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Introduction To Studying Parables
Without A Parable He Does Not Speak
The Bible is historically accurate in every single detail. However, God's purpose for writing the Bible is not to entertain us with a history lesson. God speaks to us in parables, which are physical stories with spiritual meanings. This is not limited to just the parables we find in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
We read that Christ spoke in parables and without a parable he did not speak:
“All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them”
(Mark 13:34)
We also read that Christ is the Word of God in flesh:
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)
Therefore, we should expect the entire Word of God to be written in the context of parables.
Sometimes these parables are not events that actually occurred (such as the parables Jesus spoke while on Earth) and other times they are true historical accounts. Many events have taken place over time. God chose certain stories to be included in the Bible because, when examined carefully, they contain spiritual teachings that we should be searching out. We should always be asking ourselves, "Why did God put this in the Bible?"
We find that spiritual teachings are given to the world in the form of parables, but the hidden spiritual teachings are revealed to true believers:
"Give ear, O my people, to my law: incline your ears to the words of my mouth. I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old" (Psalm 78:1-2)
"And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples." (Mark 4:33-34)
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets." (Amos 3:7)
We are reminded of this principle in Matthew 13:35:
"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."
The Grammatical-Historical Method
Most pastors and theologians will say that we should use what is called the grammatical-historical method of Bible interpretation. This method does not permit searching for a deeper spiritual teaching within a passage. Instead, it focuses on the surface meaning of a passage which is often a historical or moral lesson. It also often places a heavy focus on answering the question, “What did this passage mean to the people of that day?” This can lead to the assumption that certain passages are almost irrelevant to us today insofar as spiritual application is concerned.
This method of interpretation cannot be supported with the Bible. Nothing in the Bible says that we should use this mindset when reading God’s Word. However, as we’ve seen, there are many passages that say God speaks in parables, that He hides spiritual truth and reveals this truth as He wishes. So the method of looking for hidden spiritual meaning can be supported with Scripture. Many see the grammatical-historical method as a “safe” method of Bible interpretation, but in actuality it blinds the Bible student to a great deal of spiritual truth and that can be dangerous.
Given that there is no Biblical support for the grammatical-historical method we might ask, "Why is it so popular? In fact, why is it seemingly the only accepted method of interpretation?" Originally, the church believed a passage in the Bible could hold up to three levels of meaning: historical, moral, and spiritual. When the Reformation came along the reformers believed the Roman Catholic church had taken too many liberties with the third level and abused it. To prevent this from happening again, John Calvin created the grammatical-historical method which essentially ignores the possibility of the third level of meaning. Unfortunately, this approach empties the Bible of much of its content.
Having said that, we have to be very careful as we go about seeking spiritual truth or we might come to some wrong conclusions. We must always make sure we are interpreting a passage in light of the whole Bible. It can take a great deal of patience, time, and prayer before we properly understand the spiritual meaning of a passage. When we think we’ve reached understanding we must always ask ourselves, “Does this conclusion square with the rest of the Bible?”
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