 |
| "Hear Ye Him" by Simon Dewey |
Throughout the gospels we encounter many instances in which Jesus Christ teaches through the use of parables. "The parable conveys to the hearer religious truth exactly in proportion to his faith and intelligence; to the dull and uninspired it is a mere story, “seeing they see not,” while to the instructed and spiritual it reveals the mysteries or secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Thus it is that the parable exhibits the condition of all true knowledge. Only he who seeks finds."(Bible Dictionary) In Mark 4: 11-12, Christ explains to his disciples why he teaches in parables:
11. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
12. That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
Throughout my study of the gospels, I have always enjoyed reading and pondering over the parables that Christ gives. Sometimes I realize the meaning of certain parables quickly, but at other times it takes some time to decipher the meaning. A great human characteristic that I feel the parable draws upon is our ability to remember stories. If I were to ask you to tell me the story of the the tortoise and the hare, you would probably relate a race between the two animals in which the tortoise wins due to his diligence in comparison to the hare. It is the same way with parables. We remember stories quite well, and another reason for our Savior to speak in parables was so that his listeners could remember them and hopefully understand them at a future point.
