(3) “The word of God…was so misunderstood and rejected because of people’s sin and ignorance, that it became in fact an instrument of judgment and condemnation”.
This can be seen through how people of the Jewish temple would persecute people in the ‘name of God’ which was the total opposite intention of ‘the word’ which was to free the people (especially the Jews) not oppressing them.
The Matthian parable: ‘Parable of the darnel’ shows hope of salvation in a similar light to that of the Markan ‘Parable of the Sower’ in that the Kingdom of God, or Heaven (preferred by Matthew because of devotion to respect Gods’ name) is inclusive to everyone this can be seen in ‘the darnel’ when the man who grew the seed was asked by the labourers it he wanted them to weed out the darnel but in response of:
(4) “No because then you weed out the darnel you might pull up the wheat with it. Let them both grow till the harvest”.
This means if one eliminates evil, the good is taken away with it. Evil and good share a symbiotic relationship, in that both must live together until the end of time when the evil shall be ‘weeded’ out and the good shall flourish. This differs slightly from the Markan and Matthian version of the ‘Parable of the Sower’ in how it says at the end of time the separation shall occur, but in the ‘Parable of the Sower’ all people are Gods’ people and that if one repent their sins, believes in the ‘word’ and the resurrection, the Kingdom of God shall be granted. Whereas, the ‘Parable of the Darnel’ states that future hope of salvation will only occur for the people who have recognized the Kingdom of God presently. This is a common Matthian theme that at the end of time the good and the bad shall be separated which is quite graphic. An example of this is in the ‘Parable of the Dragnet’ where the Parable says:
(5) “The angels will appear and separate the wicked from the upright to throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth”.
The Matthian parable of the dragnet has some ambiguity in its meaning and some question if it illustrates the true meaning of the Kingdom of God. The parable says that there shall be a selection, the good from the bad in where the fishermen are making a division between what they have collected in:
(6) “They collect the good ones in baskets and throw away those that are no use. This is how it will be at the end of time”
This is not how Jesus portrayed the Kingdom of God and how salvation will occur in the future. Jesus stated that the Kingdom of God was inclusive to everyone; which was quite controversial at the time because his disciples could not comprehend how sinners could simply repent their sins and gain access to the Kingdom of God, just as easily as someone who had lived a good moral life. However, this parable (where one could assume the fishermen are the disciples) gives a great source of power to the disciples. As ‘fishers of men’ their role is to preach the Good news of salvation and the Kingdom of God and not to divide Gods’ people. The disciples cannot be selective to the people ‘caught by the net’ because the ‘sorting out’ was to transpire afterwards. Jesus ministry was open to everyone and no such discrimination (as in the Parable of the dragnet) should happen. The judgment would happen in an eschatological format, where God and only God will be the decisive figure.
The parable highlights Matthews emphasis on discipleship and the importance in being a devoted disciple, in spite of this one could consider that Matthew is getting delusions of grandeur in claiming his ‘right’ as a disciple to be able to practice ‘divine law’ on mankind, when in fact he is misreading his purpose as a disciple. This parable only gives future hope of salvation to a certain privileged few of those who have knowledge of ‘the word’ and have leaded a good moral life. What if ignorance was to say that someone had lived a sheltered life and never gained access to the teachings of God and Jesus? Should they not to ascend to heaven? This question is lucidly answered by Jesus in the Matthian version of the Parable of the Sower wherein the final line it sums the message which states:
(7) “Anyone who has ears ‘should listen!’”
This means that the Kingdom of God is in fact inclusive to everyone not just an ‘elite’ few. The source of this quote may be an interpretation from Mark because the theme of ‘universal inclusion’ to the Kingdom of God is a common theme in the Gospel of Mark for example: the Parable of the mustard seed and the Parable of the sower.
The Lukan parable of The Lost sheep is in contrast to the Matthian Parable of the dragnet, because The Lost Sheep is about inclusion into the Kingdom of God for all people and it is quite litigious in how Jesus is saying that; Heaven (God some would say) is more satisfied if a sinner has repented than rather than many people who have lived their entire lives being morally good. This is in the conclusion of the parable:
(8)“There will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner repenting than over ninety-nine upright people who have no need of repentance”
Here Jesus illustrates that there is no exclusivity (unlike the Parable of the dragnet) for the Kingdom of God and it is a spiritual achievement if one can accept the repentance of sins. This represents that the future hope of salvation is for everyone, not just the ‘morally upright’.
The sheep that is lost in the parable is symbolizing the ‘lost’ souls of mankind. Mankind was lost and needed guidance, which is why Jesus emerged to preach the Good News. The parable is saying that one should not rejoice if one has already discovered the Kingdom of God as a realized eschatology on earth, but instead rejoice for preaching the Good News to others and almost bringing them a kind of salvation on earth. For if one is granting others (possibly sinners) access to the Kingdom by preaching the Good News then it is fulfilling the message of Jesus and of discipleship. The underlying message of The Lost sheep is that if one has the knowledge one must spread it to the ones that do not possess it. Having the knowledge of the Kingdom of God is not a privilege it is a responsibly to ensure that everyone has access to future hope of salvation.
The representation of the ‘sheep’ is the domestic setting and that wool was valuable in the time of Jesus, highlighting that the souls of mankind are valuable to God as the sheep is a metaphor for the soul of a human. Jesus also uses the idea of a ‘sheep’ as they are likely to wander off and can be unruly when trying to keep a huge flock of sheep, just as it is a great task for God to keep all the souls of man in correct moral practice and that, like the sheep humans are prone to wander off at times and become distracted by vices that evil may throw to man.
In the Matthian parable of the Last Judgement it reveals that the future hope of salvation can be for all, but primarily there will a judgement. The Parousia and/or day of judgement differ from previous parables such as the Matthian: Parable of the Dragnet, where the imagery is almost of a sadistic nature. This is a common theme of Matthew an example of this is where the Son of Man and angels gather the evil and:
(9) “Throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”
The Last Judgement is less violent in its imagery and is less about punishment of sinners, but instead about the glory of Jesus, the glory of the Kingdom of God and who shall embrace it in the Parousia. This can be seen in the first lines of the parable in:
(10) “When the Son of man comes in his glory, escorted by all the angels, then he will take his seat on his throne of glory”
The repetition of the word ‘glory’ emphasises how important the judgement is, it highlights Jesus with all his power, and that judgement is his and Gods alone, as they are the same entity in the holy trinity of: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The separation differs yet again from Markan themes where the Kingdom of God is inclusive to everyone.
The separation in the Last Judgement materializes in a representation of domestic animals of the time of Jesus, which are in the sheep and goats. The goats were worth less than sheep because sheep gained their value because of their wool. By bringing in this domestic setting the audience of the time would have been able to relate to the passage:
(11) “All nations will be assembled before him and he will separate people one from another as the shepherd separates sheep from goats”
The use of the phrase ‘All Nations’ shows community and that judgement is inclusive to everyone and that no one can escape judgement; which brings in the theme of: the parables of the Kingdom of God are prophesising about a ‘universal destiny’ that one day all shall be judged.
The future hope of salvation in ‘the Last Judgement’ is granted to those only who are willing to ‘love thy neighbour as you would thy self’ which comes from the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments). This rule is of vital importance because it links in with unconditional love, which comes from the Greek word ‘agape’, Jesus portrays this meaning in:
(12) “In so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.”
It is a meaning that if one gives unconditional love they shall receive unconditional love, not in this life, but in eternal life which is an evolved form of unconditional love because unconditional is ‘eternal love’ and ‘eternal love’ is rewarded as eternal life. This is a mutual agreement which is not realized by the people of the time of Jesus, which is why it is crucial that Jesus spoke in parables to portray these meanings of accession and higher wisdom in a humble form.
Nineham sums up briefly a definition of parables as:
(13) “A brief sentence of popular wisdom, an ethical maxim or just a proverb in general”
In the use of the word ‘general’, it is clear that the definition of the Parables of the Kingdom of God is far more than popular wisdom and a proverb. They are a way for the minds of mankind on a spiritual level to comprehend the ‘word’ and its accurate meaning. This is conveyed very well In the Jerome Biblical Commentary via:
(14) “The metaphorical language of the parables allowed Jesus to speak about God and the coming of the Kingdom and involve he hearers more than plain speech could do”
The parables of Jesus can be seen as prophesizing future hope of salvation in the Kingdom of God because Jesus reflected two contrasting view points. One; that the Kingdom of God was something to be discovered after death and that salvation would come from an external force of heaven, but on the contrary Jesus demonstrated a perspective that the Kingdom of God was in the present on earth and it could be realized in mankind is a form of ‘internal’ eschatology. This can be understood by Dodd:
(15) “The Kingdom of God is conquering of evil which was “realized” in Jesus’ life and death”.
Jesus was proclaiming a prophecy that the Kingdom of God is in heaven, but it can be realized through moral practice on earth. This idea of the ‘present’ Kingdom of God is heavily criticized as overly optimistic and if man has ‘original sin’ which must be repented for, a Kingdom of God in this light is incomprehendable.
The messianic message of salvation is summed up to a great degree by Vardy and Mills:
(16) “Jesus preached the need to respond to God in loving obedience, and the coming of the kingdom of God…He broke down the barriers between ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ and showed, through his life, that God called every human being to follow him. He used parables to communicate his message.”
This response to God can be understood as that one must practice the Kingdom of God on earth in order to embrace the Kingdom of God in eternal life for example: the parable of the Last Judgment. Jesus breaks down the barriers of ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ in significant parables such as the Parable of the sower; where Jesus states that the Kingdom of God (and primarily Salvation) is open to anyone who takes heed to the teachings of God. The parables were a means to translate the true meaning of the Kingdom of God.
Overall the Jesus parables were about a future hope of salvation which could be realized through believing in Jesus Christ and gaining access to the Kingdom of God where ultimately salvation would occur.
Bibliography:
(1) Jerome Biblical Commentary.
(2) New Testament Texts – THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MARK.
(3) D.E. Nineham – SAINT MARK.
(4) New Testament Texts – THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW.
(5) New Testament Texts – THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW.
(6) New Testament Texts – THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW.
(7) New Testament Texts – THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW.
(8) New Testament Texts – THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO LUKE.
(9) New Testament Texts – THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW.
(10) New Testament Texts – THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW.
(11) New Testament Texts – THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW.
(12) New Testament Texts – THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW.
(13) D.E. Nineham – SAINT MARK.
(14) Jerome Biblical Commentary.
(15) Parables of the Kingdom - C.H.Dodd.
(16) The Puzzle of THE GOSPELS – Peter Vardy & Mary Mills.
