Why Parables?

  • Thread starter Thread starter tGette
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

tGette

Guest
+Come, Holy Spirit+
"The disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
-Matthew 13:10
Click to expand...
"He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because ‘they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.’ Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: ‘You shall indeed hear but not understand you shall indeed look but never see.Gross is the heart of this people, they will hardly hear with their ears, they have closed their eyes, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and be converted, and I heal them.’ "But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it. "
Matthew 13:11-17
Click to expand...
Jesus spoke in parables. We all know this. Some like to use this above Scripture to claim that Jesus wanted to confuse people. In actuality, Jesus spoke in parables to enlighten us about the mysteries of God.

If our hearts are hardened then we are not receiving the gift of Understanding from the Holy Spirit and of course the parable will not make sense. But for those who have faith…the parable is meant to help us understand the mysteries of the faith.

God is not a God of confusion…remember.

Funny how after saying this He goes on to speak about the parable of sowing seeds. His parable is a seed planted in the minds of those who do not believe and do not understand so that it can grow in them so that they may come to understand. For those who have hardened hearts that seed will not be able to grow and they will never understand.

If we interpret this above verse the way a lot of people do, then Jesus did not want anyone but the Apostles to understand. How would that make sense? Good thing we have the Traditions the Apostles handed down to help us understand the parables better!
 
tGette said:
Jesus spoke in parables. We all know this. Some like to use this above Scripture to claim that Jesus wanted to confuse people. In actuality, Jesus spoke in parables to enlighten us about the mysteries of God.

If our hearts are hardened then we are not receiving the gift of Understanding from the Holy Spirit and of course the parable will not make sense. But for those who have faith…the parable is meant to help us understand the mysteries of the faith.

God is not a God of confusion…remember.

Funny how after saying this He goes on to speak about the parable of sowing seeds. His parable is a seed planted in the minds of those who do not believe and do not understand so that it can grow in them so that they may come to understand. For those who have hardened hearts that seed will not be able to grow and they will never understand.

If we interpret this above verse the way a lot of people do, then Jesus did not want anyone but the Apostles to understand. How would that make sense?
Click to expand...
You opened the pandora’s box my friend. Remember Augustine was Catholic. 🙂
 
underdog said:
You opened the pandora’s box my friend. Remember Augustine was Catholic. 🙂
Click to expand...
Augustine had many great insights into the life and teachings of the church:) Why is this a “pandora’s box?”
 
tGette said:
+Come, Holy Spirit+

Jesus spoke in parables. We all know this. Some like to use this above Scripture to claim that Jesus wanted to confuse people. In actuality, Jesus spoke in parables to enlighten us about the mysteries of God.

If our hearts are hardened then we are not receiving the gift of Understanding from the Holy Spirit and of course the parable will not make sense. But for those who have faith…the parable is meant to help us understand the mysteries of the faith.

God is not a God of confusion…remember.

Funny how after saying this He goes on to speak about the parable of sowing seeds. His parable is a seed planted in the minds of those who do not believe and do not understand so that it can grow in them so that they may come to understand. For those who have hardened hearts that seed will not be able to grow and they will never understand.

If we interpret this above verse the way a lot of people do, then Jesus did not want anyone but the Apostles to understand. How would that make sense? Good thing we have the Traditions the Apostles handed down to help us understand the parables better!
Click to expand...
Come, Holy Spirit, indeed

In education speak, we talk about “real world questions and instruction”. It is not too dissimilar. By having my students answer real world questions it helps them to understand how to apply what they learn. I see parables in the same light. As you say, Thomas, they plant the seeds for future understanding.

Blessings, my friend,
Jon
 
Are you familar with the teachings of the great Catholic theologian and saint by the name of Augustine on our topic?
 
underdog said:
Are you familar with the teachings of the great Catholic theologian and saint by the name of Augustine on our topic?
Click to expand...
God willing I will be back and respond…I have to go help with RCIA…

I must ask before I leave…

Underdog:
Are you formerly “Reformed”? You seem to be very similar to him. It was sad he was banned, but I have a hunch.
 
underdog said:
Before I became Underdog, I was just a shoe shine boy. Who is this Reformed person, and why was he banned?
Click to expand...
Well…I do not know why he was banned…but I was hoping you did. I am not sure what constitutes being banned on here…hopefully it is just.

God willing…I will post concerning Saint Augustine soon. (Saint Augustine…please pray for us!)

Peace be with you!
 
tGette said:
Well…I do not know why he was banned…but I was hoping you did. I am not sure what constitutes being banned on here…hopefully it is just.

God willing…I will post concerning Saint Augustine soon. (Saint Augustine…please pray for us!)

Peace be with you!
Click to expand...
Why do you keep implying that I’m that Reformed person. Maybe he or she was a bad person, therefore they banned him or her? Was Reformed a Christian, or a Muslim, or a Jew, or a pagan, or a Protestant?
 
underdog said:
Why do you keep implying that I’m that Reformed person. Maybe he or she was a bad person, therefore they banned him or her? Was Reformed a Christian, or a Muslim, or a Jew, or a pagan, or a Protestant?
Click to expand...
Reformed was a Protestant…seemed to know his protestant theology fairly well.
originally posted BY tGette, if we interpret this above verse the way a lot of people do, then Jesus did not want anyone but the Apostles to understand. How would that make sense? Good thing we have the Traditions the Apostles handed down to help us understand the parables better!
Click to expand...
Thing I don’t understand is if Jesus didn’t want anyone but the apostles to understand then why did the Holy Spirit inspire Matthew, in for example the parable of the sower, to give the parable and the explanation of the parable for all to read. It seems now anyone can understand this (hopefully unless one needs an explanation of an explanation of the parable).
 
Henning said:
Reformed was a Protestant…seemed to know his protestant theology fairly well.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info! Why do they think I’m that Reformed guy? I already posted that I’m not even Protestant.
 
tGette said:
+Come, Holy Spirit+

Jesus spoke in parables. We all know this. Some like to use this above Scripture to claim that Jesus wanted to confuse people. In actuality, Jesus spoke in parables to enlighten us about the mysteries of God.

If our hearts are hardened then we are not receiving the gift of Understanding from the Holy Spirit and of course the parable will not make sense. But for those who have faith…the parable is meant to help us understand the mysteries of the faith.

God is not a God of confusion…remember.

Funny how after saying this He goes on to speak about the parable of sowing seeds. His parable is a seed planted in the minds of those who do not believe and do not understand so that it can grow in them so that they may come to understand. For those who have hardened hearts that seed will not be able to grow and they will never understand.

If we interpret this above verse the way a lot of people do, then Jesus did not want anyone but the Apostles to understand. How would that make sense? Good thing we have the Traditions the Apostles handed down to help us understand the parables better!
Click to expand...
In answer to the OP Title, “Why Parables?” I will say - to teach the children of God.
Yesterday I described the Bible as “Childrens Liturature” because in it God is trying to teach his small but precocious (sp?) children what they need to know. So he speaks to them in stories and in language simple enough for them to discern the morals from.
God must do this because there is no language of man from the dawn of time to now that is precise enough, clear enough, or glorious enough to express the pure and Holy thoughts of God Himself.
Thus we have a Book for God’s Children, the Bible, God’s Childrens Book. Then we have teachers and others who are spiritually “older” who can help those of us who are spiritually “younger” to understand.

Peace
James
 
JRKH said:
In answer to the OP Title, “Why Parables?” I will say - to teach the children of God.
Yesterday I described the Bible as “Childrens Liturature” because in it God is trying to teach his small but precocious (sp?) children what they need to know. So he speaks to them in stories and in language simple enough for them to discern the morals from.
God must do this because there is no language of man from the dawn of time to now that is precise enough, clear enough, or glorious enough to express the pure and Holy thoughts of God Himself.
Thus we have a Book for God’s Children, the Bible, God’s Childrens Book. Then we have teachers and others who are spiritually “older” who can help those of us who are spiritually “younger” to understand.

Peace
James
Click to expand...
The disciples asked Jesus the question of “why do you speak in parables?”.

Jesus’s answer is quite different than yours. Please read it and let me know if you agree with me.
 
underdog said:
The disciples asked Jesus the question of “why do you speak in parables?”.

Jesus’s answer is quite different than yours. Please read it and let me know if you agree with me.
Click to expand...
I am well aware of Jesus reponse to the Apostles. I am not following the thread that closely so I don’t know what I am suppose to determine “agreement with you” on. 🤷

My post was simply a statelment, in general, of why the books of the Bible are written in the way they are. I note that St Augustine was brought up ealrier and I think his story about the hole on the beach is appropriate in many instances on these boards.
God knows that our limited intellect cannot fathom the depths of His Glory, His Love, or His knowledge and therefore he uses whatever means seem appropriate, at the time and to the audience, to try to help us understand just a little.

Peace
James
 
It seems to me Jesus, in answering his Apostles, is simply telling them that because the average person does not have the knowledge given the Apostles by the Holy Spirit, they CANNOT no matter how they may try, see the things He is trying to teach them.

Jesus says He speaks to them in parables because that is what they are capable of understanding, through no fault of their own.

"Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. "

I think we are teetering on the edge of the age-old individual interpretation theory that if we only believe and have faith, that we’ll receive the knowlege that we need from the Scriptures. That is just not so. Some people will never understand Scripture and that is not because they lack faith.

tGette, you said:

"If our hearts are hardened then we are not receiving the gift of Understanding from the Holy Spirit and of course the parable will not make sense. But for those who have faith…the parable is meant to help us understand the mysteries of the faith."
**EDIT I do notice that you did mention us as catholics being blessed with Tradition to help us understand (or something like that) 🙂 So I’m not sure where you stand on this part.

But I respectfully disagree. I am a literal-thinking person. It took me a very long time to actually be able to read some of the parables and make sense of them.

Not only that, but Scripture is meant to get through to the hard of heart. It is meant to touch the hearts and souls of the hardest, coldest and least likely to understand but not always by one’s own interpretation. Sometimes it takes a friend, a pastor, a priest or even a forum like this.

I’ve learned quite a bit right here.

The point is Jesus spoke in parables not to confuse or keep secrets from those without faith, but to use everyday life to explain the message God has for us. Literally to let the “secret” (The Gospel) out! Yay!
 
happilycatholic said:
It seems to me Jesus, in answering his Apostles, is simply telling them that because the average person does not have the knowledge given the Apostles by the Holy Spirit, they CANNOT no matter how they may try, see the things He is trying to teach them.

Jesus says He speaks to them in parables because that is what they are capable of understanding, through no fault of their own.
Click to expand...
The Apostles couldn’t understand the parable either.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top