Understanding Parables

Understanding Parables
By Krisan Marotta
September 5, 2012

As they were going along the road, someone
said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You
go." - Luke 9:57

And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and
the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of
Man has nowhere to lay His head."-
Luke 9:58

Chapter 8:
“The
Parables:
Do You Get
the Point?”

Mistake 1:
“All people are like
me.”

Mistake 2:
“All people are
alike.”

Mistake 3:
“It only matters
what it means to
me.”

Mistake 4:
“It can’t be done.”

f
Parable o
d
the Goo
n
Samarita •victim = Adam

-Augustine •Jerusalem = the heavenly city of peace
•Jericho = the moon, signifies Adam's mortality;

Mistake 4:
•robbers = devil
•beat him = the fall
“It can’t be
•Priest = Old Testament priesthood
•Levite = Old Testament ministry
done.”
•Samaritan = Christ himself
•Bandaged wounds = the restraint of sin
•pouring oil = comfort of good hope
•wine = exhortation to work with a fervent spirit
•his own beast = the flesh of Christ's incarnation
•an inn = the church
•the next day = after the Resurrection
•2 denarii = promise of this life and life to come
•the innkeeper = the Apostle Paul
Found in Fee & Stuart, pg. 124

Allegory Analogy
an extended account an extended account
which describes which describes a
reality through the situation which is LIKE
SYMBOLIC meaning reality in some way
of the elements in specified by the author
the account, and is and is told as a
told to specify that practical illustration of
reality for those who reality
know the symbolism

An old, eccentric millionaire lay in bed dying with his son and
daughter by his side. He told them that his life savings was in a trunk in the
attic.
The son went to the attic, opened the trunk, removed some musty
clothes, and found a handful of gold coins. He returned with the gold coins
and shared them with his sister, explaining that this was the extent of their
inheritance.
His sister said, "That cannot be the inheritance. There is surely
more. Let me take a look." So she went to the attic, opened the trunk,
removed the musty clothes, and found nothing in the trunk.
But she didn't give up.
Carefully, she searched until she found a way to remove the bottom
of the trunk. There she discovered millions of pieces of gold beneath its false
floor. Rejoicing, she took the gold and divided it with her brother.

So it is with Christians who study the Bible such that
they can teach others.

A man was trying to look over a wall in order to see a light on
the horizon.

First he stood on the back of a rabbit, but he could not see the
light.

Then he stood on the back of a snail and he could see the light
perfectly.

Just as the daughter searched diligently,
carefully, and persistently for her inheritance, so
Bible teachers who search the Scriptures diligently,
carefully and persistently will find God's profound
revelation.

• wall - seeming obscurity of Scriptures

• light - truth, revelation

• rabbit - hasty impatience with which
we study the Scriptures

•snail - diligent, persistent studying of
the Scriptures

The crowd asked a young man
where his shirt was made.

He answered, "It just
happened." Everyone in the
crowd laughed.

An old man pointed to a
monkey and said, "It just
happened."

To this, everyone applauded.

· Is the story itself meaningful or not? Do the elements
contribute to the sense of the story? Or are they
"nonsensical"?

· Do elements which don't contribute to the sense of the
story have symbolic meaning in that culture apart from
the story? Does the story make sense without the
symbolic value of the elements?

·

· Is the author expecting his audience to make a judgment
based on the story itself?

· Is it difficult, impossible or easy to substitute reality for
elements in the story and have a meaning that
corresponds to reality?

Analogy or Allegory?
The man who commits adultery is like a little girl who
had a secret that she shared only with one other friend. Her
friend felt very special to the little girl and especially close to
her.
Then one day the little girl told her secret to a third
little girl. The second little girl felt betrayed and said to the
first girl, "I thought I was your best friend. Why did you tell
your secret to someone else?" The first little girl responded,
"I wanted her to be my best friend, too."
The second girl answered and said through tears,
"Then I'm not your best friend anymore. Now I'm nobody's
best friend."

Every four years an elephant and a donkey run a race against
each other. Years ago the two lined up at the starting line, the gun went
off, and around the track they raced.
Out of the stands poured many spectators who chased the
racers. When the spectators caught up with the racers, some climbed
onto the donkey and some climbed onto the elephant. With each new
rider they gained, the elephant and the donkey grew stronger. The
elephant began to pull ahead.
However, one spectator didn't climb on the back of either the
donkey or the elephant, but began running by himself toward the finish
line. When the other spectators saw what was happening, some climbed
off the back of the elephant and climbed onto the back of the lone
spectator. Soon the elephant collapsed from the lightness of his load and
the spectator tripped over him while the donkey crossed the finished line
victoriously.
That is how we got a donkey in the big white house.

The judge sits on his throne and make judgments on
the people. The blindfolded lady standing behind him begins
to scream. The scale she is holding is askew. One side of the
scale is scrapping the floor, while the other nearly touches
the ceiling. The Judge turns and moves the blindfold from
over her eyes to over her mouth. He then pulls the high scale
down with his hand. Continuing to hold the scales roughly
even with his hand, the Judge turns and resumes
pronouncing judgments.

The people of the kingdom came to the king and
cried, "Oh King, you must do something about the flies! We
can't eat, we can't sleep, and we can't work! You must get
rid of the flies!"
The next day all the kingdom gathered in front of the
palace as the King read a decree, "From this day forward,
throughout the kingdom, flies will no longer be called 'flies'.
They will now be called 'firkins.'
Thus the King rid the kingdom of all the flies, but there
sure were a lot of firkins.

We count those blessed
who endured. You have
heard of the endurance of
Job and have seen the
outcome of the Lord's
dealings, that the Lord is full
of compassion and is
merciful. - James 5:11

“You are the salt of the
earth.”
– Matt. 5:13

Understanding Parables

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Understanding Parables