Purpose of Parables: P of Sower

Question 1

parables/general:

Answer 1

Parables are found in all 3 of the synoptic gospels on many occasions, highlighting their importance. They are a comparison or an analogy, almost like a message hidden in a story. Parables seem to be very important to Jesus, as much as his open preaching and miracles. In this essay I will explain the purpose of parables, using The Parable Of The Sower as an example.

Question 2

Purpose of parables:

Answer 2

• In Greek, ‘parable’ means ‘to put something alongside something else’.
• Jesus used them as a comparison, with a variable purpose within the synoptic tradition.
• Parables are used when issues arise, and in order to address the problem and help people to know what is the right thing to do and challenge them upon this.
• Some say that the purpose of Jesus teaching in parables as so that they were easy to remember and stood out, due to the characters being bold and the symbolism rich in meaning, illustrating profound, divine truths.
• C H Dodd in his book ‘The parables of The Kingdom’, argues that the main purpose if parables was to teach about the arrival of the kingdom. He believes that Jesus used parables as a way of describing the Kingdom of God in a way in which people can interpret in their own ways, and give invitations onto new territory by offering an opportunity to reimagine the world as we know and experience. The parables not only paint a picture of what life might be like when God’s way of doing things are taken seriously, they also invite hearers to commit themselves unconditionally to living this way.

Question 3

Parable of Sower: Can be used to show why Jesus taught with parables:

Answer 3

• Most people during the time were from the countryside/small towns and were surrounded by the sounds and sights of farming, seeing seeds sown, grown and ripening all the time. So, when Jesus taught in parables he nearly always used picture language from farming to help his listeners understand what he was saying. In this parable, Jesus message was all about the Kingdom Of God.
  This can be referred to as the ‘Sitz in Leben’ – the life situation of the various parables.
• Scholars invested much energy into trying to undercover the life situation to make it easier for modern day Christians to understand so their immediate meaning would be easier to grasp.
• In this parable the message is hidden within the parable. The message is that all are welcome to the word of God, but only those who open their hearts and mind fully will receive the message. Those like the seed that is burnt or strangled lose sight of the message due to other worldly problems in their life that get in the way.
• Jesus taught in an allegorical style in this parable to make a particular point and for the listeners to learn what the Kingdom of God is like and this then allows the parables to be open to one owns interpretation.

Question 4

As well as parables being there to reveal the truth about the Kingdom of God, they are also told so that only those who truly care will understand the true meaning:

Answer 4

• As the parable has a hidden meaning, it calls for people to explore the meaning and deliberately creates space for different possible responses.
• However, people could listen and hear parables and hear nothing but entertaining stories. But for those committed to the search for spiritual meaning and with a genuine hunger for god, the very same stories could open up new spaces in which to explore the implications of his message and to reflect on the nature of the Kingdom, which Jesus had come to announce. ‘He who has ears to let them hear’.
• Here Jesus is saying some people are ‘tuned in’ to the kingdom and will understand the parables (even if they have to have them explained to them), but others are so stubborn hat not even parables will help them.
  Even the disciples didn’t understand the parables, but they asked what Jesus meant after the crowds left. This shows their hearts were open to the message – “While seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.”

Question 5

Conclusion:

Answer 5

In conclusion, the purpose of parables was to make them easily remembered, with bold charters and symbolism rich in meaning.

Jesus used allegorical meanings, using common things that people would have been able to understand, for example, sowing seeds in the parable of the sower.

C.H. Dodd says that the purpose of the parables was that it was a way for Jesus to describe the Kingdom of God, but only to those who were open to the message.

Those who had continually rejected Jesus’ message were left in the spiritual blindness to wonder as to his meaning and he made a clear distinction between those who had been given “ears to hear” and those who persisted in not opening their ears.
The parables are open to interpretation, and can be said to be a blessing to those with willing ears, having a positive effect, but not to those will dull hearts and ears that are slow to here.