WHY PARABLES?
WHY DARNEL? WHY MUSTARD SEED? WHY LEAVEN?
Wis 12:13, 16-19; Rom 8: 26-27; Mt. 13: 24-43
Fr. Nelson Lobo OFM Cap
Why Jesus used parables in his teaching & preaching?
Parables were stories that Jesus told to describe spiritual truths & realities people would have never seen or would never see. No one had ever seen the “Kingdom of God” Jesus was describing, So, He told parables to help people visualize what it was going to be like.
Why the Darnel?
Darnel is a weed that looks like the real thing, it has some of the characteristic of the real thing, but it is not the real thing. This tare like the wheat has been planted by the enemy. It grows in the same field, it receives the same water, the same sunshine, but it never produces any fruit. The tare being sown by Satan many times will be the cause of much of the trouble in the church. We live in a day and time when everyone around us looks like Christians. People have more religion today than ever before, yet they have never met Jesus Christ. This tare speaks of the people who go to church all the time. They do all the things a Christian is supposed to do, but they have never established a relationship with Jesus. The tare is among the wheat, but not of the wheat. Judas was among them but not of them. He went along through time, looking like a disciple, but he was never a true disciple. You may look like a Christian, you may act like a Christian, but unless Jesus resides on the inside of you, you can never be a true Christian, you have been deceived by satan and you are a counterfeit Christian.
Why a mustard seed?
Why choose the mustard seed to represent the Kingdom? Why choose something so common and so ordinary to paint a picture of the powerful and majestic Kingdom? Jesus chose the mustard seed for His parable because of its size. He used it because even something as small as a mustard seed had great power within it. Likewise, the Kingdom of God – the church – has the power to grow & to do things that no human institution can emulate (1 Cor 3:11).
Why did Jesus choose the mustard seed to represent His Kingdom?
Because God is always consistent: He “chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things and the despised things— of this world and the things that are not— to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.” (1 Cor 1:27-29). Jesus chose the mustard seed, because of the humility it represented, and because of the Life giving power it had within it.
Why compare the Kingdom of God to a Tree?
The believer is often compared to a tree in the scriptures. Ps 1:1-6 Blessed is the man that does not walk in the counsel of the ungodly…he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. Jer 17:7-8 Blessed is the man that trusts in the Lord…For he shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and that spreads out her roots by the river…. Is 61:1-3 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me…that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD. Just like we tell kids if they swallow water melon seeds, a tree will grow inside them so also a tree should grow within us. A spiritual “Tree of Life” should grow in us which represents the kingdom of God in our life.
What is the purpose of a tree in our life?
Prov 11:30 says “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life; and he that wins souls is wise”. A tree bears fruit – God expects spiritual fruit in the life of a believer. Gal 5:22-23; Eph 5:9-10; Mt 7:20 …by their fruits you shall know them. This tree restores to man the eternal life that was lost in the Garden of Eden.
Why Leaven?
Jesus took his parable from something that he had often seen his mother do. In Jewish language leaven is almost always connected with an evil influence. (Mt 16:6; 1Cor 5:6-8; Gal 5:9). So, Jesus anticipated a certain shock in hearing the kingdom of God compared to leaven. The shock would arouse interest in what Jesus said. The whole point of the parable lies in one thing-the transforming power of the leaven.
What do we learn from these parables?
- There is always a hostile power in the world seeking and waiting to destroy the good seed.
- It’s very difficult to distinguish between those who are in the kingdom and those who are not. Some appear to be good but they are bad. Some appear to be bad but they are good.
- We learn not to be quick with our judgements. Judgement had to wait until the harvest time.
- Size doesn’t matter to God-We will never be too small for God. God is concerned with what we are becoming.
- The Christian life is like a tree that bears life giving fruit (Mt 7:17-20)
- God promises we will partake of the Tree of Life. (Rev 2:7)
- Finally, Christianity is a religion of hope. It has the power to transform lives and societies.