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Jesus was the most unique, incomparable, and greatest teacher ever.

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Jesus was the most unique, incomparable, and greatest teacher ever.

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  1. “And the Lord said to me: What they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.” (Deut. 18:17-19)

  2. Jesus was the most unique, incomparable, and greatest teacher ever. • Those who heard Him were “astonished at his teaching; for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes” (Matt 7:29). • Even His enemies reported that they had never heard a man speak as He did (John 7:46).

  3. Jesus was the most unique, incomparable, and greatest teacher ever. • Jesus was Heaven’s message incarnate. • “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became 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 1:1, 14) • “in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Col 2:9) • In Jesus men saw, as well as heard, the truth. He was the truth (John 14:6) and God means of imparting truth (Heb. 1:2).

  4. What is a parable? • Not a new form of teaching. • The disciples did not ask “what are parables” but “why speak in parables”. • Parables had been a popular form of teaching for ages (2 Sam. 12:1-4, Isa. 5:1-2, Ezek 17:1-10). • They were a familiar method of teaching among the rabbis of Jesus’ own time. Why Parables?

  5. What is a parable? • Not a new form of teaching. • “Parable” derives from a Greek verb which means “to place beside, to cast alongside.” – thus, the idea of comparison – putting the known beside the unknown. • “A somewhat lengthy… narrative drawn from nature or human circumstances, the object of which is to set forth a spiritual lesson” (Vine). • Commonly defined, it is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” Why Parables?

  6. As a fulfillment of prophecy. • “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” (Ps 78:1-2). • “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 utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.” (Mt 13:3435) Why Parables?

  7. To promote the truth of the Kingdom to any who would hear it • “Why do You speak to them in parables?” “He 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.” (Matt. 13:11). • Mystery = knowledge gained only by revelation. • "Mysteries of kingdom" refer to truth about kingdom revealed by God. • Parables were just one way of relating these truths Why Parables?

  8. To promote the truth of the Kingdom to any who would hear it • “Why do You speak to them in parables?” “He 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.” (Matt. 13:11). • Some wrongly conclude that parables were an attempt by Jesus to conceal the truth from some. • Why speak at all? Why make the exhortation of Matt. 13:9? • a common exhortation in the teaching of Christ (Matt. 11:15. Mar. 4:9, 23; 7:14–16. Re. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 13:8, 9) • "Let every person who feels the necessity of being instructed in the things which concern his soul's welfare pay attention to what is spoken, and he shall become wise unto salvation." Clarke's Commentary Why Parables?

  9. To promote the truth of the Kingdom to any who would hear it • “Why do You speak to them in parables?” “He 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.” (Matt. 13:11). • Some wrongly conclude that parables were an attempt by Jesus to conceal the truth from some. • Why speak at all? Why make the exhortation of Matt. 13:9? • "It is a way of speaking used by Christ, when anything of moment was delivered, and not so easy to be understood, on purpose to quicken the attention of his auditors, and stir up in them a desire of understanding what was said." Gill's Exposition Why Parables?

  10. To promote the truth of the Kingdom to any who would hear it • “Why do You speak to them in parables?” “He 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.” (Matt. 13:11). • Jesus did not use parables to hide the truth from people; rather he used them because the truth wasn't getting through to people. • “Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Mt 13:13) • Many viewed themselves as enlightened - they thought they were intellectually and spiritually astute. However, they were blind and deaf and without understanding - the truth of the kingdom was lost on them– Thus, Jesus in compassion turns to the parables. Why Parables?

  11. To distinguish between the humble and the arrogant. • “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Matt. 13:12). • The contrast is between those who have and those who have not. What is it that one must have? • The quotation from Isaiah 6 speaks of the pride and stubbornness of the heart of Israel which made it impossible for the word of God to have any effect (Isaiah 57:15; 66:2; 2:11). • This helps us to understand the problem with the people in Jesus day. They did not have a contrite heart that would humbly receive the teachings. They would not listen and seek to understand the words of God. Why Parables?

  12. To distinguish between the humble and the arrogant. • “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” (Matt. 13:12). • Those who possessed a lowliness of mind were destined to have a rich and true understanding of the kingdom of heaven. However, those who had none or little of that attitude were destined to lose even the little understanding they had. Why Parables?

  13. To promote effort toward understanding the Kingdom. • “Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.” (Matt. 13:36). • While the parables were meant to simplify truth, they were not always simplistic and their meaning was not always readily evident, even to the humble heart. • The NT emphasizes over and over again that these men wanted to know more so they could understand the meaning of the parables (Matt 13.36; Mark 4.10; Luke 8.9). • It seems obvious then that one of the purposes of parables was to cause those hungering and thirsting after righteousness to seek it more diligently (Matt. 5:6). Why Parables?

  14. Considering some applications. • Truth is available to all who will receive it. • The purpose of parables was to reveal the truth of God. • God's truth has been revealed (Jude 3) and we can know it even today (John 17:17, Eph. 3:4). • It is available to all (Mt. 11:28; Rev. 22:17) Why Parables?

  15. Considering some applications. • We must still seek diligently to understand the truth. • The truth of the Gospel is designed to appeal to those who want to know it. • However, that truth may not always be readily understood (2 Pet. 3:16) • Our response to the difficulty of truth determines the character of people we are. When we are confronted with some challenging statement of Scripture, we can either leave in despair and confusion, or stay around patiently to learn more. • Our response will reveal whether it is given to us to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, and what kind of heart we have. Why Parables?

  16. Considering some applications. • The truth still distinguishes between the humble and the arrogant. • Hearing the word of God is a dynamic experience; we will be either the better or the worse for it - The same sun that melts the wax hardens the clay; the response is determined by the heart of the hearer. • The parables, and the gospel as a whole, will not make a humble heart proud but they can make a proud heart humble if we are disposed to let them (1 Cor. 14:24, 25). This is, of course, the desired intent of truth. Why Parables?

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