THE PARABLES OF JESUS

To understand the meaning of Jesus Christ parables one must look at the point in time Jesus Christ was into his ministry.


Must people were not educated and very few could read so Jesus used word pictures so the mass’s could understand his words. When we read our savior words it would be wise to read deeply for true comprehension. Now let’s us read the following,

Meditation: What do you know about sowing seeds? For a rural community that lived off the land, sowing was absolutely necessary for survival. The mere act of sowing brought great hope in the anticipation of a fruitful harvest. Jesus' story, however, gives a warning. A seed can't mature into fruit without the proper conditions for growth. Even the prophet Jeremiah gave similar advice several hundred years earlier: "Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns" (Jer. 4:3).

What's the point of this story for Jesus' audience and for us? Jesus' parable of the sower is aimed at the hearers of his word. There are different ways of accepting God's word and they produce different kinds of fruit accordingly. There is the prejudiced hearer who has a shut mind. Such a person is unteachable and blind to the things of God. Then there is the shallow hearer who fails to think things out or think them through; such a person lacks spiritual depth. They may initially respond with an emotional fervor, but when it wears off their mind wanders to something else. Another type of hearer is the person who has many interests or cares, but who lacks the ability to hear or comprehend what is truly important. Such a person is for ever too busy to pray or too preoccupied to study and meditate on God's word. They may work so hard that they are too tired to even think of anything else but their work. Then there is the one whose mind is open. Such a person is at all times willing to listen and to learn. He or she is never too proud or too busy to learn. They listen in order to understand. God's word has power to change and transform us into the likeness of Christ. God gives grace to those who hunger for his word that they may understand his will and have the strength and freedom to live according to it. Do you hunger for God's transforming word?


"Lord, faith in your word is the way to wisdom, and to ponder your divine plan is to grow in the truth. May your word take deep root in my heart that I may grow strong in love and live in the hope of your everlasting kingdom."


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(c) 2000- 2006 Don Schwager