Why did Jesus speak in parables? Jesus answers by saying: “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand” (Matthew 13:13). What followed was a quote from Isaiah 6:9-10 regarding their judicial hardening by God.
Parables are used to convey truth and wisdom in such a way so as to deliver it to those who love and seek God, while veiling it to those who already have set themselves against God’s purpose for their life. For instance, Jesus’ sermon on being the “Bread of Life” at John chapter 6 (i.e. His body being true food and His blood being true drink) turned off many who were not right with God, with the result that they stopped following Him (John 6:66). Meanwhile, honest and truly repentant believers will seek to understand the meaning of the parables and receive its answer from the Holy Spirit. Nonetheless, compare with John 10:37-38, where even hardened unbelievers, who were not His sheep, were encouraged by Jesus anyway, so that by considering the compelling evidence of the miracles, they would believe and become His sheep.
[This post has been excerpted with permission from Richard Coords, Calvinism Answered Verse by Verse and Subject by Subject, © 2024.]
