Greetings. This is Pastor David Bass at New Geneva Orthodox Presbyterian Church with a moment of truth where we challenge you to think through an important issue of life and faith. And today I'd like to ask you, why did Jesus speak in parables? We are looking at the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. And it's one of the favorite studies of my life is studying the life of Christ.

If you want to know how we should be perfect men and women, we should follow the one perfect man, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we are doing this in our Wednesday night Bible study. We're taking up a study entitled The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. And we're doing this in home Bible studies. We want to provide a relaxed and comfortable atmosphere in which you can visit us and share the life of Jesus Christ in your life.

We're looking right now in the Bible study at how do we know about Jesus and how do we know Jesus? Those are two very important questions. They're different questions, are they not? But that's one of the areas, for example, that we'll be taking up and looking at the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth.

And you can call me at area code 208-523-0196 to get information on where the nearest home of one of our members is, where you can repair to enjoy some refreshments and relax amongst our people and learn as much as you possibly can about the life of Jesus as we kind of collate and compare the Gospels and take from them a timeline of the life of Jesus and just study things like, why did Jesus speak in parables? And I want to tackle that today. And I'm also reading from one of my favorite resources, and that is Henri Daniel Ropes. He was a Frenchman who wrote a book back in the 40s called Jesus and His Times.

And he just does a beautiful job of giving an overview of the life of Jesus. And at one point, he deals with the parables of Jesus and why Jesus spoke in parables. And I think he's pretty close to being accurate as to why Jesus spoke in parables. Jesus explained it to us, and we're going to be reading the portions of Scripture where Jesus explains himself. But we'll also be reading some of the commentary of Daniel Ropes.

And then you'll have some of my commentary interspersed with it. But it's just a beautiful portion of his book which deals with the parables of Jesus, which was one of Jesus' favorite modes of teaching. And at one point in his ministry, the exclusive mode of his teaching, and we'll explain why he resorted to parables. For example, Jesus opened up his ministry of preaching with the Sermon on the Mount. What a grand and beautiful sermon that is too.

And we'll tackle that in the course of our study too. But this was a beautiful sermon, which was simply put, simply stated and laid out before his disciples. But then when he began teaching on the ground in places like Galilee and Judea, and then later in the city of Jerusalem, he began to speak in parables because he found so much opposition, because he found so many enemies of the gospel present and mocking and scoffing at his teaching. So he began to teach in parables.

And to this, Daniel Ropes mentions that right after the beauty and simplicity of the Sermon on the Mount, he says, and I quote, Jesus abandoned the simple and direct method of teaching. Shortly after the Sermon on the Mount, he began to speak in parables. Why? The problem has been often debated and not entirely satisfactory answered, though, in spite of the multiplicity of works on the subject. Some have maintained that there is in fact no change in Jesus' oratorical style, that in the wider sense, parables are interwoven in the Sermon on the Mount.

And that's true. That's very true parenthetically, I add. As for instance, Daniel Ropes goes on to say in the celebrated passage, ye are the salt of the earth, but if the salt have lost his savor, wherewith shall it be salted? Unquote. Here the faithful are compared with this salt, which if long exposed to sun and there, it is said to lose its efficacy, as we are assured by Pliny the Elder.

Other commentators think that there is a deliberate change in Christ's teaching method. And I would agree with that, too. This is Pastor Bass. Daniel Ropes goes on to say, perhaps he was disturbed by the resistance, which he was already beginning to encounter at the outset of his ministry, and by the intrigues of the Pharisees, so that he decided to cloak his message in veiled terms, and to await his time for plain speaking. St. Matthew seems to explain this mystery, yet the explanation itself is so mysterious that it has led to even more discussion.

The apostles themselves asked the Master why he spoke in parables. Christ says in answer, because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but unto them it is not given. For whosoever hath to him shall be given, but whosoever hath not from him shall be taken away, even that he hath. For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have closed. But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear."

Daniel Ropes goes on to say, these strange words almost shock us, especially when we recall those verses from Isaiah, to which doubtless Jesus was eluding. And then he quotes from Isaiah 6, verses 9 and 10. Hear these words. Go and tell this people, hear ye indeed, but understand not, and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed."

Unquote. Oh, this is Pastor Bass reflecting on this, because indeed, Isaiah, the prophet, if you go back to Isaiah chapter 6, you see that Isaiah's very commission was to harden the hearts of Israel, that no one would be saved, but rather, indeed, they would be set up and established for judgment. So, this is why Isaiah spoke in parables, and why Jesus spoke in parables as well, because God had already determined to judge them, lest they hear with their ears, lest they see with their eyes, and understand in their heart, and convert, and be healed. This is why Jesus spoke in parables.

I go back now to Daniel Rupps in his commentary on the parables. Why did Jesus speak in parables? He goes on to say, "'It is the lest they which is so terrible.'" And Jesus, quoting the prophet, seems to take it to himself. Was he already weary of the faithlessness of the people around him, and abandoning them to their fate?

In large measure, he was. What we should read into these bitter words, which betray the rejection of love, is a judgment of the entire human condition, of the irremediable weakness of our will, and of our devotion. Jesus, who could read all hearts, knew only too well that those who acclaimed him when he worked miracles would abandon him when support was likely to become dangerous. The mystery of the blindness of Israel, of which St. John also speaks, quoting those very words of Isaiah, is no more mysterious than that of the blindness of Christians, whom neither words nor miracles have persuaded during the course of the centuries.

This is very perceptive on Daniel Rob's part. This is Pastor Bass commentating on Daniel Rob's, because he's very perceptive about this in applying this then to Christians and the Christian church over the centuries, because there has been blindness and hardness of heart amongst Christians, so-called Christians, in the Christian church over the centuries as well, even as the Jewish leaders were heart of heart. They were blind in their eyes. They were deaf in their ears, because indeed, if they were not, they would have listened to Jesus. Jesus himself said, you would have obeyed my words.

If you knew the Father, you would obey me. But because they didn't, then, of course, the persistent and consistent rejection of Jesus and his message provoked Jesus to begin to speak in parables, where indeed, his disciples would understand, but those outside would not, because God had already decided to judge them. If he had spoken plainly and clearly, their ears would have been unstopped, their eyes would have been unblinded, and they would have understood with their heart, and have been converted, and have been healed, but God had already decided sovereignly.

This is also part of the terrible and majestic sovereignty of God, as he deals with men, in deciding then to call, and to convert some, and to leave others in their sin. Well, what he goes on to say then, Daniel Rops goes on to say, the mystery of the blindness of Israel, the blindness of Christians, as well, is characterized in this same vein. And so, he says, the things of God are left to the men of God. Yes, the things of God are left to the men of God. The disciples would hear the parables of Jesus, and understand, and be converted, if you will, and they would be built up, and they would be edified in the gospel.

And God had already sovereignly determined to open their ears, to unstop their eyes, and their hearts are converted, and built up in the teachings of Jesus as he teaches in parables. So, we're beginning to see now why it is that Jesus spoke in parables all through his ministry. Jesus said also in a parable, give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine. This is another reason that Jesus spoke in parables. It's kind of a summary of why Jesus spoke in parables, is because unconverted and evil men would do nothing but mock and scoff and treat as refuse the very precious things of the gospel.

And we see this reprised in our own lives. This is a parable that we can take up as well. Have you ever talked to a lost man or woman who is just scoffing and scornful of the things that you have to say? When you talk about the gospel, when you talk about salvation by grace through faith, when you reprise for people, what has been told century after century is that works cannot save, that one's own goodness and one's own righteousness cannot save his soul, because all of our righteousness is as filthy rags, as the prophet Isaiah always says as well. And these kinds of things are counterintuitive to the lost man.

He sees himself as good. He sees himself as having his works stand in the last day for judgment. I had one young man to whom I was sharing the gospel say in disgust and shaking his head as he walked away, all I want is what I deserve. Oh, dear friend, if that's what you are saying in your relationship with God, all I want is what I deserve, then you are hell bound because all of our works are as filthy rags and we will be judged in the last day and thrown to where the fire is never quenched, where there is gnashing of teeth and where the worm never dies, as Jesus described hell.

Well, the reason then Jesus spoke in parables is that he wanted his pearls to be displayed before his disciples. And he wanted that which was holy, not thrown to the dogs to be mocked and scoffed out and trampled underfoot, but rather to the dogs, now to the disciples, yes, who would understand and cherish what is holy. So these are some of the reasons why Jesus spoke in parables. Daniel Rops goes on to say, let those who have ears to hear receive the word.

In this apparent discrimination and, as it were, deferment of the complete revelation, in making it more esoteric, Christ is passing judgment in advance upon that society of human beings, which is later to be called the church, a society which, though largely engaged with the contingencies and harsh realities of this world, nonetheless possesses, invisibly in its essence, and visibly in some of its members, the supreme gifts, which mark the saints. Ah, how beautiful that is. What a great reflection on why Jesus spoke in parables. It is because hidden to the world, oftentimes the world is blind to the supreme gifts of the church, are they not?

The gospel, indeed the oracles of God, indeed the sacraments of baptism in the Lord's Supper, all these precious supreme gifts of which the world sees nothing precious, but which we see as holy and as pearls, if you will, because they are so treasured and valuable to us. They are loved by us because they all communicate Jesus to us, do they not? And Jesus communicated these things to us, in turn, in parables. The precious things of the church, the society of human beings do not see these things, do they? But the church does.

And he goes on to say, Daniel Rupps goes on to say then, there is not much point in examining too closely the definition of a parable. This is good. There is not much point in examining too closely the definition of a parable and in classifying it according to the categories so dear to the Greeks. The term which comes from the Greek, parabolane, the Greek word for parable is parabolane, signifies a comparison as distinguished from an analogy, an allegory, a riddle, or an image. Now this is Pastor Bass.

I just want to step back here a moment because Daniel Rupps is so right on. He is so spot on about the definition of a parable. And this is one of the reasons I like him so much is because he's also a good scholar. He understands the text and he understands things like this, what a parable is in the New Testament and in the Old Testament for that matter, all through Israel. A parable had a broad semantic range.

It's called a wide semantic range. It's a big net that encompasses a great deal. Simply, it just means a comparison. And this is precisely how Jesus taught throughout his ministry, didn't he? The kingdom of heaven is like, how many of his parables begin like that?

And then he will go on to compare the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God to some simple pattern or some simple thing in all of our lives that all of us can understand. So the basic nature of a parable is that of a comparison. Daniel Rupps goes on to say the Hebrew word mashal is vaguer and much more complex. St. John, in fact, uses quite another Greek word, a paroimia, which is a proverb, a simple saying such as, physician, heal thyself. A story with a moral like that of poor Lazarus is in Hebrew a mashal, equally with the celebrated parables of the sower or the prodigal son.

Now this is Pastor Bass just stepping back to reflect on this here for a moment because he is right. He's so spot on. A parable, by having a broad semantic range, can be as simple and as brief as physician, heal thyself. Or a parable can be as layered and long and complex as Lazarus and dives, the parable of Lazarus and the rich man. So he's beginning to see now, again, why Jesus spoke in parables.

He could communicate so much across a broad spectrum of comparisons he could make. Well, Daniel Rupps goes on to say, this adornment of speech, that is the parable, this adornment of speech was very much favored by the Jews. It was to them the most telling form of discourse. Jesus was a master of it, wasn't he? Daniel Rupps goes on to say, it may be added that the Semitic mind, unlike our own, which derives its intellectual processes from the Greeks, set less store upon exactitude and logical progression than we should consider necessary.

Daniel Rupps goes on to say, whatever else they are, the parables are literal masterpieces of literature. I like that. The parables are literal masterpieces of literature. And they have come down to us all through the history of the West, have they not? Even a secular people who may have never cracked the Bible have heard the parables or at least brief synopses of them, parables like that of the prodigal son.

That metaphor has passed into our culture. And everybody knows what a good Samaritan is, right? Someone who helps someone in desperate straits that may not even be deserving of help. People know what a good Samaritan is. Or a prodigal son, too.

Someone who has fallen away. Someone who has fallen into declension and has abandoned that which has been a part of his family, perhaps for generations and goes off on his own and lives a life then of debauchery, even as the prodigal son did. But the point is that the parables of Jesus have passed into our culture as living metaphors, have they not? Well, he goes on to say, he says, whatever else they are, the parables are literal masterpieces of literature. Renan, he says, now Renan was a scholar from the 18th century.

He says, Renan found in them something of the quality of Greek sculpture in which the ideal becomes tangible and lovable. That's so true about the parables. We love the parables of Jesus, do they not? Because they express so much. They express the love of God.

They reveal the truth of God. We find them throughout the gospel narrative. Daniel Robs goes on to say, we find them throughout the gospel narrative until the very last days of Jesus on earth. And some of them, the sower, the grain and the tares, the wise and the foolish virgins, the prodigal son and the good Samaritan, for instance, are so embedded in our memories that they are indissoluble part of the thought of the Western world. Isn't that true?

That is so profoundly true. We are swim in the sea of Western culture. We hear these references to parables almost every day, but when we step back and look and see how the Western world was formed, how it was shaped, its content and its heart and soul, we see that portions of scripture like this, the life of Jesus, his character, his personality coming through to us in the life of the parables is indeed communicated to us so that the parables are an indissoluble part of the thought of the Western world. They're embedded in our memories, in our racial memory, in our cultural memories. Are they not?

Daniel Robs goes on to say, they are all, that is the parables are all characterized by extreme simplicity of expression, by a homely realism, and at the same time by an authentic poetry deriving solely from the genius of the heart. That's a beautiful line. The parables are characterized by extreme simplicity of expression, are they not? We still know today what it means to be prodigal. We still know what a field is and what a seed is and how a seed sprouts and grows.

We know what various soils are like, rocky soils, briar soils. We know what scorching heat of the sun is. We know the simple comparisons Jesus makes between water and the spirit. For example, in the Gospel of John, we know the simple comparison between light and darkness. Jesus uses these transcendent images that every culture has and that every culture understands.

Every culture understands the idea of bread and it being the staff of life or the simplicity of wine as well. On and on we could go. His parables are characterized by extreme simplicity of expression, but it means it's accessible to all. And then by a homely realism, but at the same time, authentic poetry. That's difficult to do, impossible to do.

It takes a genius. And indeed, as Daniel Rops points out, there is in the parables, they derive solely from the genius of the heart. And the genius of the heart from which they derived was the heart of Jesus. The parables indeed are straight from the heart of Jesus. No one spoke parables like Jesus.

No one spoke with the kind of simplicity and homely realism as Jesus did, yet with authentic poetry that communicates directly to the human heart and conscience and soul, does it not? Well, Daniel Rops goes on to say, a certain number of the parables were assembled by the synoptics. The synoptics, of course, being those that share so much of Jesus' teaching in common, that is, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, were the one evident intention of composing a whole, Daniel Rops says. Well, all these relate to the kingdom of heaven.

He's speaking here of the parables of the kingdom of heaven, which in turn Jesus compares with the seed which fell upon good ground. With a well-tilled field where an enemy comes to sow tares by night, with a grain of the mustard seed, which is the least of all seeds. But when it is grown, the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Dear listener, I just want to remind you that we will be taking up, if you love the parables of Jesus, if you love the teaching of Jesus, we are going to be taking up in our study of the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth, these kinds of things. I just want to encourage you to join us.

We are doing this on Wednesday evening Bible study, and we're doing this in the homes of our people. And if you want to join us in one of those homes, call me at area code 208-523-0196, and I can put you in contact with the nearest home of one of our members, where you can go enjoy some refreshments, and just casually and informally, we'll be teaching these things and talking about the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth, and perhaps what Christ has meant to you, too, personally, the life of Jesus has meant to you. Well, let's go on with why did Jesus speak in parables?

And I'm looking at Daniel Rops again, too, in his book, Jesus and in His Times. I'm quoting from it and making my own commentary then on it as well. Well, doubtless there was a particular intention in the order of these parables, Daniel Rops says. Jesus first wished to describe the founding of the kingdom. So many of the parables are on the kingdom of God, aren't they?

Then the seed thrusting forth. The mustard seed and the leaven exemplify its growth, the pearl and the treasure, its supreme importance. The parables of the tares and of the great draft of fish illustrate the necessity and difficulties of choice. The formula may not satisfy the requirements of strict logic, but who can deny that the echoes of these comparisons sound in the most secret places of our hearts? Indeed, they do not.

They do, do they? Do they not? Excuse me? Indeed, the parables and their truths resound in the most secret places of our hearts. For instance, Jesus in the tares and the good seed, he says, Jesus says, the kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field.

But while man slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the house came and said unto him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? From which then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy has done this.

The servant said unto him, Wilt thou that we go and gather them up? Nay, lest ye root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then I will say to the reapers, gather ye together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them. But gather the wheat into my barn.

Unquote. That is the parable. And he goes on to say, Daniel rubs to us, this parable which Matthew retells so admirably is direct and clear. And the Galilean peasants to whom it was addressed would understand it perfectly out of their own experience. The well-tilled field, the good seed in the ground, the tares, so like the young wheat at first, but they can hardly be distinguished until the black and poisonous seeds appear.

The harvest, which the farmer surveys sorrowfully, noticing that it is dirty and full of weeds. Through the simplicity of these homely and familiar scenes can be seen the image of the last judgment, when Almighty God will come to judge men. We recognize, too, its revelation of the mysterious origin of evil. We know from our daily experience that the good grain is never alone, and the adversary is always there ready to sow the seeds of sin. These parables are far removed from the conscious literary artifice, but they are nevertheless inimitable.

None of the rabbis who made use of similar methods and none of the apostles who did not venture to imitate the master in this respect could ever reach this spontaneous perfection. This is Henri Daniel Rops commenting on the parables of Jesus, and I think he's spot on. No one since Jesus can ever reach this spontaneous perfection in teaching in parables. They're far removed from conscious literary artifice, aren't they? They're spontaneous, they're natural, and they're nevertheless inimitable.

Who can teach like Jesus? Who can craft parables like Jesus? We'll be studying these things at New Geneva and our Wednesday night Bible study. We invite you to that Wednesday night Bible study, dear listener. It's on Wednesday night at seven o'clock in the homes of our people, and we want to provide you with a comfortable, relaxed atmosphere in which we can talk about the teaching of Jesus.

We can talk about the life of Jesus, the life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. And we want to do this with some content, some good strong content, but also an opportunity to talk about these things. Wednesday night, seven o'clock. And for the nearest home, you can call me at area code 208-523-0196. Area code 208-523-0196.

New Geneva Meets for Holy Worship on Sunday at 10 a.m. at 1014th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Call us and also come and visit us for worship at 10 o'clock Sunday, 1014th Street on the corner of 4th and Boulevard. Area code 208-523-0196. Thank you. Thank you.