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He taught them many things in parables

Introduction

Published since 04. Sep. 2025
Bible passages:
Mark 4:2
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"He taught them many things in parables."

The parables belong to the teachings of the New Testament just as much as the letters of the apostle Paul or those of the other apostles. Some passages in the New Testament letters can only be properly understood when we let the light of a parable fall on them. Many of God's children struggle with the idea that the apostle Peter, in his second letter, states that false prophets and false teachers have been "bought" by the Lord (ch. 2:1). Well, he does not say "redeemed," but only the parable of the "weeds of the field" provides the actual explanation: the "field," a picture of the world (Matthew 13:38), belongs to the Lord Jesus; it is "His field" (cf. verse 27), He has acquired it for Himself through His work on the cross. Thus, even false Christian teachers have been ransomed; that is, the Lord has all rights to them. However, only those who have been justified by faith in the blood of Christ have a part in redemption (Romans 3:24-25).

Conversely, many parables find a certain addition or their complete explanation in the letters. The Lord Jesus could not yet tell His disciples everything that was in His heart, everything that was in the heart of God, for them (John 16:12). But after the Spirit of Truth had come, He was able to guide the apostles and prophets of the New Testament into all truth and proclaim to them what was to come. Thus, the apostle Paul fills in many "gaps" that the parables inevitably show. When we think of the parables of the Lord's return, they do not yet say anything directly about the rapture of the believers. The Lord Jesus could not yet reveal this great truth at that time. Of course, He knew it, and so it is, for example, in the already mentioned parable of the "weeds of the field" quite included, but it was not yet revealed in the parable. It was only through revelation that this truth was then communicated to the apostle Paul (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17).

When the Lord,  in Matthew 13 in the parable of the "leaven", speaks of a woman who took leaven and hid it in three measures of flour until it had leavened all of it, we only learn the true meaning of this process through the letters of the apostle Paul. He speaks twice of a little leaven leavening the whole lump - or dough. In 1 Corinthians 5, "leaven" refers to evil in conduct, and in Galatians 5, to evil in doctrine, both of which have infiltrated Christendom. Thus, the Lord Jesus, in the parable, prophetically pointed out this development in Christendom.

Thus, many things in the parables require explanation and clarification through the letters, and we do well to keep this connection in mind. The special blessing associated with the study of the parables is, on the one hand, that in them we have before us directly the words of our Savior – words full of grace and truth, words of great depth and significance, words of moral seriousness and divine knowledge. On the other hand, the teachings are presented so vividly through figurative language that we can understand and remember them far better than if they were given to us only in a didactic form. Incidentally, the parables share this effect with the role models of the Old Testament. There is always a deep blessing associated with meditating on the words that came from the lips of the Lord Jesus Himself. Of course, paying attention to what He spoke through His apostles and prophets is equally important. Also, what the Holy Spirit "inspired" them to speak and write is the Word of God. It has the same authority as in all Scripture (2 Timothy 3:16), but these holy men were not always inspired by the Holy Spirit. On the other hand, Christ spoke God's words directly at all times and under all circumstances, without any restriction.

Thus, what Paul said to the faithful ones in Miletus nearly 2,000 years ago is that "the words of the Lord Jesus, who Himself said..." are as true and worthy of consideration today as they were then. Yes, loveliness is poured out on His lips, and His tongue is the pen of a skilled (or practiced) writer (Psalm 45:1-2). It is therefore not surprising that even then, people marveled at the words of grace that came forth from His mouth (Luke 4:22), when even hardened members of the temple guard had to confess, "Never has a man spoken like this Man" (John 7:46). And the believer today is still "delighted with the bridegroom's voice" (John 3:29), for the lips of our Lord are like "lilies, dripping with flowing myrrh" (Song of Solomon 5:13).

What, then, is a parable? What do we understand by it? A parable presents an event or a process from everyday life to which a spiritual meaning is added. Or, to put it another way, a natural, everyday process that could or does take place in daily life serves as an illustration of a spiritual process, a divine truth. In this respect, a parable is fundamentally different from a fable. In these fictional stories, unnatural events are used to convey a lesson or moral; animals or objects speak and behave like people. A parable, on the other hand, is a story with an earthly context that holds a heavenly, spiritual meaning.

As we shall see, the Lord Himself uses the term "parable" quite frequently. The Greek word "parabole" = "parable, simile, type" is derived from a verb meaning "to place or throw beside something," as one would place something beside a measuring rod to measure or compare. A parable is thus a "juxtaposition," a "comparison" of events that show a certain parallelism but belong to different realms: the natural and the spiritual. In this respect, there is a relationship between "models" (such as the sacrifices and the tabernacle) and "parables" that cannot be overlooked. It is just that models are "drawn" with fabrics and actions, while parables are conveyed with words. But both contain parallels and contrasts. "Speaking in parables" is contrasted with 'speaking openly,' as we find it in John 16:29: "His disciples said to Him, 'Now You are speaking plainly, and using no figure of speech!'"

When interpreting parables and their symbols, we must guard against allowing human imagination to support human opinion. No special doctrine can be built upon a parable (or type) alone. The explanation must and always will agree with other plain passages of God's Word that present the same or similar truth. If it does not, we must conclude that our interpretation of the parable is wrong. This prevents us from making arbitrary interpretations.

In other words, a parable or example explains, illustrates, confirms, and deepens a New Testament truth but cannot establish it. The real key to explaining the symbols lies in God's Word itself. Holy Scripture always explains itself. For example, we should not arbitrarily interpret the leaven in the parable of the "leaven" in Matthew 13 as a picture of the gospel, when this symbol is used throughout the Word of God to represent the evil of sin. Many false doctrines have been propagated, and much distress has come upon God's people due to their disregard for these principles. How quickly we can succumb to the temptation to interpret our ideas into one of the Lord's parables to substantiate our opinion on a matter. Parables are just as much a part of the teaching of the New Testament as the letters of the apostle Paul and the other apostles. Therefore, the teaching in a parable will always be in agreement with the teaching of the whole Word of God. That is why we are especially dependent on the guidance of the Holy Spirit when considering the parables. We should always be aware that we know nothing and can do nothing.

As a rule, a parable is based on only one main line of thought, which must be grasped in each case. Even if we must be on guard against an imaginative "spiritualization" of every detail of a parable, we certainly do not err in assuming that the Lord Jesus chose His words carefully and did not present the individual circumstances of a parable in just this way and no other for no reason. When the great Master sketches a painting, be it large or small, we can be sure that every line is in its place and has its meaning.

Since we are honored to hear the Lord Himself interpret two parables in Matthew 13, it is confirmed that this is not mere speculation. He never uses a word or expression without reason or purpose; there is no word too many and none too few. He wants to express something with every word He uses. When He speaks, for example, of the joy of the man who bought the field in verse 44 of our chapter, it is for a reason. We find it in Hebrews 12:2. When He changes the expression in the parable of the "Good Samaritan" in Luke 10 and speaks of "went... went down," but in verse 33 speaks of "was traveling," then there is a reason for this: the true Good Samaritan did not go His way 'by chance,' and He did not 'go down.' When He changes from "that was lost" (Luke 15:6) to "which I had lost" (Luke 15:9), there is a reason for it: No blame can be attached to the true Good Shepherd.

In our reflections on the parables of the Lord, we will often be amazed at the wisdom with which He speaks and in which He uses or avoids certain words. In any case, we will also find that His parables – in addition to a mostly prophetic meaning – always contain a moral and refreshing message. May He help us to grasp them and benefit from what He wants to tell us!

We can learn some basic principles from the Lord's explanations: first of all, a parable, as just indicated, often allows for more than one interpretation or application. A parable can have a historical, prophetic, and practical meaning. Incidentally, we also encounter the same thing in the Old Testament examples, the Psalms, or even the seven letters of Revelation. We can also look at them from these three perspectives. In a prophetic sense, some parables clearly refer to Israel in the end times; yet, we must not overlook the moral instruction that lies within them for us today. It is not the Lord's intention to let His words "lie fallow" in the meantime until the time of their prophetic fulfillment. Rather, they are important and significant for all His own at all times.
We learn from the fact that the Lord sometimes had to explain the parables to His disciples that their real meaning does not lie on the surface. Of course, certain simple connections could also be understood by the unbelievers. We read more than once that the Pharisees and scribes recognized that Jesus had spoken a particular parable to them. However, they did not recognize everything in the parables. Only the Lord Himself could reveal the deeper meaning. But He did this only to those who were with Him "in the house" (Matthew 13:36; Mark 4:10; 7:17).

All of this is very important for our consideration. Many Christian people today recognize the moral teachings that are evident in the Lord's words and perhaps even admire them. But they are unable to see more in the parables. They do not see or do not want to see that a parable is based, for example, on a dispensational household truth.

Therefore, when it comes to the correct interpretation of the Lord's parables, we must follow the example of the disciples at the time: they approached their Lord with questions about the parables. Just as they were alone with the Lord Jesus at the time and then received the explanations they sought, we too must go to Him today with the knowledge that we know and understand nothing. He will help us too, through His Spirit, to grasp the deep meaning of His words in all their diversity.

This also reveals another reason the Lord often clothed His teachings in parables. In the early days of His ministry on earth, He spoke less in parables and more openly to the people. But when the hostility of the leaders of the people increased, and they even accused Him of casting out the unclean spirits by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, He increasingly veiled His speech and hid His teachings behind the figurative language of parables: they were no longer to be understood by the hostile Jews. In this respect, the sentence from Mark 4 that serves as our heading marks a turning point in the Lord's ministry and God's dealings with Israel.

This becomes particularly clear in the Gospel of Matthew. After the twelfth chapter had revealed the rejection of the Lord by the scribes and Pharisees, the Lord no longer acknowledged His earthly relations with the house of Israel. Stretching out His hand over His disciples, He declares who would henceforth be "His mother" and "His brothers": those who would do the will of His Heavenly Father, no matter what nation they came from. Thus, the transition from the twelfth to the thirteenth chapter represents a break in the Lord's relationship with the Jewish people. At the beginning of the thirteenth chapter, He symbolically leaves the "house" (Israel) and sits by the "sea" (an image of the nations). From a boat – out of reach of anyone – He teaches the people, and then the significant sentence follows: "And He spoke many things to them in parables" (verse 3).

From this point on, we find the great parables in this Gospel, especially those of the Kingdom of Heaven. The first of these great parables, the parable of the "sower," led the disciples to ask: "Why do You speak to them in parables?" The Lord's answer shows that it was a judgment on the unbelieving people: "But He answered and said to them: 'Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it has not been given; for whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore, I speak to them in parables because seeing, they do not see, and hearing, they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: "Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn so that I should heal them." But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it" (verses 11-17).

If the Jewish people, and especially their leaders, no longer wanted to hear the Lord and rejected the divine light He brought, it was no longer His intention to give them further teachings. He separates His disciples from the masses of unbelieving people. To them, it was given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them, it was not given. The Jews had hardened their consciences, and so Isaiah's promise had to be fulfilled on them: seeing, they should no longer see, and hearing, they should no longer hear nor understand. They loved darkness more than the light that was with them. Therefore, it would be taken from them.

However, this serious side of speaking in parables does not negate the former: they serve to deepen the understanding of His own. Thus, the Lord's answer to Peter's question about how often he should forgive his brother is not simply a direct word to that effect but rather the extensive parable of the king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants (Matthew 18:23-35).

In fact, the Lord's speaking in parables also expressed His grace to His disciples. He did not simply stop speaking. There were those among the people who truly loved Him. They are clearly distinguished from the crowd, and to them alone was it given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. They had accepted His person. That is why the Lord introduces them more deeply into the secrets of His thoughts and explains everything, particularly to them. Still, to those outside, everything is given in parables, and He does not speak to them without a parable (Mark 4:11, 34). The Lord sees in His disciples the "wise men" of Daniel 12 who would understand what He said (verse 10). "He who is wise will understand these things; He who is discerning will know them" (Hosea 14:9).

It would be given to them to penetrate the mysterious veil with which the Lord now surrounded His words and to grasp what He revealed to them anew. This is indeed the meaning of the term "mystery" in the New Testament: a truth not revealed in the Old Testament – a truth that needs a revelation to be known. Thus, we see our dear Lord here as the true Joseph. Just as Joseph, once rejected by his brothers, received the name "Zaphnath-Paaneah," which, according to the interpretation of the rabbis, means "revealer of secrets", so now the Lord reveals to His own the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

Like the disciples of old, we too are with the Lord Jesus in the "house" (cf. Matthew 13:36). Is it not an invaluable privilege to be able to listen to His words of grace and understand them by His grace, sheltered from the world? We will soon realize that His words and parables are not simple at all, but are of great depth when we consider the individual parables. Beneath the often very simple-sounding words of His natural images, there is a profound spiritual meaning hidden in each of them, which only the Holy Spirit can help us to grasp. It is not immediately apparent, as if it were accessible to everyone. After all, the Lord spoke out "what was hidden from the foundation of the world" (verse 35).

It may also have escaped our notice that the Lord did not only speak to them in parables since the break with Israel as a nation, which was described. The evangelist Mark, who, in contrast to Matthew, generally reports the events chronologically —that is, in order of time —shows us already in the third chapter of his gospel how the Lord used a parable to expose the folly of the scribes (verses 23 ff). And even earlier, in chapter 2, we find the parable of the new patch on an old garment (verses 21 ff). Luke informs us that this image is indeed a parable (Luke 5:36). We will return to this interesting reference in a moment.

The best order and approach for studying the parables has occupied the author greatly. One could group or summarize the parables in many different ways. Some parables have a domestic character, while moral teachings are more prominent in others. Many parables deal with the idea of the Kingdom of God.

Some parables show us the Lord from different perspectives. In the parables, for example, He presents Himself as a sower, as a king, as the son of the king, as a Samaritan, as a lord of servants, as a seeker, as a shepherd, as a judge, as a merchant, as a grain of wheat, as a builder, as a rock, as a bridegroom, as a highborn, as a physician, as a vineyard owner. Other parables, on the other hand, show us what people are like. They are compared to good and bad seed, to wise and foolish virgins, to good and evil servants, to good and rotten fish, to a treasure, to a pearl, to lights, to salt. Or we see them as wedding guests, as travelers, as sons, as debtors, as sheep, as vines, as fig trees, as coins (drachmas).

There are parables in which the incarnation of Christ, His death, His ascension, and His return are hinted at. The Lord Jesus gave many parables in answer to questions put to Him. Double parables occupy a special place. In them, either the same line of thought predominates, or the same or related symbols are used. Such parables can stand directly next to each other, but they can also occur in completely different places. There are double parables, one of which can be found in one gospel and the complementary one in another. For example, we encounter the "fig tree" in Matthew 24 and Luke 13 and the "good shepherd" in Luke 15 and John 10.

We could continue to organize the parables under different headings. However, the parables of the different groups overlap to a greater or lesser extent, so it is difficult to draw clear boundaries.

After careful consideration, it therefore seems best to leave the individual parables in their "natural environment," in which the Holy Spirit has placed them through the various writers, and to consider them one after the other in the order in which we encounter them in the Gospels. It will be helpful to show the connection to parallel parables or teachings where possible.

We spoke earlier of great parables. As a rule, we think of them when we hear the word "parables." But in addition to these, the Lord Jesus also wove many small images or comparisons into His speech. In fact, these small figurative language figures are also parables. We have already seen that Luke calls the image of the new patch on the old garment a "parable" (Luke 5:36), but Matthew and Mark do not mention this expression (Matthew 9:16; Mark 2:21). We would hardly have spoken of a parable in the case of the image of a blind man leading another blind man. And yet Luke 6:39 says, "And He spoke a parable to them: 'Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?'" (Verse 39). "Explain this parable to us," the apostle Peter requested in Matthew 15, after the Lord, in another context, had also compared the Pharisees to the blind guides of the blind at this point (verses 14, 15). And when He spoke of the "householder" who, if he had known what hour the thief would come, would have guarded his house, the same disciple then asked the Master, "Lord, are You speaking this parable for us, or for all?" (Luke 12:41).

From all this, we recognize that the Savior spoke far more parables than we might initially assume. Since even the short parables are full of instruction for us, let us consider them in the following without claiming completeness.

We also want to begin our reflections on the Lord's parables in the Gospels with some of these small images. May our gracious Lord unlock the words of His mouth for us and make them precious to us! May He also help us to put into practice what we have learned from them, so that everything may be for His glory!

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