a transliteration of the Greek, parabole, and is a loan word from Greek that now has a long history in the English language. It has often been thought of as being a story that makes some point. Many of Jesus' parables were stories, but the Greek term has a wider usage. The literal meaning of the Greek word meant
"something cast down at the side for comparison or illustration."
When Alexandrian Jews translated their Hebrew Scriptures into Greek (for what became known as the Septuagint, or, the LXX, in the 3rd century BC), parabole was used for the Hebrew masal, which referred to a variety of figures of speech: riddle; proverb; ethical maxim; by-word; allegory; fable; enigmatic saying that is meant to stimulate intense thinking. In Mat. 13:34, we read:
"Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds, and apart from parables He was, and continued, speaking nothing to them."
A parallel saying is found in Mk. 4:
33. So by means of many parables (illustrative comparisons) of this kind He continued speaking the message (Word; Logos) to them (or: kept on conveying a flow of the information for them and progressively declared the Blueprint and Idea among them) - according as they continued able to continue hearing (or: continued having power to be repeatedly listening).
34. Now apart from a parable (illustrative comparison) He was not normally (in the habit of) speaking to, or among, them. Yet privately and in accord to a person's own [ability] He was routinely loosening all things upon (or: habitually releasing all for; so: explaining and interpreting everything to) His own disciples (students; learners; apprentices).
Taking into consideration the broad range of use for this term, "parable," together with what the Gospel writers have said about how Jesus communicated His teachings to the crowds, our investigation will look for "parables" in other literary devices that Jesus used, as well as for how the Gospel writers used Jesus' actions to create lived-out parables which they included in their texts. This work will follow the sequence of the Gospel of Matthew, but will insert various parables, from the other Gospels, which Matthew does not include. Where we deemed appropriate, we have inserted a number of Logions from The Gospel of Thomas, as either added witnesses to the canonical Gospels, or, as added insights thereto. Thomas' list of Jesus' sayings is considered by some scholars to be earlier than the commonly accepted Gospels.
If you can receive it, Jesus Himself is the central parable that flows throughout the Gospels. In His final "inaction" at His trial and on the cross, we see His "illustration" of how
"the old things passed away" (2 Cor. 5:17) and all things were made new (Rev. 21:5).
It followed, then and now, that WE are letters, and our lives are also parables,
"progressively being experientially known and continuously read (or: periodically recognized and experienced again) by all people (human beings)... and continue being those continuously set in clear light and progressively manifested: Christ's letter (a letter whose source is Christ, and which is Christ), being one dispensed in attending service by us, being one having been written (inscribed; imprinted; engraved), not in black (= not with ink), but rather, by (or: in; with) God's Spirit: One continuously living (or: in a Breath-effect which has its origin in God, Who is constantly living); not in stone tablets (or: on tablets composed of stone), but rather within tablets which are hearts made of flesh (or: on tablets in hearts composed of flesh)" (2 Cor. 3:2b-3).
The Gospels, as a genre of literature, can also be discerned as versions of The Story, cast alongside the history of humanity, presenting us with a picture of, and the spirit of, God's Love, while revealing to us a True image of God, and the Heart of our Father. Each Gospel is a parable of the Good News.
PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS
William Barclay has said that a parable puts thoughts in pictures, puts truth in the form of a story to make it "concrete," begins with what is understood then leads to what is not yet understood, and then it compels a person to discover in and for himself the truth that it presents.
A parable can both reveal and conceal - depending upon the internal condition of the hearer/reader. We will see that both happened, with different people. In this book, we will examine the spoken parables of Jesus, and also investigate the message that is presented in His "lived-out" parables, i.e., the actions that He took during His ministry, as presented in the NT Gospels.
In our four, canonical Gospels, we have Mark, who opens with a pregnant statement:
"A beginning of the good news, which is Jesus Christ, God's Son (or: [The] beginning of the message of goodness, ease and well-being which pertains to Jesus Christ - Son of God; or: A starting point from the evangel of [the] Anointed Jesus [= Messiah Yahshua], a son from, and which is, God)."
You see, Jesus is the Gospel; His life was a parable of Good News. Later, John will open his Gospel with the story of the Incarnation of the Logos, which is God made flesh, in Jesus. Neither of these two works deemed it necessary to present a nativity story of Jesus. But both Matthew and Luke give us genealogies, with Luke giving a more detailed birth narrative, while Matthew adds further details on Jesus' early boyhood and the Family's flight to Egypt to escape the wrath of Herod. This latter story we see echoed in vision form, in chapter 12 of the book of Revelation.
Now in Matthew, Jesus' genealogy begins with the "father" of Israel, Abraham, and traces His line down through Israel's history by this parable of a typological People through which the Messiah would be produced. In contrast, Luke takes up His genealogy by beginning with Jesus and tracing His line of descent all the way back to Adam, who, in Lu. 3:38, he lists as:
"Adam, [son] of God (or: belonging to, or from, God; or: whose source is God; [note: the genitive case throughout this genealogy indicates a continuity, from God, through Adam, and on through the rest of humanity, presented in reverse order])."Thus, Luke offers a parable of humanity from what Paul would refer to as
"the first Adam,"
and connecting this one to
"the Last (eschatos) Adam" (Christ - 1 Cor. 15:45).
Paul takes up these two stories as a contrast between the First, who
"came for existence (or: was birthed) into [being] a living soul,"
and the Last, as
"a continuously life-making (life-producing; life-creating; life-forming) Spirit (or: Breath-effect)."
Then he contrast them as,
"The first human (person; humanity) [was/is] forth from out of the earth (Land; ground; soil), made of moist soil and dust (or: having the quality and character of moist dirt that can be poured or mounded; soilish); the Second Human (Person; Humanity; [other MSS add: {is} the Lord]) [is made] out of heaven (or: [is] from atmosphere and sky; [p46 reads: {is} spiritual])." (1 Cor. 15:45-47)
Paul explains his parable in this way, in this same passage,
"And correspondingly as we bear and wear the image (likeness; form) of the mounded, dusty person, [p46 adds: doubtless] we can and should [B reads: will continue to] also bear and wear the image (likeness; form) of the Added, Imposed, Heavenly One (or: belonging to the One having the quality and character of the finished, perfected atmosphere; or: from the fully-heaven [sphere]; of the added-sky person)" (vs. 49).
Remember, parables come in many forms, each being "cast alongside" to reveal Truth to us.
We also suggest that, in the canonization of the NT books and letters, we can see a story presented in their arrangement, which is a story from the First to the Last, a story of the Alpha, on through His body, to the Omega (Rev. 22:13; cf Rom. 11:36).
We now begin by looking at passages in Matthew which will give us some keys for understanding the spoken parables. The studies which follow will lead us through overviews of Jesus' teachings and actions as presented in Matthew's Gospel, and then we will endeavor to perceive the central Message that Jesus brought to 1st century AD Palestine. The Greek Word Paroble literally means
"something cast alongside."
It signifies the setting of one thing beside another to form a comparison or illustration, in order to make a point. It need not be extensive, or complex, and does not need to be verbally designated as being "a parable." Consider the call of Peter and Andrew, in Mat. 4:19,
"Come here, back behind (or: after) Me! I will also make you men fishers of humans (of people; of mankind)!"
He took their present occupation and turned it into a parable for what they would do in the Kingdom. They would use metaphorical nets to capture folks for Christ's work (cf 13:47-52, below). When the Pharisees complained about Jesus eating with tax collectors and outcasts (sinners), Jesus responded with a simple parable:
"The strong and healthy folks are not normally having a need of a healer (a physician), but to the contrary those having it badly (= the sick; the ill) constantly do" (Mat. 9:12).
Later, in this same chapter, He gave two other short parables in the form of aphorisms:
17. "Neither are people normally draining fresh, recently made, new wine into old skin-bags (bottles), otherwise the skin-bags are constantly bursting (being torn open), and then the wine is constantly being spilled out and the skin-bags continue being destroyed (ruined). To the contrary, people normally drain fresh, just-made, new wine into skin-bags having a new character and quality - and both continue being preserved."
In fact, we read in Mat. 13:34 that,
"apart from parables He was, and continued, speaking nothing to them."
Mk. 4:34 says the same thing. This should alert us to become more aware of the presence of parables in His words. All the "I AM" statements in the Gospel of John were short parables. They compared things from this life and this creation to what He is to us, and for us.
Consider Jesus' final acts: being beaten, then crucified; a prayer,
"O Father, let it flow away in them (or: send it away for them; forgive them), for they have not seen, so they do not know or perceive, what they are now doing,"
and the short parable spoken to one of the criminals,
"Today (This very day) you will continue being (or: keep on existing) with Me... within the midst of (or: centered in; in the sphere of; in union with) Paradise (= in the Garden [note: used in the LXX for the Garden of Eden in Gen. 2:8]),"
and then,
"'O Father... into Your hands I am now setting aside My spirit (or: I proceed committing and depositing My Breath-effect and life-force)!' [Ps. 31:5]
Now upon saying this, He out-spirited (or: breathed out; expired)" (Lu. 23:34, 43, 46). Then it was His death, His burial, His resurrection, His times of appearing to them, and then His ascension.
Robert Farrar Capon makes a profound observation:"... it is precisely departure that lies at the root of Jesus' parabolic last act"
(Kingdom, Grace, Judgment, Paradox, Outrage and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus, William B. Eerdmans Pub. 2002 p 29).
He first departed into the hands of the Judean authorities, and from there, into the grave. Then He disappeared following His resurrection. But then He came in multiple appearances to them, and then He disappeared in His ascension. All these acts were parables of the Kingdom and of the transition from the old covenant and into the new covenant/creation. And, later, Paul observed that we no longer know Christ, or anyone, after the flesh (2 Cor. 5:16). Paul saw all this as indicating that:
"One Person (or: Man) died over [the situation of] all people (or: for the sake of all humans); consequently all people died (or: accordingly, then, all humans died). And further, He died over all people (over [the situation] of, and for the sake of all humans) to the end that those living can (or: may; could; would) no longer live for themselves (to themselves; in themselves; by themselves), but rather for (or: in; by; to; with) the One dying and then being awakened and raised up over them (over their [situation]; for their sakes)" (2 Cor. 5:14b-15).
What a lived-out parable! Perhaps, in considering Jesus to be our Pattern, whom we are called to follow, we should consider our
"departure" the capstone event of our own life. Capon makes another seminal conclusion: "It will be in seeing Him, as He is, that it will finally dawn on us what, in Him, we have always been" (ibid p 41; upper case, mine; italics original).
This reminds us of what Jesus said to Philip,
"The person having discerned and seen Me has seen, and now perceives, the Father!" (Jn. 14:9).
Jesus, Himself, was a parable for His followers. And likewise, here in this life, we can see Him and know what we always have been: His brothers; sons of the same Father - even while being "dead" and in a country far away from the Father's house (Lu. 15:25, the Parable of the Prodigal Son). Even then, the son knew who he was, and who His father was. What Jesus said about Himself, and how He lived, is THE great parable that we see in all of the Gospels. Consider His words, in Jn. 5, to the Judean leaders who felt that He was making Himself equal to God:
20. "You see, the Father likes the Son (or: continuously has affection for and expresses friendship to the Son) and habitually points out (constantly shows; progressively exhibits) to Him (or: in Him; or: by Him) everything (or: all things) which He is constantly doing, and He will continue exhibiting in Him greater works than these (or: He will point out to Him greater acts than these), to the end that you folks may be constantly amazed (filled with astonishment and wonder).
21. "For, just as the Father is habitually (repeatedly; constantly; presently) raising up the dead folks, and is repeatedly (continually; presently) making [them] alive, thus also, the Son is habitually (constantly; presently) making alive which ones He is presently intending (willing; purposing).
22. "So it follows that, neither is the Father presently (progressively; constantly) separating and making a decision about (evaluating; judging) anyone, but rather, He has given all sifting and decision-making in the Son (or: has granted all judging by the Son; has handed over all evaluating of issues to the Son),
23. "to the end that everyone (or: all humans) may and can continuously be honoring the Son (or: would habitually value, and constantly find worth in, the Son), correspondingly as they are (or: may be) continually honoring the Father. The one not habitually honoring (valuing; finding worth in) the Son is not habitually honoring (valuing; finding worth in) the Father - the One sending Him.
24. "Most certainly (Amen, amen), I continue saying to you folks, that the person habitually listening to, repeatedly hearing and normally paying attention to My Word (or: My message; the communication of the information, thought and idea from Me; the Blueprint and laid out concept {Logos}, which is Me), and continuously trusting by (or: progressively believing in; habitually being loyal to; faithing-it with) the One sending Me, presently continues holding (is progressively possessing; is continuously having) eonian life (life having the quality of the Age [of the Messiah]; age-lasting and eon-enduring life; life having its source in the Age), and is not repeatedly coming into a separating or a deciding (an evaluating; a judging), but rather, he has proceeded (has changed his place of residence; has changed his walk; has stepped over to another place) forth from out of the midst of 'the Death,' into 'the Life,' and now exists in the midst of 'the Life.'
25. "Count on it (Amen, amen), I am presently continuing to say to you folks that an hour is progressively (or: presently in process of) coming, and even now exists (or: = is now here), when the dead folks WILL be repeatedly hearing the voice of God's Son (or: the Voice from, and which is, the Son of God; or: the voice of the Son, Who is God), and the ones hearing WILL proceed to be living!
26. "You see, just as the Father continuously holds (or: constantly has) Life within Himself, thus also, He gives in the Son (or: to the Son) to be continuously holding (or: constantly having; progressively possessing) Life within Himself, Cf 1 Cor. 15:45b
27. "And He gives in Him (or: to Him; for Him) authority (or: the right; the privilege; or: out of [His] essence and Being) to be habitually separating and deciding (to be constantly sifting and evaluating; to continuously be judging [issues]), because He is a son humanity (= because He is human - a member of the human race [= Adam's Son]; or: = because He exists being [the] eschatological Messiah).
28. "Don't you folks be constantly amazed at this, because an hour is progressively (or: presently; or: repeatedly) coming within which all the people within the memorial tombs (or: graves) - will be continuously or repeatedly hearing His voice (or: the Voice from, and the Sound which is, Him).
29. "and they will proceed journeying out: the ones doing virtue (producing, making or constructing good) into a resurrection which is Life (or: of, from, and with the quality of, Life); the ones practicing careless (base, worthless, cheap, slight, paltry, inefficient, thoughtless, common or mean) things into a resurrection of separating and evaluation for a deciding (or: a resurrection which is a judging).
30. "I, Myself, am continually unable (or: As for Me, I habitually have no power or ability) to be doing anything from Myself: correspondingly as I am continuously hearing, I am habitually sifting, separating, evaluating and deciding (or: judging), and My deciding (separating and evaluating; judging) is right and just (continues being in accord with the Way pointed out and is turned in the right direction of fairness, equity, justice and right relationship), because I am not seeking My own will (intent; purpose), but rather the purpose (intent; will) of the One sending Me....
36. "Yet I, Myself, constantly hold (or: am continuously having) the Witness (or: the evidence) [that is] greater and more important than [that] from John (or: the greater testimony compared to the one that John gives), for the works (or: actions; deeds) which the Father has given in Me (to Me; for Me; by Me) - to the end that I may bring them to the goal (finish, mature and perfect them to their destined purpose) - the works themselves (or: these same actions) which I am continuously doing (performing; producing) continuously bear witness (testify; make claim; give evidence) about Me, that the Father has sent Me forth with a commission (as a Representative, or Emissary).
37. "Also, the One sending Me, that Father, has borne witness (has testified) about Me. You folks have neither heard His voice at any time, nor have you seen (or: perceived) His external appearance (shape; figure of what is seen; = what He looks like),
40. "And yet you people continue not willing (or: presently refuse and habitually do not intend) to come toward (or: to; face to face with) Me, so that you may presently be having Life (or: would continuously take hold of and possess [this] life).
41. "I have no habit of receiving glory from humans (or: I am not continuing to take a reputation at the side of people, nor do I normally get opinions from [them]),
42. "but rather, I have come to know you folks by personal experience, that you people do not continuously hold (or: do not presently have) God's love (or: the urge toward reunion from, and which is, God; or: love and acceptance from, and pertaining to, God) within yourselves.
43. "Now I, Myself, have come within my Father's Name, and you folks are not proceeding to receive Me; if another one may come within his own name, you will proceed to receive that one.
44. "How are you folks, yourselves, able to trust or believe, when habitually getting a reputation and receiving fame (or: repeatedly taking opinions and glory) from one another, and yet you folks are not constantly seeking the glory (or: the reputation, opinion or manifestation which calls forth praise; or: the assumed appearance) which comes from the only God (or: from God alone)?"
So how is this long quote from Jn. 5 a parable for us? Well, first of all, it lays out for us the characteristics of His ministry, and the relationship that He had with His Father, so that we can perceive and understand. In Jn. 14:12, He told His disciples,
"the person habitually trusting and progressively believing into Me, the works (actions; deeds) which I Myself am constantly doing (habitually performing; progressively making, constructing, creating, forming) that person also will proceed doing (performing; making; creating; producing)."
If we are called to do these works, we need to understand how He operated - in union with His Father. Through this, we can understand how to follow Him on the Path pointed out to us. He is our Pattern; His Words and His Life are a blueprint (Logos) for His body (cf Eph. 4:13, 15). Take note of vs. 42, and the importance of continuously holding and having
"God's love (or: the urge toward reunion from, and which is, God; or: love and acceptance from, and pertaining to, God) within ourselves."His words and instruction within this passage of John is just as important as any other parable (thing laid alongside for consideration or comparison) which may be more easily recognizable as such, because of being thus designated. With this perspective in mind, we should look at His life, in the Gospels, in order to see just how He is
"the Way (or: Path), the Truth (the Reality) and the Life" (Jn. 14:6).
In Ps. 119:142 the poet stated,
"Your Law [is] Truth (or: The principle from You [is] Reality)" (Ps. 118:142, LXX, JM).
Jesus is the New Law, the New Reality of the New Creation. In this context, let us ponder what we find in Ps. 119 (118, LXX):
137. You are (continuously exist being) upright and just, in accord with the Way pointed out, O LORD [Yahweh], and Your acts of evaluating and the ways of deciding that pertain to You (the performances of judging which are You) are upright, straight, straightforward, direct and are set for goodness, ease and wellbeing.
138. You vehemently implanted a goal: the Way pointed out and Truth (or: exceedingly imparted [the] destiny: rightwised covenant-relationships and reality; strongly gave inner directives: eschatological deliverance and truthfulness) - Your witnesses (or: evidences which are You)! (JM)
Also consider what it means for Him to be
"the Light of this ordered world (or: of the aggregate of humanity; for the System of domination; of the cultural, political, and religious arrangements; from the cosmos; of 'the theater of history' - Walter Wink).
The one habitually and progressively following Me can by no means walk around (= under no circumstances live his or her life) within, or in union with, the Darkness" (Jn. 8:12).
Just what does it mean to "follow Him"? How are we to understand what He meant about being,
"the Door (or: Gate; Entrance),"
and,
"if anyone should enter in through Me he will be constantly kept safe and protected (made whole and returned to his original condition; rescued; delivered; saved), and he will be habitually going in (entering) and going out (exiting), and he will continue finding pasture (something to feed on)" (Jn. 10:9)?
How are we able to,
"not be constantly judging (or: making decisions or evaluations) according to sight (= external appearance), but rather [to] be habitually making just decisions (or: be judging with fair evaluating which accord with the Way pointed out; form rightwised conclusions)" (Jn. 7:24)?
What is
"His Father's House" (Jn. 14:2)?
What did He mean when He said,
"that where I, Myself, am (or: exist) you folks also can continue being (or: would ongoingly exist)" (Jn. 14:3b)?
And then, it is hard to miss seeing Him as The Parable for the domination system:
"Even correspondingly as the Father gave an implanted goal and destiny in Me (imparted the finished purpose within and gave an inward directive to Me), thus and in this manner I continue habitually performing (constantly doing and producing), to the end that the System (the ordered arrangement of the world; the system of control; religious and secular society) can come to know by experience that I am continuously loving, and fully giving Myself to, the Father" (Jn. 14:31).
There is yet a deeper level that can be perceived of Jesus, of His Father, and of the place of His apprentices in them, when we meditate on all that He cast alongside them in His prayer to the Father, in Jn. 17. In all these teachings and communications, He was presenting Himself, and His realm of being, as a living parable for them, and for us, to observe and contemplate. Discussion of these passages can be found in Observations on the Gospel of John, by Jonathan Mitchell, Harper Brown Publishing 2020.
Neither Mark nor John include a birth-through-infancy narrative, but both Matthew and Luke do include stories of Jesus' Incarnation and early life. Why were these included in those two Gospels? The first of the sent-forth folks are not recorded as including His early story in their proclamation of the Good News, and yet some scholars have taken the position that the Incarnation is the foundation of the Good News - as we see in both Matthew and Mark. These two writers were led to include this information for reasons beyond simply providing a historical beginning for Jesus, who became Israel's Messiah. So, let us consider some points of what has been "laid-out" for us.
To be continued...
Jonathan
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