What is a parable?
A parable is one of the Lord Jesus' favourite ways of teaching, and the Gospels give it a great deal of space. But it raises a strange question: why would He wrap divine truth in a story that some of His hearers walked away from without understanding?
The word itself
The name describes the method. Breaking it into its two halves shows what it does:
George DavisonThe word is para-bole. The preposition "para" means alongside of, and "bole" conveys the idea of an illustration. The word means "a placing side by side", it is an illustration with a spiritual meaning running alongside. A parable is useless to anyone who cannot see its application running alongside.
Something familiar is set beside something unseen so that the one pictures the other. That likeness can be carried gently, without a direct accusation:
J Wilson SmithA parable is to the subject what a likeness is to the person; it is a resemblance presented enigmatically, but sufficiently clearly to indicate to the attentive mind that which is signified. It can therefore be used without giving offence, and may convey truth both gently and effectively.
A picture, not a vaguer version of the truth
People sometimes treat a parable as a softer, looser kind of statement — as if a story could not be as exact as a doctrine. Commentators reject that:
Samuel RidoutIt is often thought that a parable is less accurate than an abstract statement. We sometimes hear it said of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, in the 16th of Luke, that it was "only a parable," as though this made it a less accurate description of the eternal and solemn realities which it discloses. We may be sure that when our Lord gave a picture it was a correct representation of the solemn truth.
The pictures are also unforgettable, and we lean on them without noticing. We talk of the stony-ground hearers, the gospel feast, the prodigal son — the story and the truth have fused into one clear mental image.
Why the truth is also hidden
Alongside its clarity, the parable has a deliberate covering. That is not a guess; the Lord said so Himself:
Samuel RidoutIt may seem a contradiction to what we have just said when we add that there was an evident purpose in the parables to conceal the truth presented, so that the ordinary or unexercised hearer would ignore its true character. This, our Lord Himself tells us. He declares that "for those outside everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand" (Mark 4:11-12). The apparent contradiction vanishes when this distinction is noted. "Those that are without," who have blinded their own eyes so that they cannot see, look upon the parable simply as an interesting narrative, but have no exercise as to its application.
This shift in the Lord's method came at a point in His ministry, and it carried a verdict on a nation that had refused Him:
Morrish Bible DictionaryThe Lord said on one occasion that He spoke in parables, so that the multitude should not understand His teaching: they had virtually rejected their Messiah, and were not morally in a condition to be taught. The Lord acted as expositor and explained the meaning privately to His disciples, for it was given unto them to know 'the mysteries of the kingdom.' Matt. 13:11. Some, however, of the Lord's parables were so pointed that they were understood even by His enemies, which doubtless was His intention; they were laid bare as in His presence.
The listener is tested
So a parable sorts its hearers. Only appetite gets past the surface of the story:
Samuel RidoutThe parable, then, especially when given in a more formal way, was a statement of divine truth covered over by the illustration, so that only those who were really hungry for the truth would look within. To such, there would be no difficulty… If they were to apprehend His teaching, they must desire to do so.
Sharpness of mind is not what unlocks it. Like the pillar of fire that lit the way for Israel while leaving the Egyptians in darkness, the same words give light to one hearer and nothing to another — because the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, and to understand we must be taught by God.
Reading a parable well
Not every detail is meant to be pressed. One writer puts the priority plainly: each parable has a truth in it to be brought out, and once that truth is seen, the minor points need not necessarily be considered. But that does not leave interpretation to guesswork, since the Lord worked two of them out in full:
Samuel RidoutIt is sometimes contended that there is no certain standard of interpretation; but several considerations will show us that this is not the case. In the first place, our Lord Himself gives in great detail the explanation of the parable of the sower. Similarly, the parable of the tares is explained. In Mark, He distinctly says that these are samples of how all parables are to be interpreted. "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?"
The explained ones are not a limit but a key — a few were explained, not to stop further investigation, but to open it.
Summary
- Alongside. The word means placing one thing beside another; an everyday picture runs parallel to a spiritual meaning, and the parable is useless to anyone who cannot see that meaning running alongside.
- Clear. The picture is not a looser truth than a doctrinal statement — when the Lord gave a picture, it was a correct representation of the solemn reality.
- Veiled. The same form hides as well as reveals; those outside hear an interesting story and never look within.
- Sorted. A parable tests appetite, not intellect: only those really hungry for the truth look inside, and for them there is no difficulty.
- Keyed. The Lord explained the sower and the tares as samples, so the explained parables guide us in reading all the rest.