A parable is an illustration ... a key to understanding .... Jesus didn't call them parables that's what we call them. The people would have understood that the Kingdom of Heaven wasn't a pearl or an ingredient for making bread or a net full of fish or a field .... but there is something in all of these illustrations that brings us into a deeper understanding of what the Kingdom is and isn't. It's good communication. It gets people thinking for themselves, it gets them engaged.
I don’t know that they did “understand” all of it, Tony. Probably some of it. But Sometimes I think he was trying to get people to understand that they didn’t understand everything!
I think Jesus (Teacher,Rabbi) wanted them to know something important about the Kingdom of Heaven every time he spoke and he used a story that they could relate too ... Fish and nets for fishing folk, lost sheep for shepherds, fields and seeds for farmers, Pearls for merchants in the city etc .... lot's of stories and illustrations. Think about our stories for kids .... little red riding hood or the three bears ... kids don't believe that animals can talk, eat porridge, disguise themselves as old ladies so they begin to mentally search for deeper meanings in the stories ... don't trust friendly wolves. don't wander into other peoples (bears) houses and eat their food etc.
Hi Maggi! I led a very fruitful study on the parables last Lent focusing on commentary from “feasting on the word” then imagining ourselves into the story, then looking at related art, both classic and modern. It was so rich!
A parable is an illustration ... a key to understanding .... Jesus didn't call them parables that's what we call them. The people would have understood that the Kingdom of Heaven wasn't a pearl or an ingredient for making bread or a net full of fish or a field .... but there is something in all of these illustrations that brings us into a deeper understanding of what the Kingdom is and isn't. It's good communication. It gets people thinking for themselves, it gets them engaged.
I don’t know that they did “understand” all of it, Tony. Probably some of it. But Sometimes I think he was trying to get people to understand that they didn’t understand everything!
I think Jesus (Teacher,Rabbi) wanted them to know something important about the Kingdom of Heaven every time he spoke and he used a story that they could relate too ... Fish and nets for fishing folk, lost sheep for shepherds, fields and seeds for farmers, Pearls for merchants in the city etc .... lot's of stories and illustrations. Think about our stories for kids .... little red riding hood or the three bears ... kids don't believe that animals can talk, eat porridge, disguise themselves as old ladies so they begin to mentally search for deeper meanings in the stories ... don't trust friendly wolves. don't wander into other peoples (bears) houses and eat their food etc.
Hi Maggi! I led a very fruitful study on the parables last Lent focusing on commentary from “feasting on the word” then imagining ourselves into the story, then looking at related art, both classic and modern. It was so rich!
Nice! I love that kind of study. Wish I’d been a fly-on-the-wall!