MY PERSPECTIVE, Gary Damron
Last week's article listed seven characteristics of the teachings of Jesus the Messiah. Over the next couple of weeks, we'll review His use of teaching methods, including parables, metaphors, hyperbole, sayings, paradoxes, argument, repetition, contrast, and poetry.
Most people who've read the New Testament are familiar with parables, which were used most often when Jesus was speaking to the masses. His parables reflect on nature, or human experience, to communicate a spiritual lesson. Each parable can be understandable in itself, but its spiritual meaning is often veiled.
One familiar parable is that of a farmer planting seeds. "'Behold, the sower went out to sow; and it came about that as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. And other seed fell on the rocky ground... And other seed fell among the thorns... And other seeds fell into the good soil and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.' And He was saying, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear'" (Mark 4:3-9).
That last sentence was pointed, and we need to realize that the deeper message is for each individual. In other words, "Pay attention to this personally." Then in the next three verses, he spoke to a group of followers. In the Aramaic, Jesus quoted Isaiah 6:9, "'while seeing, they may see and not perceive; and while hearing, they may hear and not understand [unless] they [repent] and be forgiven'" (Mark 4:12). We need to get rid of 'little birds' that steal our seeds, be ready for the deeper things of God, and allow Him to remove thorns from our lives. Repentance, a change of direction, and walking in a godly way brings about rapid increase in understanding and growth.
While we could spend weeks talking about parables, we'll move next to metaphors, which make a spiritual application. Examples of these happened in real life, as the conversation with a woman at a well, and Jesus' feeding of the multitudes. In each case, living water is a metaphor; bread of life is a metaphor.
The first account is found in John 4:7-26, when a Samaritan woman came at midday to a well where Jesus was sitting. They discussed a drink of water - the metaphor - and anyone living in a dry land knows how important that is. But the spiritual truth Jesus offers is a well springing up with eternal life. By the end of the conversation, the key message is not that she's a Samaritan or a woman, indicating that we're to reach out to people different than us. It is the Good News that Jesus is available for you and me. The last exchange is when she told Him, "'I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ)'" and His reply was, "'I who speak to you am He'" (John 4:25-26). The woman had sought meaning on the mountain, at the well, in relationships with six different men, but in Jesus, she found eternal life.
A second metaphor is recorded by the apostle John. A great crowd began following Jesus because of the signs (miracles) they had seen Him perform. Jesus mentioned to his disciples the fact that the people were hungry. "One of His disciples, Andrew ... said to Him, 'There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two fish, but what are these for so many people? ... Jesus took the loaves; and having given thanks, He distributed to those who were seated; likewise also of the fish as much as they wanted. And when they were filled, He said to His disciples, 'Gather up the leftover fragments that nothing may be lost.' And so they gathered them up, and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves .... When therefore the people saw the sign which He had performed, they said, 'This is of a truth the Prophet who is to come into the world'" (John 6:4-14).
But again, the point is not that Jesus produced food, even in abundance, from a small offering. It isn't that the lad was willing to give what he had. Or that Jesus was urging followers not to be wasteful. The crowd who witnessed the miracle missed the whole point, calling Him a prophet. The greatest fulfillment of the metaphor came about when Jesus gave His life on the cross, and God raised Him from the dead, so that He might be the bread of life for all who believe in Him.
Jesus used metaphors and spoke differently to various groups. It’s not what we get, or even what we give, but what Jesus is offering. He seeks through metaphors and parables to explain in a way that's understandable. We live in a fleshly world, and we think we're dependent on bread and water. But Jesus said, "'It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life'" (John 6:63). Paul wrote, "Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. ... for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:16, 18).
The presence of the One who loves us brings life, health, renewal, and peace for all eternity. Next week, we'll look at more of Jesus' teaching methods.
