Tuesday: The Reason for the Parables

Daily Lesson for Tuesday 23rd of July 2024

Read Mark 4:10-12. Why did Jesus teach in parables?

A surface reading of these verses gives the impression that Jesus taught in parables to keep outsiders in the dark. But such a perspective does not fit with Jesus’ actions elsewhere in Mark. In Mark 3:5-6, Jesus is grieved by the hard hearts of the religious leaders. In Mark 3:22-30, Jesus takes the arguments of the scribes seriously and explains in detail why they are mistaken.

Image © Jim Howard at Goodsalt.com

In Mark 12:1-12, the religious leaders understand that Jesus’ parable of the tenants is about them. It is actually a warning of where their plot against Him is heading and the terrible consequences to follow. If He had no concern for them, He would not warn them. Consequently, Jesus’ words here in Mark 4:1-41 need a closer look in order to recognize what His point is. Jesus is paraphrasing Isaiah 6:9-10.

Read Isaiah 6:1-13. What happens to Isaiah here, and what is the message he is given to take to Israel?

Isaiah sees a vision of God in the temple and is overwhelmed by God’s glory and his own uncleanness. God cleanses him and commissions him with a shocking message. Just like Mark, it sounds out of step with the rest of Isaiah where there is much comfort for God’s people.

In Isaiah 6:1-13 the message is meant to shock the people awake so they will turn from their evil ways. In Mark the key for understanding Jesus’ words is found in Mark 3:35. To understand Jesus’ words and teachings, one must do the will of God (Mark 3:35). This brings that person into the family of Jesus. Those who have already decided that Jesus is possessed by the devil will not listen.

The point of Jesus’ quotation from Isaiah 6:1-13 is not that God is keeping people out but that their own preconceived ideas and hardness of heart prevent them from accepting the saving truth.

This truth is the overarching concept of the parable of the sower. Each one chooses what type of soil to be. All decide for themselves whether or not they will surrender to Jesus. In the end, we each choose.