Why did Jesus teach using parables?

[Usige]

I responded to this post earlier, and I don’t know where it went.

Thanks for the link. I figured it was online, but I was too lazy to check earlier!

I have never read the Summa and have never seen the format. Is it more than one
volume? It looks like it would be worth owning. I have heard it mentioned a lot
since I became Catholic so I know it is a very important work.

Most print versions I am familiar with are 5 volumes, but I’ve also seen 6 and 8 volume printings.

The are actually 3 parts to the Summa. The first is about God and creation, the second is about ethics (split into the first part on general concepts and the second part on specific), the third part is on Christ, the sacraments and the end times. Part 3 was never finished.

While it is certainly an important work I have never read all of it and always have used online/electronic versions. Shortly before he died he condensed the Summa into the Compendium of Theology (aka Compendium Theologiae or The Shorter Summa). This is a more accessible work in my opinion.

 

[7_Sorrows]

Most print versions I am familiar with are 5 volumes, but I’ve also seen 6 and 8 volume printings.

The are actually 3 parts to the Summa. The first is about God and creation, the second is about ethics (split into the first part on general concepts and the second part on specific), the third part is on Christ, the sacraments and the end times. Part 3 was never finished.

While it is certainly an important work I have never read all of it and always have used online/electronic versions. Shortly before he died he condensed the Summa into the Compendium of Theology (aka Compendium Theologiae or The Shorter Summa). This is a more accessible work in my opinion.

Okay. And cheaper! Thanks for the info.

 

[Reuben_J]

Parables are word pictures, easy to understand.

I am not certain on this next possibility, but it just came to me:

Maybe speaking in parables avoided bringing the pharisees down on Jesus with direct charges of blasphemy or whatever they would have called it. There was enough “subject to interpretation” for Jesus to continue his teachings without undo scrutiny by the powers that be. This isn’t a solid belief of mine, just a thought. If it’s wrong, someone please point it out!

Our monsignor has pointed out the parables are about how God feels about us, not what we should be doing for God. So there is room for interpretaion here.

FrDavid96:

Several reasons:

1. That is the rabbinic style. Unlike people today who want a simple, direct, straightforward answer, the rabbis taught using stories to make people actually think about things.
2. It’s a universal format for teaching. All cultures have their stories. It’s always more interesting to listen to a story than a lecture. All cultures have their own myths and legends and fables. It’s very “human” to tell stories.
3. We learn better that way. Compare reading a history textbook to watching a historically accurate movie. Which one helps you remember more? I’ll bet most people visualize the movie “The 10 Commandments” when we read about the Exodus because stories help us remember.
4. While the Old Testament doesn’t have many parables as such, most of it is still in narrative (ie storytelling) format.

Very good answers and probably the reasons why.

It is a mystery though as to why Jesus did not simply tell it as it is. The two posters above both provided realistic reasons though.

Probably what was said by the first poster seems to explain why the option was taken by Jesus –he revealed himself, thus his teachings, in stages. If he told everything before he demonstrated them by his death and resurrection, the pre-emptying would probably cause problem that could prevent his Messianic mission.

There would be probably an arrest by the religious authority of the day and disappointment of the disciples who expected the Messiah to be a king to deliver them from the Romans. In any case, this would result in a premature end to his mission.

Thus every time when he ‘revealed’ who He really was, for example during the transfiguration or when Peter said he was the Son of the living God in Mathew 16, these were always qualified with a reminder ‘not to tell anyone’.

‘For only later on you will know why these happened as they were written’ (paraphrased}.

 

[psalm90]

It is probably easier to remember a parable, which teaches a number of lessons.

As someone said earlier, the parables drew people closer to Jesus to get a better understanding of what His teaching was.

Analogy: in arithmetic, you can learn a lot of principles, but in the story problems, you have to think how to apply the principles. And vice versa, when you hear a story problem, you have to think about what the principle is.

At one point, Jesus said that whatever we did for others, we did for Him. And, He used the example of doing something seemingly so simple as giving them a drink of water. He wasn’t teaching us to be cheap, I think He was teaching us that all of us can do something for another, even if it is just to give somebody a drink of water. This parable teaches a lot because there are no bounds on how much to give another, how many times we must give to another, etc. It teaches several things in very broad guidelines. And, it challenges us to listen to Him.

 

[7_Sorrows]

It is probably easier to remember a parable, which teaches a number of lessons.

As someone said earlier, the parables drew people closer to Jesus to get a better understanding of what His teaching was.

Analogy: in arithmetic, you can learn a lot of principles, but in the story problems, you have to think how to apply the principles. And vice versa, when you hear a story problem, you have to think about what the principle is.

At one point, Jesus said that whatever we did for others, we did for Him. And, He used the example of doing something seemingly so simple as giving them a drink of water. He wasn’t teaching us to be cheap, I think He was teaching us that all of us can do something for another, even if it is just to give somebody a drink of water. This parable teaches a lot because there are no bounds on how much to give another, how many times we must give to another, etc. It teaches several things in very broad guidelines. And, it challenges us to listen to Him.

I just read that parable last night!
Also the parable of the virgin brides and the oil lamps. That one was a little less clear to me than the one you mentioned. 5 remembered oil for their lamps and 5 did not.