A Parable On The Purpose of Parables

Why did Jesus teach using parables? This is the question his disciples asked him, to which he replied by quoting from Isaiah:

And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
¹⁰ Make the heart of this people dull,
    and their ears heavy,
    and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
    and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
    and turn and be healed.”

Isaiah 6:9-10

Did Jesus purposely use parables to obfuscate the meaning of his message? Did he actually not want the people to be transformed by his teaching? At a surface level, this quoted passage almost hints towards that. Is there something more going on here?

The Power of Story

As members of western civilization, we like to view theology in terms of abstract concepts and propositions: God is love; God is merciful; God is just. But to easterners like the authors of the books in our Bible, metaphor and story that use concrete language is often the best means of communication: God is a good shepherd; God is shade and water on a hot day; God ransomed our ancestors from bondage in Egypt. Parables follow this eastern pattern of thought. They are not allegories but use metaphor to get across a specific point.

Think of the sermons or other speeches you remember most. What made them memorable? Probably, there was a powerful illustration used to make a point. Or maybe, a vivid story captured your attention and amped up your emotional response. While systematic theology with all its sterile logic has value, the emotional pull of story is generally more powerful. When sharing your faith with others, they might argue on the validity of logical, philosophical arguments. They cannot, however, as easily dismiss your testimony, the specific, personal stories about how God has been at work. It might not be the most efficient means of communication by today’s standards, but it is a highly effective one, especially if you want to call someone to action and keep your message memorable.

Isaiah’s Message

In Matthew 13, the disciples ask this question about parables after Jesus tells the well-known parable of the sower, or more aptly named, the parable of the four soils. What does the quotation from Isaiah have to do with this parable or why Jesus speaks in parables? We’ll dive into the parable of the soils in a moment; let’s first look at the context of Isaiah.

In Isaiah 6, God commissions Isaiah to speak a prophetic word to Israel. After God purifies Isaiah with a hot coal from God’s altar, Isaiah eagerly wants to proclaim whatever message God will give him. The message could be summarized as: “People of Israel! Don’t listen to this message of warning, otherwise, God might save you!” The message shocked Isaiah. Did God actually want him to preach that the people should not repent?

Of course, God wanted his people to repent and be rescued! The message was framed as veiled sarcasm or reverse psychology to get the people’s attention. Tragically, God knew that most of the people who would hear Isaiah’s message wouldn’t take it to heart. They’d “hear” his message but not actually listen to it. Or, to use the language of parables, it’s like a child who hears his mom’s voice to come inside for dinner but continues playing as if he didn’t hear. The people would listen to the message but take no action from it. By contrast, Biblical hearing (Hebrew shema) includes both listening and obedience.

Despite knowing that God’s word through Isaiah would largely fall on deaf ears, God wanted him to preach it nonetheless. God’s desire that even some might heed his warnings was enough to make it worth it. Isaiah 6 ends with hope: even though the nation would fall under destruction from exile, there would be a remnant from those who obeyed, a holy seed that would grow from the cut-down stumps (Isaiah 6:13).

Four Types of Disciples

The parable of the four types of soil links to several passages in the Hebrew Scriptures that use seed and soil imagery, including Isaiah 6. This emphasizes the point Jesus is trying to make: many will hear Jesus’ teachings about the kingdom of God, but only those who live them out are part of his family and kingdom. This directly links to the end of the previous chapter: “For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50).

It’s not that Jesus didn’t want people to understand. On the contrary, he used parables as the best way to communicate to people in a way that they might accept his message, even though he knew many listening wouldn’t heed his words. In fact, this parable of the soils parallels another parable found in rabbinic literature about four types of disciples:

There are four types among those who study [Torah] with the sages: the sponge,
the funnel, the strainer, the sifter.
The sponge absorbs everything.
The funnel: in one end and out the other.
The strainer passes the wine, and retains the dregs.
The sifter removes the chaff and retains the [kernels of grain].

Avot 5:15

• Some disciples are like hard paths or have mental funnels. The message they hear is in one ear and out the other, permeating neither their head nor heart. They neither believe the message nor follow it.
• Other disciples are like rocky soil or mental sponges. They eagerly latch on to both good and bad teaching without discernment and are quick to fall away. They try to follow the message without the root of belief.
• Then there are disciples that are like thorny soil that mentally strain out or choke the good while clinging to the bad, They prioritize the thorns of the world rather than the fruit of God’s kingdom. Though they may believe the message, they do not apply it practically.
• Lastly, good disciples sift truth amidst falsehood, enabling the message to bear fruit and multiply with abundance. These disciples both believe the message and faithfully live it out.

(See also James 2:14-25)	No action	Action
No faith	Path / funnel	Rocky soil / sponge
Faith	Thorny soil / strainer	Good soil / sifter

Persistence of Parables

Notice that all four types of soils heard the message. It was how they engaged with the message that produced different results. Yes, some wouldn’t fully grasp or apply Jesus’ teaching. But some would hear and do it, producing good fruit. The four soils demonstrate how we should wrestle with Jesus’ teachings, through both study and application. In a way, it is sort of a meta-parable, a parable on how people would respond to his parables.

God wanted his good news of repentance and salvation not to just be idle words. He wanted the message to impact people through stories and metaphors they could relate to. That way, everyday things like harvesting a field or herding sheep would remind them to meditate on Jesus’ profound and revolutionary teachings. By wrapping truth in parables, they could slowly digest what Jesus meant and let it impact them in a deeper way.

As followers of Jesus, his words are more than mere moral statements to believe. They should become a core part of our identity, as we wrestle with their meaning. As part of a community of believers, we need to study Jesus’ teachings and apply them to our lives. Some of the metaphors may not make as much sense to us without first understanding Jesus’ culture and scriptures, but that’s why study and application, in community, is a life-long opportunity. It might take a bit of extra effort on our part, but the impact will be worth it. After all, who doesn’t love to dig into a great story?