Listen Carefully to the Word

Imagine the scene that day. The teaming masses of men and women crowding Jesus. They have heard about His teaching. The stories of His healing are all anyone is talking about these days. Hundreds, probably thousands, have come to see Jesus. It wasn’t in a concert hall, a sanctuary, or an auditorium. This assembly was out the open. The crowds are closing in around Jesus. So, He steps onto a boat and has it pushed a bit away from the shore. This builds some buffer. It also provided a bit of amplification. If you have ever been on a body of water, you know that voices carry. So, on the smelly stage of a working fisherman’s boat, Jesus teaches. And, here He tells a story – we call it a parable.

Again, the word “parable” itself means to cast alongside. A parable is a story used to teach. It is cast alongside the plain instruction. It is a powerful way of teaching. “Let me tell you a story” are six words that open wide doors for preachers and speakers. When teaching, I find that pens are set down, eyes come up, and students listen when the lecture moves from a point by point lesson to a story. Stories come in under the radar. Our defenses are down. We listen and the picture is painted with characters, places, and actions.

A parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.”

Jesus, on the boat with waves gently lapping against the shore, tells us a story.

The parable does not call us to look into the heart of another and discern the soil before casting the seed. Jesus says, “A sower went out to and as he sowed…” The seed is plentiful. Cast it.

But, we must do a soil analysis in our own heart.