November 28, 1948 PARABLES IN THE BIBLE Matt. 13:31-33, 44-46; Luke 15:3-10
est of beginnings, to a movement that covers the earth. It grew in the field which is the world. But its growth lacks substantiality. It is no oak. Furthermore, the mustard plant harbors within its branches “ the birds of the air.” Birds are suggestive of evil influences which find their way into Christendom but which contribute no benefit to the cause of Christ (Matt. 13:4). The Hid Treasure (Matt. 13:44) Israel is the hid treasure. It is hidden in the world, scattered among the na tions. Yet the divine Merchantman buys the field for the sake of the treasure and one day there will be restoration and salvation in Israel. Joy will accompany this restoration. The Pearl of Great Price (Matt. 13:45,46) The pearl is the church, not Christ as many have taught. Man had nothing with which to purchase the Saviour but Christ bought the church with the price of His own precious blood. Do you know the nature of a pearl? It is the result of suffering. It comes into being as the result of irritation created in the oyster due to some foreign substance entering. To protect the oyster a secretion sur rounds the foreign substance which hardens and a pearl is formed. The pearl also is a unit. It is beautiful. How like the church is all this! The Lost Sheep (Luke 15:3-7) All three of the parables of this chap ter have to do with lost things, a lost sheep, a lost coin, a lost son. The para ble of the lost sheep suggests suffering. The shepherd hazards all difficulties in order to restore the sheep that was lost. It is a wonderful picture of the Son of God, the Good Shepherd, in His journey from heaven to earth, and then to Cal vary to bring back the one who has wan dered. In this parable the great idea is that of searching. It suggests the Holy Spirit Who searches out lost ones and puts them back into circulation and useful ness. Helps for the Children Parables Jesus Told Luke 10:25-37; 15:3-10 Memory Verse: “Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in . their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people” (Matt. 9:35). The first four books in the New Testa ment contain many of the happenings in the life of the Lord Jesus and many of the things which He said. One of Jesus’ favorite ways of teaching was by the use of parables. Someone has called a parable an earthly story with a heaven ly meaning. The Bible refers to some of Jesus’ stories as parables; some of T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S The Lost Coin (Luke. 15:8-1»)
and, second, they were for the purpose of revealing the message of God to those who were spiritually minded. Usually each parable has one outstanding truth and everything in the parable should be considered in the light of this one truth. The lesson this week presents sev eral examples of these parables. The teacher should seek to find the main truth in each of them and drive it home. The Mustard Seed (Matt. 13:31-33) This parable suggests the outward growth of Christendom from the small
Pointers on the Lesson The word parable comes from two Greek words which taken together mean something cast alongside for the pur pose of comparison, illustration or an alogy. In the New Testament sense, it was a story told bearing definite similar ity to some great truth the writer had in mind. Parabolic teaching reached its zenith in the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. There was a two-fold pur pose in the parables He gave. First, they were for the purpose of conceal ing truth from those whose minds and hearts were closed to the things of God;
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