He told them, “The
secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside
everything is said in parables so that, “‘they may be ever
seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise
they might turn and be forgiven!’” Mark
4:11-12 NIV
Depending
on the context, parables (or riddles) used by Jesus has the twin purpose of
concealing and revealing. To hearts that
are hardened, the meanings of parables are hidden from them. To hearts that are open, they are a means to
draw them into the kingdom of God.
Except
for a few parables whereby they are interpreted in a semi-allegorical manner
(eg. parable of the sower), most parables are simple enough for hearers to
understand. The parable can be considered
the parable of the soils whereby the different hearers are being typified. So many during Jesus’ days when they heard it
would recognise the enormous wastage a farmer will go through to reap a
harvest. Little did many realise, Jesus
was talking about them – how they would respond to His teachings.
Parables – do you
get the point?
There
are different kinds of parables
1.
Similitude:
Jesus used illustrations taken from everyday life to make a point
“The
kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of
meal till it was all leavened.” Matt
13:33 NKJLike yeast, the kingdom of heaven starts small but it will have a great impact on the world eventually. Here it is used as a symbol of growth rather than evil.
2.
Metaphor:
figure of speech; used of objects to personify something
“You
are the salt of the earth …”
Matt 5:13a NKJ
Salt
is used for flavouring and preserving.
The disciples of Christ are to arrest the corruption of humanity and
season its lack of flavour (or distinctiveness).
3.
Epigram:
concise saying used to illustrate a point
“You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes
from thornbushes or figs from thistles?”
Matt 7:16 NKJ
The answer is obvious; every tree bears its own fruit.
4.
Story:
that calls forth a response from the hearers eg. Good Samaritan, Prodigal son,
ten virgins, rich man and Lazarus etc.
One of the
most deeply ingrained human notions is that a person must do something to merit
God’s favour. A lawyer (expert in
interpreting the Law) asked Jesus a question: “What shall I do to inherit
eternal life?” Notice his question was not motivated by a personal sense of
need but a way to trap Jesus; to gauge Jesus’ ability as a teacher. In keeping with his status as a lawyer, Jesus
asked him how he reads it in the Law or Torah.
His reply is similar to the great commandment Jesus gave to another
lawyer (Mk 12:29-33) – love God completely and love your neighbour as yourself.
Jesus commended
the lawyer for his answer and said he should do this and live. This of course is the problem. “Do all that! Put all self behind; love God
purely and perfectly. Love others as you love yourself. Do all that and you will live.” Feeling convicted and wanting to justify
himself (his lawyer disposition coming to play), he further asked Jesus, “Who
is my neighbour?” He didn’t want to
think that he must love everybody. You
see, Jews interpreted neighbour very narrowly to exclude Samaritans and Gentiles. That’s when Jesus told a parable to
illustrate a point that demands a response.
The journey
from Jerusalem to Jericho was about 30 km, descending from about 700 m in
altitude. It was known for its danger
because the road ran through areas of desert and caves where robbers hid. The lone unidentified traveller was attacked
and stripped of his clothes and left half dead; he was most likely a Jew.
Let’s look at
how various people would treat the (injured) traveller:
· A) the lawyers – a topic for discussion;
legal experts split hairs over interpretations in the Law, trying to absolve
oneself from responsibility. In today’s context, there are many discussions and
video presentations over the net with regard to prophecy and end time events. If they do not move us to draw closer to God
and help our fellow men, then it becomes an intellectual exercise very much
like what the legal experts would do.
However, we thank God for apologists of the Christian faith who are able
to debate intellectuals and the scientific community (many of whom are atheists
or agnostics) in academia; presenting God as the Creator of the universe and
One who wants to have a living relationship with us.
· B) the thieves – a person to exploit for
personal gain; taking advantage of the weak and vulnerable. In our context, we are to be wary of false
prophets and teachers who could sweet talk us into parting with our wealth or
do things which could have disastrous effect on us eg. Jim Jones (leader of
Peoples’ Temple). The apostle Paul warns
us in 2 Tim 3:5-6 (NLT) regarding religious phonies:
They will act
religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away
from people like that! They are the kind who work their way
into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened
with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires.
C) the priest/Levite – a person to avoid
in case of being contaminated by an unclean (dead) person; they were probably
returning from temple duties (we are told the priest was going down the same
road); we were told that “it so happened” or ‘by chance” both saw the man but
passed by the other side. Nothing
happens by chance. There’s always a
purpose why certain things happen. They
were so task or religious focused that they forgot the people whom they are to
serve outside their temple duties.
“Whoever
touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days. They
must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day;
then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and
seventh days, they will not be clean. If they fail to purify
themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the Lord’s tabernacle. They must be cut off
from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them,
they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.”
Num 19:11-13 NIV
Priests were
supposed to be ritually clean, exemplars of the Law. Otherwise, they would bring immediate shame
and embarrassment to themselves at the expense of the people and their
peers. Having completed his
mandatory two weeks of service, he would then need to return and stand at the
eastern gate along with the rest of the unclean. In addition to the humiliation involved, the
process of restoring ritual purity was time consuming and costly. It required finding and reducing a red
heifer (cow) to ashes; this ritual takes a week. The priest cannot approach closer than 4
cubits (abt 1.8m) to a dead man without being defiled. He’s in a dilemma; likewise for the
Levite. To avoid inconvenience and
trouble, it would be easier to walk pass him on the other side.
The Levites
rallied to the side of Moses (the Lord’s side) to avenge God's honor in the
episode of the golden calf when the general population was influenced by evil
promptings. They were rewarded with the spiritual service lost at that time by
the firstborn of the other tribes. The Levites were tested and proved worthy of
their elevated spiritual status. They carried the Tabernacle and its vessels on
its wanderings in the desert, served as the honor guard, gatekeepers and
musicians of the Temple. They also assisted the priests in preparing offerings and other aspects of the Temple's
work.
The priest
and Levite are representatives of all believers; as we are all priests &
Levites of God who offer the sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving to God. We often
return from the house of God or oikos meetings having worshipped and/or served
Him. We have also heard the word of the
Lord being proclaimed. What is our
attitude towards people who are lost, hurting and in need? Do we turn a blind
eye towards their needs like the priest & Levite in the parable? Can we
also be so task or religious-focused that we neglect the people whom we are to
serve?
With what shall I come before the Lord and
bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Mic 6:6-8 NIV
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. Mic 6:6-8 NIV
· D) the Samaritan – a person to love; the
relationship between Jews and Samaritans was one of hostility. Jews viewed
Samaritans (Jews who intermarried foreigners during the period of captivity) as apostates since they worshipped idols as well; when the Jews
returned from captivity, the Samaritans were prohibited from helping in the
rebuilding of the temple in Ezra days. This resulted in them erecting their own
temple in Mt Gerizim. Jesus broke taboo
by speaking with a woman and a Samaritan (Jn 4:9). Samaritans are not Gentiles but they do observe
the Torah. The Samaritan would not be
naturally from that area, so the half dead man would not qualify as his
neighbour. The first thing to note about
the Samaritan is that he had compassion on the man when he saw him lying there
naked. At the risk and inconvenience to
his own life, he stopped to help the man; risking defilement and being robbed
himself and being accused of harming a person which he is seeking to help. At
his own expense, he poured wine to cleanse the wounds and oil to sooth the
smartings; he took him on his donkey to an inn to take care of him and paid for
his expenses – two days’ wages – and promising the innkeeper to pay for any
additional expenses. He is a picture of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
had compassion on the lost; clothed us with His garments of righteousness and
poured out His Spirit upon us. But
that’s beside the point where a parable is concerned.
The expert in
the Law had come in pride, trying to trap Jesus. Now he had to respond to Jesus’ rejoinder: “Which of these three do you think was neighbour to him who fell among
the thieves?” The lawyer couldn’t bring himself to say ‘the Samaritan’
but rather he who had mercy on him.
Jesus then
challenged him: “Go and do likewise.”
Meaning, go and be a neighbour to others. Go and be like the
Samaritan. Jesus didn’t answer the
lawyer’s question but turned the table around: “Don’t go about justifying who your
neighbour should be but be a neighbour to the people in need.” Jesus’ idea was to get the lawyer to feel a
personal sense of need or loss.
And when you
realise that you cannot possibly do all things that are required by the divine
law of love, then perhaps you will realise that relationship with God (having eternal
life) can never be based on human works or accomplishments! Life with God begins with confession and
forgiveness. Life with God begins when
we abandon our works and throw ourselves on the overflowing mercies of our
God. Then and then only, can we receive
His agape love to love others as God would love us. Those of us who professed to be Christians,
yet are insensitive to the needs of others, give evidence that we do not have
eternal life.
Three lessons we can learn about loving our neighbour
1.
Lack
of love is easy to justify – we don’t want to inconvenient ourselves nor be a
busybody; we would like to keep things private
In
a recent Straits Times article (10 Jun 2014), entitled Most neighbours just say ‘hi’ and ‘bye’, a sociologist mentioned, "The more densely packed we are, the more we
value privacy. Modern society prides itself on being independent. As a result,
we don't make the additional effort to reach out to our neighbours. Unlike the
olden days in a kampung, when neighbours needed each other to borrow rice, for
instance.”
Recently, I was unable to get into my flat as the gate
was locked and I brought only the door key.
While waiting for my family to return, my next door neighbour (whose
door is usually opened) saw what happened and offered a drink and her phone to
me to make a call. Ever since they’ve
moved over, we have given each other gifts (CNY, Christmas, return from overseas
trips). She has even cooked dishes for
us. My wife has also invited her family
for some evangelistic meetings at the Chinese service. Do we know our next door neighbour?
2.
Our
neighbour is anyone (regardless of race or social background) in need
Jesus expands
the definition of a neighbour. Whether
it is a physical need (cleaning house, carrying things), an emotional need
(providing a listening ear or encouraging word) or a spiritual need (minister
the word or prayer), we can offer a helping hand within our capabilities. The good Samaritan met the physical needs of
the injured traveller without expecting anything in return.
3.
Love
means acting to meet needs of people around you
This parable is about
loving God and loving our neighbour. We
if claim to love God, then it must be evident in our interaction with our
fellow men.
Whoever
claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does
not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom
they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone
who loves God must also love their brother and sister. 1 Jn
4:20-21 NIV
Look
around you – are there people you can help?
The good Samaritan shows us that love is
demonstrated through meeting
the felt needs of people. Let us be good Samaritans!
