Scripture Reference: Mark 4:1-34

The Purpose of the Parables

You might be asking the question, why does Jesus use parables at all? Why doesn’t He just say, for instance, “Look, when I preach, people will react in these four different ways?” Why doesn’t He say what He means? Clearly, in spite of what we may have thought, the parable is not to make the message easy to understand. Our instinct, supported perhaps by what we were taught at Sunday school, is to think that the parables are intended as helpful illustrations, just as a preacher today will use illustrations to get his point across. The disciples come to our assistance here because they ask Jesus specifically what the parables are all about (see Mark 4:10-12).

Verse 12 is a quotation from Isaiah 6:9-10. Isaiah has just had an overwhelming vision of the Lord in the temple and he is being given his commission to bring God’s Word to the people. But the shock in that passage, and the shock here in Mark, is that, however faithful the prophet, however clear his message, the people are simply never going to respond. That has an application for anyone who is involved in gospel ministry. You can’t guarantee a response just by having the message right, or by being superbly gifted, or by working yourself to death; none of that creates an authentic response to the gospel.

However, back to the parables . . . we see from these verses that many people will not respond because that is God’s purpose. The parables are told, not to make it easier to understand, but actually to make it harder. The parables draw a line between those who will hear and understand and those who never will. We may not like that interpretation, but it is what Scripture is telling us. It is what Jesus says. How do we respond to it? On one level, we can say that people who heard the parables and didn’t understand them would still be able to come and ask for more, which, in fact, is what the disciples do here (notice that in verse 10 it is not only the Twelve who pursue the meaning). In that case, the parables will serve the purpose of arousing people’s interest and they will hopefully be drawn in. But, on the other hand, and this is the main emphasis here, this is about God’s sovereignty. Over the whole question of who responds and who does not, who accepts and who refuses, stands God’s majestic decision: He calls some people to follow Him, and others He does not call!

The disciples, Jesus says, are on the inside, others, are on the “outside.” The “mystery” or secret of the kingdom has been made clear to them. In Scripture, a “mystery” is not something you solve for yourself; it’s a secret that God has to reveal to you. But those on the outside will never grasp it. The parables create an opportunity to come and find out more, but for most people the parables are a barrier. They are deliberately obscure, like an instruction book that is written in a foreign language. So, as we often find in Scripture, God’s sovereignty and human responsibility are placed side by side. God’s choice takes nothing away from our responsibility. Jesus tells the parables to everyone. The opportunity is there for anyone to come and ask Him for more.

To Be Continued

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
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