Why Parables?

Mark 4: 1-9; 10-20

This morning’s passage from Mark’s Gospel comes immediately after Jesus began teaching a large crowd “many things in parables” (Mark 4:2).  What are parables, and why does Jesus use them to teach?  Parables are stories describing situations in everyday life, but which also have a deeper spiritual meaning.  Dale Bruner says that parables are not just stories about the Kingdom of God; they are stories that bring the Kingdom of God.

The parable that Jesus tells in Mark 4 is the parable of the sower and the seed he sows.  After hearing Jesus, the disciples ask him about the parables.  That’s not surprising – throughout Mark’s Gospel, the disciples just don’t get it.  “Repeatedly, from start to finish, they misunderstand, misconstrue, and misappropriate Jesus’ teachings.” (William Willimon, Pulpit Resource, Oct. 22, 2006).   Listen again to how Jesus responds:

“When Jesus was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables.  And he said to them, ‘To you has been given the secret (literally, mystery) of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’” (Mark 4:10-12)

There’s no question about it: that’s a hard saying.  It’s one of the most shocking, outrageous, and frankly, embarrassing texts in the whole New Testament.  As one commentator says, “The problem is that we seem to have caught Jesus of all people in a very un-Christlike attitude.”  (Tom Long)  His disciples ask him why he preaches in parables, and Jesus replies, “The reason I preach in parables is so they will see and not perceive what I’m saying; so they will hear and not understand what I’m talking about; so they won’t repent and be forgiven.”

Well, that’s not exactly what we expect to hear Jesus say.  We expect him to say, “The reason I preach in parables is to make my sermons more interesting.  Or the reason I preach in parables is to make things more clear and simple, so everyone can understand.”  But no, he says, “The reason I preach in parables is to muddy the water so that people will not easily see or understand, so that they don’t believe the gospel.”

If that bothers us, we can find comfort in knowing that it evidently bothered Matthew, too.  Many scholars believe Mark was the first Gospel written, and that Matthew used a lot of Mark’s material in his Gospel.  But there’s a difference in Matthew’s text:  Matthew is so uncomfortable with Mark’s text that he makes a subtle but significant change in the story. 

In Matthew, Jesus doesn’t say, “The reason I speak in parables is in order that they not understand me.”  In Matthew, Jesus says, “The reason I speak in parables is because they don’t understand me.”  (Matthew 13: 10-17)  That sounds much better, doesn’t it?

 “In Matthew, the parables are not the cause of the misunderstanding, they’re a compassionate response to it.  But not in Mark: ‘The reason I preach in parables is I don’t want them to understand, I don’t want them to believe the Gospel.’”  (Tom Long)

Before we all abandon Mark and jump on the Matthew bandwagon, let’s understand that Mark has a reason for telling the story like he does.  Mark is trying to make a couple of theological points.  First, Mark’s Gospel is concerned with the Messianic Secret.  That is, the full revelation about Jesus as God’s Son was hidden (a mystery) until the resurrection.  But there’s another theological issue.  I’m grateful to my old preaching professor, Tom Long, for helping me to better understand this second point. 

Long notes, “Mark wants us to know that it is possible to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ too early.  To move toward Jesus with too much haste, to reach out and grab the Gospel too quickly.  Part of the reason Mark wants us to know that is that Mark is persuaded, perhaps more than any other New Testament writer, that people who move toward Jesus quickly often do so for the wrong reasons.  They’re attracted to the glitter and not the substance.  That when they reach out with haste to grab the Gospel, they get the surface but not the depth.  And Mark does not want us splashing around in the shallow end of the pool thinking we are diving down to the depths.”  (Long, “The Great Preachers” video series).

I’ve shared this story before: there’s a story of George Buttrick, who for many years was the pastor of the Madison Ave. Presbyterian Church in New York.  One day, as he was flying home from a conference, he sat in his chair with a pencil and a pad of paper (pre-laptop days!) working on his Sunday sermon.  The man seated next to him leaned over and said, “I hate to disturb you, you’re obviously working hard on something, but what in the world are you working on?”

“Oh, I’m a Presbyterian minister,” said Buttrick.  “I’m working on my sermon for Sunday.”

“Oh, religion,” said the man.  “I don’t like to get all caught up in the ins and outs and complexities of religion.  I like to keep it simple.  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  The Golden Rule, that’s my religion.”

“I see,” said Buttrick.  “And what do you do?”

“I’m an astronomer, I teach at the university.”

“Oh, yes,” said Buttrick.  “Astronomy.  I don’t like to get all caught up in the ins and outs and complexities of astronomy.  ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star,’ that’s my astronomy.”

The reason Jesus preaches in parables is to push people deeper, in order that they not be fooled into thinking they (and we) had it all figured out, when they didn’t.  Parables push you deeper because “the meaning is sufficiently in doubt” (C.H. Dodd).  You think you know, but you really don’t.  They force you into deeper, more active thought.  Anything that pushes us into a deeper wrestling with our faith is helpful.  That’s why it’s so important to be involved in Bible study, whether it’s the Adult Sunday School class or the Women’s study or on your own.   

Not only that, Mark wants us to know that it takes time to go deeper. It takes time to believe the Gospel, to become disciples of Jesus.  The parable of the sower confirms this: you need time to develop deep roots so that you can withstand and endure persecution and not be choked by the lure of wealth.

Several years ago, there was an event in Redmond called the Puget Sound Festival.  It was a huge evangelistic event – about 70,000 people came each day it was held.  There were Christian rock bands, a skateboarding exhibition, VeggieTales characters for kids, and finally, evangelist Luis Palau, who shared a message urging people to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior on the spot.  Thousands did. 

But I’m convinced that those who accepted the Gospel message during that huge event won’t really embrace it unless they get involved with a church, with other Christians who can encourage and support and disciple them in their faith for the long-term.  It takes time to live the Gospel life, and God is patient.  Long points out that in the Gospel of Mark, nobody understands Jesus, nobody.  The crowds don’t, the religious figures don’t, the disciples don’t, not even Jesus’ own family.  Nobody understands Jesus, until you get all the way to the end, and then one Roman soldier looks up at the cross and says, “Truly, this man was God’s Son!”

It’s often hard for us to be patient, to realize that it takes time to get to know Jesus.  The main reason Mark wants us to know that it’s possible to move toward the Gospel too early is because Mark knows that we’re impatient for results.  That’s probably more true in today’s instant gratification society than it was in Jesus’ day.  We want peace of mind now.  I want my prayer life to be effective immediately.  I want peace and justice today.  I want a faith that works now.

“But Mark’s church was being persecuted.  And Mark wanted them to know that being a Christian means clinging to the promises of God, even when everything in the now seems to deny it.  Holding on to the promises of God’s future when the present tense seems empty of meaning” (Long).  That’s exactly what happened in this sanctuary after 9/11 and the Asian tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, when after those horrible events we gathered to remember, and to pray for hope, healing, recovery, and peace. 

None of us are under the illusion that healing and peace will come about today or tomorrow.  But even though we can’t see all of the Kingdom of God in the present tense, we can trust the promise that nothing will separate us from the love of God.  We can cling to hope by spending time with Christ and moving ever deeper in our journey of discipleship.  “And that,” said Jesus, “is why I preach in parables.”  Amen.