The benefits of using parables for teaching would be that people would have felt comfortable listening to them, as they were familiar and easy to remember. They were made to challenge people so they have to work out the meaning for themselves. Parables were interesting and caught the attention of the audience it also illustrates an idea being taught and helps to recall an idea to mind. Some Jews made no effort to understand Jesus’ teachings whereas others would listen and pass judgement.
A remarkable thing about the parables is that they are so timeless. Applied at any age or situation, they have a message. Sometimes it may be necessary to work out what the original message was as it may not always be understood in quite the same way today.
1a(2). Describe from Luke’s gospel, how Jesus presented his teachings through parables.
I will now explain 3 of what Jesus’ parables meant, from Luke’s gospel.
1.The parable of the sower (Luke 8:1-15).
This parable talks about the different ways people heard God’s word. Seeds were planted on different kinds of ground and they were all taken off in different ways.
The word of God is like the seed because when it is planted in people’s hearts new spiritual life grows. This parable teaches what will happen to God’s word when it was preached.
Sower: Minister/Priest
Path: Some people are distracted from taking Christianity seriously.
Rocky ground: Christianity attracts some people until they realise that it requires a deep commitment. Friends may laugh at them or cut them off so they give up.
Thorn bushes: Some people allow worries about work, family or money to destroy God’s influence in their lives. ‘Thorns’ could be compared to greed anger or jealousy, all of which choke spiritual growth.
Good soil: A minority will accept the Christian message and remain firm in their faith in spite of many difficulties that they may face. They will go on to grow as Christians and preach to others.
2.The lost son (Luke 15:11-32)
This parable talks about a boy who asks his father for his share of the property which he got the money for. He then left and spent all the money gambling and on prostitutes. He ran out of money and a famine came. He work with pigs and lived on what they were eating. He then decided to go home and tell his father that he had sinned against God and against him. His father said to him he was happy that he came back and he is happy because his son was lost and now he is found. He then celebrated which his brother was jealous of.
3.The lost sheep (Luke 15:1-7)
This story was about a man who had 100 sheep and 1 went missing. He went and looked for it. When he found it he carried it home on his back and he called his friends and neighbours together to rejoice finding his sheep.
Some of Jesus’ listeners would have kept sheep and would have known that a shepherd values each sheep and knows each sheep. Sheep have a tendency to wonder and get lost. Jesus called himself “the good Shepherd” who would lay down his life for the sheep.
