BURIED TREASURE: Exploring The Parables Of Jesus
by J. W. Jepson, D.Min.
Life In Christ Center, 3095 Cherry Heights Road, The Dalles, Oregon 97058
(541) 296-1136
Copyright © 1997 by J. W. Jepson
All rights reserved, including the right to grant the following permission and to prohibit the misuse thereof:
The Author hereby grants permission to reproduce the text of this article, without changes or alterations*, as a ministry, but not for commercial or non-ministry purposes.*Permission is given for publication of excerpts and condensed versions.
-------
introduction:
EVERYBODY LOVES A STORY
The warm rays of the summer sun stream brightly through the windows of the little sanctuary. The clock on the back wall shows an inch past noon. The air hangs heavy over the quiet congregation. Worshipers stare glassy-eyed at the minister. Here and there the head of a pew-dozer bobs down and up.
Suddenly heads jerk up. Everybody blinks to attention. The pastor is telling a story! The entire atmosphere has changed. Soon the benediction is spoken. As the people file out, several are heard to remark, "That was a good sermon, Brother Smith."
Yes, everybody loves a story. Good sermon illustrations put the truth into real life.
When Jesus preached to the crowds, He spoke in parables. "Parable" comes from a Greek word that means "to place or throw alongside of." The parables of our Lord were sermon illustrations with the sermon hidden inside.
One day the puzzled disciples asked the Master why He spoke to the multitudes in parables. His answer is interesting:
"Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables, because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand." (Matthew 13:11-13).
He went on to say that the prophecy of Isaiah 6:9 and 10 was even then being fulfilled in those who heard Him. Later, in verses 34 and 35, Matthew added this P.S.:
"All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables, and without a parable spake he not unto them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world."
So then, when Jesus delivered the truth to the masses, He wrapped it in parables. His reason for doing this was not to make the truth plain, but to make it almost plain.
When the Master taught His disciples, He took all the wrappers off the truth and showed it to them plainly. But in speaking to the multitudes, He took off all the wrappers except the last one. It was like bringing the lens almost into focus, or bringing deeply buried treasure up to within a foot or two of the surface.
But why would Jesus do that? The reason is simple. The crowd is full of curious on-lookers, people who are not serious about the truth. Hand them a golden nugget and they will use it for a paperweight. Dig up the treasure chest and they will not bother to open the lid. They do not value the truth; so why should God impose it upon them? Why should the Lord focus the lens sharply for eyes that do not see because the heart is not interested in looking?
And so we have the parables. Leave the last wrapper on the truth. The careless will not bother to peek at it. But the sincere seeker will go for it like a youngster ripping the wrappings from his presents on Christmas morning. Put a sign over the spot: "treasure buried here--digging welcome," and stand a shovel nearby. They who have a fear of being converted will not even touch the shovel, but they who yearn to be among the blessed will grab it and the covering sod will be gone in a moment.
On a few occasions the Holy Spirit allows us to listen in while Jesus explained a parable to His disciples privately. But most of the time all we see is the treasure sign and a shovel standing invitingly beside it.
You must be one of those who desire to dig. If not, you would not be reading this. Your hand is already gripping the handle. But before we start digging, let us remind ourselves where we are digging and what we are digging for.
First, what is a parable? The old, familiar definition is probably the best. A parable is "an earthly story with a heavenly meaning." Parables take familiar, everyday facts and lay them alongside of unfamiliar, spiritual facts. The two correspond in some way. As the Holy Spirit throws light on the correlation, the unfamiliar becomes clear and we grasp the truth.
Next, what does the parable mean? Here the problems start. It is easy to make a parable say more than it really says by reading into it something that is not really there. People get into trouble when they base doctrine on the details of a parable. God wants us to avoid this common mistake.
When Jesus gave a parable, He intended for it to embody one main point. Find that point; then stand there and look at the entire parable from that central position. A parable is like a mountain. If we wander around the base, we can become confused. But once we climb to the peak, the whole mountain spreads out before us as one grand panorama. In most parables the details and secondary points are there to reinforce the main point and to elaborate on it. When exploring the parables, keep digging for the main point in each.
And dig we should! Much of our Lord's teaching comes to us in parables. The sign marks the spot where the nuggets are buried, and the nearby shovel invites us. So, grab the handle and start digging. "There's gold in them thar hills!"
*****
introduction 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 Bibliography