Jesus the Confusing Poet by Alejandro Aponte Jr.
The New Testament offers a rich tapestry of teachings attributed to Jesus Christ, and among these teachings are Jesus’ parables. A parable is a metaphor or simile made from nature or common life that would usually leave people confused and actively thinking about the meaning behind the parable (Just). Parables can range from proverbs to long narratives, such as Jesus’ story of the prodigal son. Jesus used parables as a prophetic tool in order to teach the word of God, and these parables were usually very brief and symmetrical (Snodgrass). Jesus used parables as his main form of teaching in order to make learning about the Kingdom of Heaven difficult. Jesus believed that people who listen to his parables and want a relationship with God will understand his parables more than someone that is listening to the parable and does not want a relationship with God. Parables are only found throughout the Synoptic Gospels, such as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The only Synoptic Gospel that does not have any narrative parables is John; however, Jesus does use analogies which are considered parables. The Gospel of Mark is the only Gospel in the New Testament to include all 13 of the parables that Jesus taught people. The Gospel of Matthew kept all of the parables except two of the parables that Mark includes, but this Gospel adds ten of its own parables throughout the Gospel to show all of Jesus’ work to readers (Just). In my paper, the Gospel of Matthew will be the main focus due to this Gospel’s use of important parables and the meanings behind each of these parables.
Matthew 7:24-27
In this teaching, Jesus compares two different men and the choices that these men make. Depending on their choice, the men would either be better or worse off. In the parable, Jesus says that the people who hear his word and act on it will be like a wise man who builds a house on stones where no matter what happens to this house, it will always stand (Matt 7:24-25). This is a reference for people who follow Jesus because no matter what actions are taken against this person, they will never fall down due to these people having faith in Jesus Christ. For the people who do not follow Jesus after hearing his word, it will be the equivalent of the foolish man who built a house on the sand where when awful times approach, these people will end up falling (Matt 7:26-27). This is a direct reference to people in the world who know of Jesus and his word, but continue to pursue actions that are sinful. In this parable, Jesus is trying to tell people to hear God’s word and obey it as it holds the utmost importance in a human being’s life. The analogy of the houses and their foundations is a way of Jesus showing that people have two choices in life: follow the path of God and have a strong foundation or forsake God and have a weak foundation.
The analogy of the wise man versus the foolish man has been stated multiple times leading up to this parable with the intention of displaying the importance of following the word of God. The wise man and the foolish man both have separate qualities that easily distinguish the two. Jesus says that the wise man will be hungry and thirsty for righteousness and that God will reward these people. He then compares this to people who are disgusted by God’s righteousness and very naïve (Matt 5:6). The ability to bring up the analogy of the wise man versus the foolish man before the parable is crucial for developing the parable because it has already explained the difference between the two different lifestyles that people are granted to follow during their time on Earth. The fascinating part about the analogy is that the wise man usually is always participating in a more difficult and harder-to-follow lifestyle compared to the foolish man which also shows why God rewards the wise man for continuing to pursue a life of righteousness.
Matthew 13:1-9
In this parable, Jesus uses an example of a sower as a way to represent the Kingdom of God. This parable talks about a man who went out to sow grain and how seeds began to fall down onto the ground and the different outcomes that came with each seed that fell in different locations (Matt 13:4-8). In this parable, the man is God and the seeds are his word. God begins to spread his word around and when his word was given in different locations, there were different outcomes. Jesus used birds eating the seeds, seeds falling onto the rocky ground, seeds falling among thorn bushes, and seeds falling on good soil as examples of different places where God’s word was given out (BBC). In the bird example, the bird is Satan and the seeds falling on the ground represented people hearing the word of God, but when the bird came and ate the seeds, these people ended up losing the word of God. The seeds falling onto the rocky ground and getting burnt up by the Sun represented people who are interested in the word of God, but when problems arise, these people abandon the word completely. Seeds falling among thorn bushes and getting choked by the plant represent God providing people with his word and people continuing to be worried about their riches and worries about life. Finally, Seeds falling on good soil and the plants producing corn represent the few people who have heard God’s word and actively live by it throughout life (BBC). Being able to show different situations in which people go about God’s word is important because it makes the group that he preached to and the readers of the bible question which path is seen in their lives. This parable is a growth parable meaning that Jesus told people this parable as a way to get people to change certain habits in life that will keep them far from salvation.
After Jesus taught this parable, his disciples came up to him with questions as to why he spoke to people in parables. Jesus simply answered that the disciples were given knowledge of the kingdom of heaven while these people were not (Matt 13:10-13). Jesus explains to the disciples that the parables are important because people who are open to spiritual truth will gain more from the parable than others who are not open to this truth yet (Guzik). This explanation Jesus gives the disciples emphasizes that Jesus teaches in parables as a way to not give people complete information on spiritual truth as a way to get people who are searching to improve their faith to further seek answers.
Matthew 13:31-33
In this section of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus teaches another parable that focuses on a mustard seed and how it is comparable to the kingdom of heaven. Jesus says that the mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds and that when it grows, it is larger than any tree so that birds can come and make nests on it (Matt 13:31-32). Jesus taught that heaven was not as big as people would expect it to be and that it would continue to grow in size until it eventually overtook the world. The birds nesting in the tree represent people from different nations around the world coming to heaven in order to rest with Jesus (Thirdmill). This is an unordinary comparison of two things because of the perception of what heaven is. Heaven is imaged to be this great and mighty place where its size is seen as infinite while Jesus is comparing this place to one of the tiniest seeds on the planet. The point of this comparison is to show people that something as small as a mustard seed can potentially become completely different. Jesus is expressing that the kingdom of heaven also works in a similar way.
Matthew 18:10-14
This parable is formally known as the parable of the lost sheep due to the analogy Jesus uses between God and a shepherd. Jesus begins by explaining that if a man has a hundred sheep and loses one, this man is going to go search for the sheep until it is retrieved. Jesus explained that this man would be very excited to have found his sheep that had run away and how God is the same way to people on Earth (Matt 18:12-14). Jesus is explaining that no matter if a person is a sinner or righteous, this person will always be accepted by Jesus because he would try his hardest to get this person to become righteous. Jesus wanted people to comprehend that God is a forgiving and kind being and that no matter how much wrong a person has done, God will always be willing to accept this person as long as this person stops their wrongdoings. This parable is important to readers because it helps readers feel more accepted and more willing to praise a God who will accept them no matter how much wrong they might have done in their past.
This parable helped address misconceptions as to why Jesus would partake in meals with sinners. Jesus’ teaching in this parable shows that nobody should ever discriminate against anyone which is important considering that the religious leaders, or Pharisees, had prejudice towards sinners. Jesus being inclusive and eating with anyone regardless of their background was important and helped people realize that if the Messiah can eat with a sinner, so can they. This parable helps illustrate Jesus’ values and beliefs because Jesus is meant to be a teacher for people on Earth and being able to change the way they think regarding inclusivity was crucial for human growth.
Matthew 18:23-35
In this parable, readers learn about a different side of God that shows that even God can get angry as well. Readers learn about a slave who owes God a debt and due to the slave pleading with God, God was pitiful of the man and allowed him to be free without payment. Later on, the same slave went up to one of his slaves and asked his slave to pay what he was owed. When his slave tried to reason with him, he sentenced the man to prison and when God heard about this, he sentenced this slave to be tortured until his debt was paid (Matt 18:23-34). Jesus makes it clear that humans on Earth should forgive each other regardless of the issue that has arisen between people. Jesus states that since our heavenly Father is willing to forgive humans, humans should be able to forgive each other (Matt 18:35). This parable helps prove that not only is the kingdom of heaven a place of forgiveness, but so is Earth due to humans being created in God’s image.
From this parable, readers can learn the importance of forgiveness and mercy in their own lives. Just as God forgave the slave’s staggering debt, God’s forgiveness has no limits. God’s forgiveness teaches humans that they should be willing to forgive others, no matter how much others may have wronged each other. Moreover, it reminds people that the forgiveness received from God is contingent on their willingness to extend forgiveness to others. By showing mercy and forgiveness, humans help reflect the character of God and foster a culture of love and reconciliation.
Matthew 20:1-16
The parable of the landowner and the workers in Matthew 20:1-16 challenges people’s preconceived notions of fairness and rewards. In this parable, the landowner hires workers throughout the day, starting from early morning until the eleventh hour. When it reached the end of the day, the landowner paid all of the workers the same amount, regardless of the time they spent working. This idea challenged humans perception of work and wage because some people would expect to be paid a higher pay depending on if they worked longer than others at the job. The landowner in this parable is God and what this parable is trying to teach is that God will give all of his believers the same grace regardless of how much work they put into their faith. God is seen as a very generous being in this parable because of his ability to give everyone equal priviledge to enter his kingdom as long as they are believers in him.
This parable challenges people to reevaluate their attitudes towards rewards and discrimination. The parable reminds people that God is the only factor in whether or not some people go to his kingdom or not. True greatness involves sacrificing oneself and serving others, rather than seeking personal gain or recognition. The parable teaches us the importance of humility, selflessness, and serving others in the kingdom of God.
Concluding Thoughts
Jesus’ way of teaching will always be fascinating due to his creativity behind many of his parables. Though many of them are hard to understand without commentary, it is important to read these parables and try to act upon them. According to Jesus, we are all created in God’s image so we should act as such.