1 How To Read Parables Moorewomen Talks 24/09/15 Jane Tooher What is a parable? Don Carson suggests that A parable could be any of the following: a proverb, story, extended metaphor, riddle, enigmatic saying. So not just a narrative / story as some of us more commonly associate parables to be (no narrative style parables are in John s Gospel). 1 Yet the 5 parables in bible study this term are all narrative types: (i) Luke 10:25-37 - The Parable of the Good Samaritan (ii) Luke 14:15-24 - The Parable of the Large Banquet (iii) Luke 16:1-13 - The Parable of the Dishonest Manager (iv) Luke 19:11-27 - The Parable of the 10 Minas (v) Luke 20:9-19 - The Parable of the Vineyard Owner Peter Bolt & Lionel Windsor are in agreement with Carson: In the Gospels the Hebrew/ Aramaic background to the word parable παραβολή is mashal, which covers a wide range of meanings. In the Old Testament it refers to a figurative saying, which may be a proverb, a proper parable, an allegory, a long apocalyptic prediction (Enoch). 2 In Judaism it is used for every kind of figurative speech: parable, similitude, allegory, fable, proverb, apocalyptic revelation, riddle, symbol, pseudonym, fictitious person, example, theme, argument, apology, refutation, jest. In the New Testament παραβολή also has a wide range of meaning: comparison, symbol, proverb, commonplace, riddle, rule. 3 The parables are life-like. 4 They are examples of popular storytelling, and they use devices of effective communication, e.g. repetition (e.g. the passer-bys and the Wounded man, the Talents Mt 25), the rule of contrast (Lk 16 the rich man poor mean, Lk 18 the Pharisee & Taxcollector), the rule of three: three travellers in Good Samaritan, excuse makers in Great Supper (Lk 14), the rule of end-stress. The only son Mk 12; the talents Mt 25. sometimes the same image can be found in several forms, such as the lost sheep, which can be found as a simile or metaphor ( we all like sheep have gone astray ), or expanded into a similitude (Lost Sheep), and expanded into story-parable (e.g. Prodigal Son). So we see that the Sunday School definition [ ] is not really adequate, for the parables are not really illustrations, and they are not always straightforward or clear. C. H. Dodd's definition probably sums up the Biblical parables the best: At its simplest the parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought. 5 With such a definition, perhaps the best English rendering of the word would be riddle. 6 1 Carson,D.A., http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/carson-on-the-purpose-of-the-parables 2 Hunter, Interpreting,? [cited in Bolt & Windsor] 3 J. Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus (London: SCM, ET 1954, 1972), 20. [cited in Bolt & Windsor] 4 Hunter, Interpreting, 10. 5 Dodd, The Parables of the Kingdom (London: Collins, 1935, revised 1961), 5 6 Bolt, P., & Windsor, L., BS121 NT1 (Mark) Lecture notes Themes in Mark: Parables (2015)
2 Step 1: Tools Remember the tools we have in reading God s word 7 The author s purpose tool The context tool The structure tool The linking words tool The parallels tool The narrator s comment tool The vocabulary tool The translations tool The tone and feel tool The repetition tool The quotation tool / allusion tool The genre tool The copycat tool The Bible timeline tool The Who am I? tool The So what? tool But they add.. Bear the following points in mind: You won t need every tool for every passage you read. Some tools will be crucial for some passages, others secondary. Sometimes the tools will work only when used together, one tool enabling you to use another. (Beynon & Sach, Dig Deeper, 17) Step 2: Context (i) Scripture (ii) New Testament Biblical theology Isaiah 6 Salvation history (iii) The Gospels Matthew: God is with us, he will save his people from their sins, Emmanuel; but then flows out to the gentile world. Mark: The KOG has drawn near because the King has given his life for a ransom for many. John: God become flesh. Christ is the creator God. But for a little while he become a man and dwelt among us. Jesus is Christ that you may have eternal life. 20:31. Luke: Luke presents the facts about Jesus Christ that s he (mainly) heard from others and those facts speak for themselves that the Son of Man has come to seek and save the lost and the great demonstration that s salvation has been achieved is the resurrection of the dead and this gives people certainty that if they call upon his name they ll be saved. The parables are set in the context of Jesus ministry as portrayed by the Gospel writers. The crisis that they point toward is therefore the one great crisis: the death of Jesus; the Messiah of Israel destroyed by Israel. This would make the parables point towards the gospel climax even more. 8 The parables form a running commentary on Jesus' ministry, first in Galilee and then in Judea, and serve as a prelude to the act which completed and crowned his 7 Beynon, N., & Sach, A., Dig Deeper (IVP) 2005 8 Bolt & Windsor
3 whole mission. [...] The Cross was, in fact, God's great parable acted out in history by which he sought to reconcile a prodigal human race to himself. 9 And yet, even though the parables are first and foremost to be understood within the historical context of Jesus ministry and within the literary context of the Gospels. They must also contain a meaning for the readers of the Gospel. This perspective suggests that the meaning of the parables for me now is not isolated from the meaning of the whole Gospel for me today. "The parables are texts to be read along with other texts". 10 The meaning of the parables comes not from their isolation, but from their greater appreciation within the Gospel stories. The one who has ears to hear needs to hear Mark (or Matthew, or Luke or John), and the parables will assist to engage him with those stories and so produce their effect in his/her life. The parables help to engage the reader in the narrative and so to hear the message of the Gospels all the more powerfully. 11 (iv) Lk 1:1-4 Luke s Gospel Step 3: Parables For the parables in Luke, Kenneth Bailey offers a very stimulating approach which he calls a Literary Cultural method. 12 He argues that the key to the parables is in their literary forms, and their cultural setting. Various theological clusters will be attached to the parable, and these will convey meaning to the audience. In other words, he again focuses attention on what it meant back then, in order to illumine what it means today. (Bolt & Windsor) Of the four gospel writers, Luke has a special interest in the parables of Jesus, recording no fewer than forty-five, with a special interest in the longer story parables like the good Samaritan. Luke records thirty-one parables of Jesus on his journey from Galilee to Jerusalem, in chapters 9-19. These thirty-one parables of Jesus are important for the disciple on the journey and may rightly be thought of a parables for pilgrims. 13 Step 4: Pastoral issues that may arise / good to keep in mind Go through each of the parables and ask questions such as Bible Study Questions to ask in Bible study some examples (i) COMA (Helm, D., One to one) (Matthias Media) For COMA questions to ask when studying a Gospel, please see end of this outline (ii) Swedish method (http://matthiasmedia.com/briefing/2009/01/the-swedishmethod/) (a) A light bulb = Something that shines from the passage whatever impacts most or draws attention. (b) A question = Anything that is difficult to understand in the text, or a question the reader would like to ask the writer of the passage or the Lord. (c) An arrow = A personal application for the reader s life. 9 Hunter, The Parables for Today, 4 [cited in Bolt & Windsor] 10 Donahue, Gospel in Parable, 26. [cited in Bolt & Windsor] 11 Bolt & Windsor 12 K.E. Bailley, Poet & Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes: A literary-cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1976 & 1980 13 Barnett, P.W., Following Jesus to Jerusalem: Luke 9-19 (Paternoster) 2012, 12
4 (iii) Generic questions you could ask of any / most passages, e.g. What does this passage tell us about God? About the world? About ourselves? Who are the characters? What is the mood / tone? etc. (iv) Types of questions: (the 3 building blocks are: observation, interpretation, and application. Sometimes interpretation questions are called meaning as is in the case of COMA) (i) Observation - what the passage says / what does the text actually say? (ii) Interpretation what does the passage / text mean? (iii) Controversial - try and ask questions that expose that our thinking is so often different to God s (iv) Follow-up try and keep the study moving; clarify what people are saying; helps you work out whether you are listening to people or not (v) Application How do we respond to what the text means? Or What does the text demand from its readers? Or What does it mean for me? Can also have launch / introductory questions, plus also summary questions. For further reading on different types of questions see: Marshall, C., Growth Groups (Matthias Media) 1995 Morris K., & Morris, R., Leading better Bible studies (Aquila Press) 1997 Further resources (i) For reading the Bible & leading small groups Beynon, N., & Sach, A., Digging deeper (IVP) 2010 Marshall, C., Growth Groups (Matthias Media) [manual & leaders manual] 1995 Morris, K., & Morris, R., Leading better Bible studies (Aquila Press) 1997 Sach, A., & Alldritt, R., Dig even deeper: Unearthing Old Testament treasure (IVP) 2011 Sach, A., & Hiorns, T., Dig deeper into the Gospels (IVP) 2015 Saer, O., Iron sharpens iron: Leading Bible oriented groups that thrive (Christian Focus) 2010 Soole, K., Unleash the word: Studying the Bible in small groups (10 Publishing) 2015 Wilkin, J., Women of the word: How to study the Bible with both our hearts and our minds (Crossway) 2014 (ii) On The Gospel of Luke & on understanding Parables generally Barnett, P.W., Following Jesus to Jerusalem: Luke 9-19 (Paternoster) 2012 Bailey, K.E., Poet and peasant: A literary-cultural approach to the parables in Luke (Eerdmans) 1976 Carson, D.A., http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/carson-on-the-purpose-of-the-parables (mp3 + also notes that someone took from that talk) Sach, A., & Hiorns, T., Dig deeper into the Gospels (IVP) 2015, 50-58 Taylor, W., Introduction to Luke s Gospel, http://www.st-helens.org.uk/resources/medialibrary/src/talk/53737/title/introduction-to-the-gospel-of-luke, 25/02/14 Commentaries Popular level: Morris, Wilcock. More academic: Bock, Green, Nolland, Tannehill. (iii) Other reference used for this talk not mentioned above Bolt, P., & Windsor, L., BS121 NT1 (Mark) Themes in Mark: Lecture 2. Parables. Moore Theological College, 2015.
5 COMA questions for The Gospels and Acts (from One to One by David Helm) Context What happened so far in the narrative? Have there been any major events, characters or themes? What has happened just prior to the section you are reading? Observation What do you learn about the main characters in this section? How does the author describe them? How do they describe themselves? Is time or place significant in the events that happen in the passage? Is there a conflict or high point in the passage? Do you think there is a main point or theme in this section of the story? What surprises are there? Meaning Are there editorial comments from the author about the events in the narrative? How do these comments illuminate what is happening? Does someone in the narrative learn something or grow in some way? How? What does this person learn? What does the passage reveal about who Jesus is, and what he came into the world to do? How could you sum up the meaning of this passage in your own words? Application How does this passage challenge (or confirm) your understanding? Is there some attitude you need to change? What does this passage teach you about being a disciple of Jesus?