Why Did Jesus Preach in Parables? Isampula

Parables and God’s Judgment

Who was in the audience when Jesus said He preached in parables so that those seeing Him might not see, and hearing Him, might not understand? Who was He speaking to? Because it is clear that some people did believe in Him during the time when He was on Earth. He was followed by crowds, and they included people who trusted in Him and supported His work. He wasn’t speaking only to the disciples who would start the church after He ascended to Heaven. 

The unique reference Jesus gave was to the Jews in Israel. They had a covenantal relationship with God as a nation. That is not to say every Israelite was a believer because it was not the case. Many believed, but many others did not. Yet, God had formed a special relationship with this nation. He wanted to use them as a conduit for the proliferation of His message throughout the world, but they failed in that task. 

Israel had been given much, but they had wasted what they had been given for many hundreds of years! Jesus quoted Isaiah 6. Isaiah’s message to the people was that he would preach, yet the people of Israel would not hear or listen to him. Isaiah was prophesying in 700 BC, and yet Jesus experienced the same indifference hundreds of years later. 

God had been very patient with Israel. He had spoken to them in many different ways throughout all the ages, through prophets, through miracles, through signs. And with Jesus, God was speaking to Israel through His very own Son. He spoke to them, and as a nation, they rejected their Messiah. And Jesus understood this.

So, He spoke to Israel in parables. These were an expression of judgment. If you imitated Him, if you were to preach as Jesus did to that audience, you’d be practicing a method that was intended to express judgment. 

God, how much patience You have shown to me through the years! How often You have blessed and equipped me to spread Your message to others! Please help me to recognize Your work in my life. Help me to fulfill the tasks You give me. Let me not waste the blessings I have received.