"I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things
which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world". Mt 13:35
Almost everyone who heard a parable spoken back in Jesus time could see the common sense of the Parable..
Parable of the Laborers (Mt 20) - go out 5 times to hire workers,.. there will be workers there waiting.
That's not a secret, but naming the 5 grougps of workers representing 5 Ages of God's work thru man, that's a good secret, especially when those 5 groups can be so clearly identified and timed.

God reveals things He wants seen at the time He wants them seen, I believe, through parables.
I think most parables are openend now except for 'Scattered and Peeled' Isaiah 18:2 which may have future implications.
We are blessed that God wants to keep us so well informed when those that don't believe are not interested in the secrets from the parables.
Good question Sree, please elaborate.

I struggle to understand some parables. I take the parable of the labourers (Mt 20) to signify that the reward of heaven is the same for all believers whether they joined the harvest field in their youth or twilight years.
Perhaps someone would expound the parable of the Treasure hid in the Field (Mt13) and the pearl of great price.

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Charles Scott

I have heard them both to mean the same thing, being salvation, is like a Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of great value. They are both worth obtaining at any cost and both were worth seeking.

Salvation is like them both, of its of Great Value and worth seeking and it will cost you everything to obtain. Of the Salvation being by Faith and so the treasure and the pearl are Faith.

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Matthew Guldner

If you are able to get your hands on a copy of "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah" by Alfred Edersheim, he does an excellent discourse on the parables. Probably the best I have ever read.

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Jeremiah Dusenberry

If you download E-Sword at E-sword.net within it you can download that very book free of charge :)

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Matthew Guldner

"If you download E-Sword at E-sword.net within it you can download that very book free of charge :)"


In that case, E-sword would be worth downloading, if for no other reason, just to have access to that book. The reason I recommend it so highly is because Edersheim helps us to understand the culture, the times, the method of teaching, and the mindset of Israel at that time. He helps to understand the mentality, and teaching style of a parable. Alfred was incredibly well versed in all things concerning Hebrew lore and culture, he was also incredibly well read, and leaves hundreds if not thousands of references to ancient writings from which he resources in order to aid the body of Christ in further understanding the gospels. Not that external keys are necessarily "needed" to help with the text, but they can be a valuable aid in growing our understanding. I was not aware that E-sword had that add-on. Thank you Matthew, I will have to check into that later.

For a long time I thought parables were like allegories. It turns out that is a very western mindset. When we begin to understand how a parable was intended to be used originally, it removes a lot of cultural predilections we bring to the text because of how we tend to see "hidden" meaning in types and caricatures. This was not the intention of parables, nor were parables intended to be "hermenuetically" consistent with ancient typological thematics from the Old Testament. This is an area of scripture I feel that we need to be educated on as a church as to how it would have been interpreted at that time, rather than carrying much church tradition to the texts.

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Jeremiah Dusenberry

The Purpose of Parables - Luke 8:9-10

9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that


‘ Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.’

The most important thing we can know about parables is the reason WHY Jesus used them. He clearly tells us that He did not use parables to illustrate and illuminate His teaching to the masses but rather to conceal. The people of Jesus' time were just as hard-hearted & closed-eared as the people in Isaiah's day. Isaiah was commissioned to speak a Word to the people that would not open their hearts but rather close them. (See Isaiah 6) This is the tragedy of what happens when God's light and word is consistently rejected.

Jesus goes on to further illustrate His point by giving them another parable about His revealed Light.

The Parable of the Revealed Light

16 “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. 18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

Jesus explains that we are to take heed HOW we ear. If we truly hear His voice and walk in His revealed light, then more will be given. But if we harden out hearts, close our eyes and willingly resist the light He shines into our hearts through His word then not only will He cease giving new light but even the light we think we have will be taken away.

This is why Isaiah was commissioned to the people of his day, and that is why Jesus quoted from Isaiah 6:9 in this text in Luke 8. See also John 12:35-50 which is very key.

So when the disciples pressed in and asked Jesus the meaning of the parables He told them "To YOU the mysteries of the kingdom are revealed." To You who seek. To you who inquire. To you that are not offended by the light and the truth and desire to know more...the mystery of My kingdom will be unveiled. "But to the rest (the crowds, masses) it is given in parables." The crowds and masses get the Word in a concealed way to test their hearts and provide an opportunity for them to either press in and listen or be further hardened.

Lord, please keep our hearts soft and ears opened!

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Brother Kevin