You've
heard of parables, right? Jesus often spoke in parables to those
around Him. Parables aren't always easy to understand upon hearing
or reading them. Even His disciples didn't understand some of the
parables when He spoke them, and they were often asking Jesus to explain
them. So why did Jesus speak in parables anyway? Does it
seems like He was trying to confuse everbody? Not at all. His
disciples asked Him that very question also, so let's check and see what
Jesus had to say...
The
disciples came to Him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in
parables?"
Jesus answered and said to them,
""Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
To those who have received My words, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge.
But to those who have not received My words, even the understanding and
knowledge that they have will be taken away from them. That is why I
speak in parables to them, because people see what I do, but they don't really see. They hear what I say, but they don't really hear, and they don't understand.
This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah, which says: 'You will hear My words, but you will not understand; you will see what I do, but you will not perceive its meaning.
For the heart of this people has become dull; with their ears they
scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they
would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with
their heart and turn to Me, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;
For assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."
All
these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a
parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by the prophet, saying: "I will open My mouth in parables;
I will speak things kept secret from the foundation of the world."
Matthew 13:10-17, 34-35.
Well
now that you understand parables a little better, want to see a cool
picture that has a lot of parables drawn in it?
This
cool picture has some the parables of Jesus drawn out by an
artist. Can you tell which parables are drawn in the picture?
If you click on the picture, a larger image will show on your screen so
you can see it better. There are actually nine parables in this
picture. Can you find them all? Here is a hint: The
parables can be found in the New Testament Gospels of your Bible:
Luke 10:30-37, John 1:1-16, Matthew 13:3-8, Matthew 25:14-30, Luke
15:11-32, Luke 12:13-23, Matthew 25:1-12, Luke 16:19-31, and the last
one I will leave up to you to find, ok? May God fill you with
great and wonderful things and bless you abundantly as you
seek Him in His Word...
