Mark 4:2 (NKJV): 2 Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:
Parables? Do we really get it? Did the disciples get it? Parable PARABOLE in the Greek - a short narrative, allegory, or figure of speech with symbolic meaning. If we are honest with ourselves, we would be forc d to admit that we do not usually understand the meaning of many of Jesus' parables, with the exception of those that He has explained. Some people don't even get the ones He did explain? This symbolic meaning is sometimes skewed by the story itself, and because they are symbolic, require deeper contemplation and study. There is no special key to the parables, except that they will never convey something contrary to the scriptures, whether the law, prophets, or the New Testament. But why does Jesus do this? Would it not be to our advantage to have an easy explanation of things instead of some obscure story that racks our brains! I think the answer is unequivocally no! As I think of much of the preaching that goes on today, it has been served up so many times like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Everything so easily explained and served in a mixture of pablum (old type of baby cereal), that no one bothers to study anything for themselves. Rather they sit there with their proverbial mouths open while the pastor spoon feeds every word. Jesus taught in parables so that when they heard the story (unforgettable in itself), they would go away contemplating the meaning and struggling over it until it sunk in, producing lasting change. We have forgotten that "man does not live by bread alone, but by every word of God" (Matt. 4:4; Luke 4:4).