The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
“But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.” (Matthew 13:10-17)
Jesus teaches and preaches in parables. Why? Because they communicate well with his primary audience, the “ lost sheep of the house of Israel.” Either the meaning of a parable is plain for them to see, or the thought process evoked in them by a parable is straightforward.
But parables seem objectionable to those who think they know it all or have it all. They claim that teaching and preaching in parables is quaint to them or obtuse to them. The aren’t “buying” what Jesus is “selling,” so they make an excuse of Jesus’ use of parables, saying in effect, “We can’t understand a word you are saying. Stop speaking in riddles!”
In what ways and how often do Christians speak in religious jargon, “trying” to communicate?
No comments:
Post a Comment