We have spoken of our Saviour as "The Great Teacher," and tried to
point out some of the things in his teaching which helped to make him
great. And now, it may be well to speak a little of the illustrations
which he made use of as a Teacher. These are called--_parables_. Our
Saviour's parables were illustrations. This is what is meant by the
Greek word from which we get the word parable. It means something
_set down by the side of another_. When we teach a lesson we are
setting something before the minds of our scholars. But suppose it is
a hard lesson and they do not understand it. Then we use an
illustration. This is something set down beside the lesson to make it
plain. Then this, whatever it be, is a parable.
At the beginning of his ministry, our Saviour did not make much use
of parables. But, after he had been preaching for some time, he made
a change in his way of teaching, in this respect. He began to use
parables very freely. His disciples were surprised at this. On one
occasion, after he had used the parable of the Sower, they came to
their Master and asked him why he always spake to the people now in
parables? We have our Saviour's answer to this question in St. Matt,
xiii: 11-18. And it is a remarkable answer. The meaning of it is that
he used parables for two reasons: one was to help those who really
wished to learn from him to understand what he was teaching. The
other was that those who were not willing to be taught might listen
to him without understanding what he was saying. These people had
heard him when he was teaching without parables. But, instead of
thanking him for coming to teach them, and of being willing to do
what he wanted them to do, they found fault with his teaching, and
would not mind what he said.
Now, there is a great difference between the way in which we are to
learn what the Bible teaches us about God and heaven; and the way in
which we learn other things. If we want to learn what the Bible
teaches us we must be careful that we are having right feelings in
our hearts; but if we want to learn other things it does not matter
so much what our feelings are. For instance, suppose you have a
lesson to learn in geography; no matter how you are feeling, whether
you are proud, or humble; whether you are cross, or gentle; yet if
you only study hard enough, and long enough, you can learn that
lesson. But, if you want to learn one of the lessons that Jesus
teaches, no matter how hard, or how long you study it, yet while you
are giving way to proud, or angry feelings in your heart, you can
never learn that lesson. And the reason is that we cannot learn these
lessons unless we have the special help of Jesus, by the Holy Spirit.
But this help can never be had while we give way to wrong feelings in
our hearts. In learning geography, and other such lessons, we do not
need the _special_ help of God. We can learn them ourselves, if we
only try. But we cannot learn the lessons that Jesus teaches in this
way. This is what the Psalmist means when he says:--"The _meek_ will
he teach his way." Ps. xxv: 9. And this was what our Saviour meant
when he said: "If any man will do his will, _he shall know_." St.
John vii: 17. We must be willing to be taught;--and willing to obey;
if we wish to understand what Jesus, "The Great Teacher," has to tell
us.
Some one has well said that truth, taught by a parable, is like the
kernel hid away in a nut. The parable, like the shell of the nut,
covers up the kernel. Those who really want the kernel will crack the
shell, and get it: but those who are not willing to crack the shell
will never get the kernel. The shell of the nut keeps the kernel safe
_for_ one of these persons, and safe _from_ the others.
But, after the time of which we have spoken, Jesus used parables
freely. We are told that--"without a parable spake he not unto the
people." St. Mark xiii: 34. He used parables among his disciples for
two reasons: these were to help them to _understand_, and to remember
what he taught them.
We have a great many of the parables of Jesus in the gospels. A full
list of them will contain not less than _fifty_. It would be easy
enough to make a sermon on each of these parables. But that would
make a larger work than this whole LIFE OF CHRIST, on which we are
now engaged. It is impossible therefore to speak of all the parables.
We can only make selections, or take some specimens of them. We may
speak of five different lessons as illustrated by some of the
parables of Christ. These are--_The value of religion: Christ's love
of sinners: The duty of forgiveness: The duty of kindness: and the
effect of good example_.
_Well then, we may begin by considering what Jesus taught us of_--THE
VALUE OF RELIGION--_in his parables._
The parable of The Treasure Hid in the Field teaches us this truth.
We find this parable in St. Matt. xiii: 44. Here Jesus says, "The
kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which
when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and
selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." The words "kingdom
of heaven" are used by our Saviour in different senses. Sometimes, as
here, they mean the grace of God, or true religion. And what Jesus
teaches us by this parable is that true religion is more valuable
than anything else in the world.
The next parable, in the forty-fifth and forty-sixth verses of the
same chapter, is about The Pearl of Great Price. This teaches the
same lesson. It reads thus:--"The kingdom of heaven is like unto a
merchantman seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl
of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it." By this
"pearl of great price" Jesus meant true religion, as he did by the
treasure hid in the field in the former parable. And the truth he
teaches in both these parables is that religion is more important to
us than anything else in the world. Let us look at some incidents
that may help to illustrate for us the value of religion.
"Jesus Makes Everything Right." A poor lame boy became a Christian,
and in telling what effect this change had upon him, these are the
words he used to a person who was visiting him: "Once every thing
went wrong at our house; father was wrong, mother was wrong, sister
was wrong, and I was wrong; but now, since I have learned to know and
love Jesus it is all right. I know why everything went wrong
before:--it was because I was wrong myself." And this is true. The
first thing that religion does for us is to make us _be_ right
ourselves, and then to _do_ right to others.
"Be." A young lady had been trying to do something very good, but had
not succeeded. Her mother said, "Marian, my child, God gives us many
things to _do_, but we must not forget that he gives us some things
to _be_; and we must learn to _be_ what God would have us be, before
we can _do_ what God would have us do."
"O dear mother, please tell me about _being_, and then I shall know
better about doing."
"Well, listen my child, while I remind you of some of the Bible be's:
God says:
"_Be_--ye kindly affectioned one to another."
"_Be_--ye also patient."
"_Be_--ye thankful."
"_Be_--ye children in malice."
"_Be_--ye therefore perfect."
"_Be_--courteous."
"_Be_--not wise in your own conceits."
"_Be_--not overcome of evil."
"Thank you, dear mother," said Marian. "I hope I shall have a better
day to-morrow; for I see now that _doing_ grows out of _being_."
This is a point worth dwelling on, and so I will introduce to your
notice here: