HIDDEN IN A PARABLE

Parables are a great way in which we can teach, exhort, edify, and educate. The greatest teacher of all time - Jesus, Yeshua - Himself also used them. They were His preferred way of teaching. 

Per Merriam-Webster Dictionary a parable is “a usually short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle.”

They are a less direct way of communicating a certain message across. A message that people need to hear. 

It sparks and demands people to ponder and look for the deeper meaning of the parable. To seek for the truth deeply hidden within. 

Yeshua also similarly used this method. He used it to weed away those who only followed Him superficially and would not ponder on the parable and message. 

Yet on the other hand as John Macarthur mentioned in his book Parables: The Mysteries of God’s Kingdom Revealed Through the Stories Jesus Told (Amazon), parables were “carefully crafted tales that made the mysteries of the Gospel more accessible to everyday believers - from the faithful to the faithless”. 

James Montgomery Boice goes further in his book The Parables of Jesus (Amazon) and divides the parables into 5 categories: parables of the kingdom, salvation, wisdom and folly, the Christian life, and judgment. 

They are an essential part of the Bible and in so the daily life of every believer. They hold great spiritual lessons that we can learn from even today. 

Until next time!