Virtual Sunday Message
7-5-09
WHAT'S IN A PARABLE?
A parable in its most simplest form means : an earthly story having a heavenly meaning or an example by which a doctrine or precept is illustrated.
Jesus told many parables in His ministry, in order to convey deep truths. In the early part of His ministry He spoke plainly to the people, but when the chief priests and Pharisees, which represented the Nation Israel, refused His teachings and rejected who He claimed to be, He veiled His meaning in the parables.
The Bible states "that He did not speak to them without a parable." In Matt 13:34 Jesus' parables were spoken to different audiences. At times He would speak to His disciples, other times He would speak to His disciples in the presence of the Pharisees and Scribes, and some were addressed to individuals such as; the woman who anointed Jesus' feet in Simon the Pharisees house.
WHOSE MY NEIGHBOR ?
In Luke 10, Jesus addresses an expert in the law with the parable of the GOOD SAMARITAN, who had stood up to test Him about who would be considered his neighbor?
In this parable Christ's incarnation is being implied. A man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho when he was robbed and beaten senseless and left half dead. (Lk. 10:30)
This man represents HUMANITIES condition since the fall, HELPLESS and DYING. A Priest and a Levite passed by on the other side of the road. They represent the LAW and CEREMONIES which can do nothing to save a lost and dying sinner. Religion cannot nor has it ever been able to help the sinner.
They desperately needed a Savior... "But a certain Samaritan, as He journeyed, came where he was, and when He saw him, He had COMPASSION on him". The certain Samaritan was Christ, Paul said, "But God being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us ALIVE together with Christ" (Eph. 2:4,5).
And Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
At this man's (sinners) greatest need, the good Samaritan appeared. The parable says, He journeyed, He did not go down the road to Jericho (the place of the curse) as the others did. It simply said that He journeyed.
Christ JOURNEYED to earth in His incarnation to save the sinner, Just as Hebrews 2:14, says "that He had to become a man by partaking of flesh and blood".
Now, in Luke 13:6-9 Jesus told another parable, only this time it describes His "LIFE and MINISTRY".
THE LONE FIG TREE
The parable of "The fig tree" describes Jesus' three year earthly ministry. It describes Jesus as the Certain man who had a fig tree which He planted in His vineyard and came looking for fruit, but did not find any." According to Isaiah 5:7 the fig tree is Israel. Isaiah says "For the vineyard of the Lord of Hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah His delightful plant."
The Lord is its keeper, Isaiah says, in chapter 27:3, "I, the Lord, am its keeper; I water it every moment. Lest anyone damage it, I guard it night and day".
Through the three years of Jesus' ministry He had tried to make the fig tree fruitful, but there was no fruit to be found.
But, still God in His great mercy gave it another year of GRACE, (Lk13:8)
In Matthew account, (11:16-19), Jesus used a simile of children sitting in the market places, to illustrate the treatment He had received. He said "But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the market places, who call out to the other children and say, "we played the flute for you, and you did not dance ; we sang a dirge and you did not mourn."
John the Baptist would not dance to their piping, so they said, He had a devil. Jesus would not fast and mourn when they mourned, so they said, Behold a gluttonous man and a drunkard, and a friend
of tax-gatherers and sinners !'
Jesus is also represented in another aspect of His ministry in the parable of the sower, where He takes the HUMBLE place of a field laborer instead of the king that was to reign.
Concerning Christ's Rejection and death. In the parable of the wicked vine growers (Matt. 21:33-41) the Lords rejection by Israel was prophesied. They said "Come let us KILL Him, and seize His inheritance". God the Father said "They will respect My Son" .
But instead they echoed the words of Isaiah "There is no beauty that we should desire Him, He is despised and rejected a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid our faces from Him, we esteemed Him not."
So rather than receiving Him with love, they threw Him out of the vineyard and killed Him!! The Lord shows plainly that the builders were going to reject the very corner stone, and become a stumbling block to them.
"God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes to see not and ears to hear not, let their table be a snare..." The very thing that should have been a blessing and a place of nourishment to lead them to Christ, became a trap instead (Rom. 11:8,9).
Christ's death was foretold in this parable. There are so many parables that tell of Christ's coming again, but this is the only one that so clearly speaks of His death.
But John 12 gives us a beautiful picture of the result of Christ's sufferings. John says,"truly, truly, I say unto you, unless a grain of wheat fall into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit". ✝
The Lord Jesus Christ did this for you! Will you let Him in or cast him out of the vineyard too? Be good to yourself, ask Jesus to come in to your heart today and let His love envelope your life!!! CLICK HERE!!
