Edited

THE PURPOSE OF THE PARABLES OF JESUS

A. THE PRIMARY PURPOSE WAS TO "CONCEAL"...

1. Jesus began speaking in parables because of the hardness of
many people's hearts - cf. Mt 13:10-17
a. The disciples' attitude was such that they were blessed to
learn "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" - Mt 13:
10-12,16-17
b. But because of the hard hearts of many in the multitude,
Jesus began speaking to them in parables - Mt 13:13-15;
cf. Mk 4:10-12
c. He would then explain the parables in private to His
disciples - Mk 4:33-34

2. By resorting to parables, Jesus effectively separated the
truth-seekers from the curiosity-seekers!
a. Those seeking the truth would say "Explain to us the
parable..." - Mt 13:36
b. Whereas the simply curious could easily be sent away

3. Indeed, Jesus used parables to carry out Divine judgement...
- cf. Mt 13:12
a. "For whoever has (a good heart, listening ears), to him
more will be given, and he will have abundance (by virtue
of the parable being explained)"
b. "But whoever does not have (a good heart, listening ears),
even what he has will be taken away from him Tweet