The second year of Christ’s ministry found great multitudes following him. Most, however, had no substantial faith. And, to make matters worse, crafty spies sought to entrap him and discredit his accomplishments . . . “He performs miracles by Beelzebub” was the suggestion (Matt. 12:24).
To this comes the Master’s scathing response: “Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven” (V.31). Now he begins to withdraw from the masses, from the evil and adulterous generation which seeks ever-more exciting “signs” (V.39).
Consequently “he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore” (13:2). The physical separation between Christ and them pointed to the gulf between the two in spiritual discernment. And so it is with us: we must watch more carefully and listen more intently, for to some degree we are also separated from the Master.
“And he spake unto them in parables” (V.3). The Greek word “parabola” literally means “a setting side by side”, a comparison—in the case of Christ’s parables—between something natural and something spiritual.
Such teaching by picture, symbol, or figure has several distinct advantages. Being graphic, it is more easily remembered than dry statements of fact. It is also simple, direct, and emphatic—with the aura of everyday life about it. And finally, it is calculated to overcome prejudice, to circumvent that natural wall of resistance, to throw open the locked doors of the heart. “Thou art the man,” was Nathan’s bold accusation; the hypocrite was unmasked and condemned outright by a skillful parable.
Christ was a student of nature, of the people and the sights of rural Galilee. In the hand of this master craftsman, the natural and commonplace became spiritual and profound. The temporal and transient was transformed into the eternal and immovable.
As God was manifest in a man, so that man’s divine teachings were clothed in an earthly dress. He spoke of the simple farm life—the planting and sowing and reaping, the orderly flow of days and seasons and years being the Father’s guarantee of order and security in all His arrangements.
He spoke of the flocks that grazed the hills of His homeland, and the strong, quiet men who protected them; and His listeners began to comprehend the surpassing love of that Great Shepherd for even one lost sheep.
And he spoke of the net and the fishers, the fowls of the air and the lilies of the field. He spoke of weddings, of marketplace transactions, and of lowly household tasks. And always the point was made, that faith and hope and religion itself was the vital substance of one’s daily life, not the brittle form of a Sabbath or a feast day.
Moses built an earthly tabernacle after the pattern of the heavenly (Exod. 25: 40), and we may do likewise! The simple fabric of our ordinary tasks is worthy material for the “tabernacle” of God, if we would only build through faith in Christ.
“Why speakest thou . . . in parables?”‘ “Because it is given unto you to know . . . but to them it is not given” (Matt. 13:10,11). The coming of the “word”, the planting of the “seed”, forever changes us — either for better or for worse. The acceptance of Christ’s teaching cannot leave men where they had been before. “Hearken!” he cried. “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear!” It was the introduction of a king, a summons not to be ignored.
“For whosoever hath, to him shall be given; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even what he hath” (V. 12). The parable—that strange mixture of natural and spiritual, simple and complex—was a test to the hearers. How would they react? Would they joyfully come to the light, or would they turn away for fear of what that light would reveal? Like the pillar of cloud and fire (Exod. 14:20), the same parable may be darkness to the “Egyptian” but light to the “Israelite”. Like the shell or husk, the parable may preserve the precious kernel of truth for the earnest seeker, and protect it from the lazy and proud and careless!
And so they gathered upon the shore —a timeless, boundless, eternal picture: Jesus in the little boat, rocking gently to and fro, speaking softly across the waves.
The raucous crowd, goaded on by the proud and sullen leaders of Israel, questioning, doubting, criticizing, jeering: “Show us a sign!”
And the little band of childlike disciples, huddling as close as possible to their Master, listening in innocent wonder and simplicity.
“And he spake unto them in parables.”
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One