RELIGIOUS ENCYCLOPEDIA
Parables of Jesus Christ
to the Synoptics, two are peculiar to Matthew. The first of those common to the Synoptics relates to the parable of the sower, the two peculiar to Matthew expound the parables of the tares and the net (Matt. xiii. 36 sqq., 49-50) ; the fourth explains the purpose of the parable of the husbandman (Matt. xxi. 42 sqq. and parallels). These parables then are seen to vary in their meaning from invective through' allegory to eschatological realism, the fact being that the method of the parables is a varied one according to the needs of the occasion, while the content and tendency define the meaning. But in the interpretation of the parables effort has been made to carry out an inflexible principle of interpretation. Undue stress has been laid upon the details, and often the unity of the illustration has been broken. But the parables are not subject to such inflexible methods since they differ from each other. The parable of the treasure in the field requires attention to the separate particulars, that of the wheat and the tares requires observation upon the effect as a whole. The relation of the parable to its significance corresponds to Goethe's description of a poem: " A poem is like a window-pane. If a man looks from the market into the church, all seems dark and gloomy within. But once the spectator is inside, all is beautifully clear, a splendid light is there and all is bathed in glory." It is the entrance which makes the difference, and of this Jesus spoke when he said that he hears who has ears to hear. He alone can understand a parable of the kingdom of heaven who has a burning desire to know that kingdom's secrets. In this light is to be taken the passage Matt. xiii. 10-17, which expresses the sum of the experiences of Jesus of the opposition to his teachings which he regarded as divinely purposed. Even this passage may illustrate how emphasis upon a single word and meaning of that word may influence the explanation, since the sense given to the on of verse 13 determines the relation of the event to the will of God.
A proof of the essential correctness of the tradition of the parables as they exist in the Synoptics is their essential correspondence with the activity of Jesus in other respects. On the other hand, one should not overlook the difference between the truth which Jesus brought and the expectations of the people, so that this instruction by means of illustration appears as a proof of Jesus' 9. The wisdom and knowledge of man. If
Essential one asks concerning the essential worth Value of the of the literature of the parables, the
Parables, answer comes that esthetically and rhetorically they belong to the literature of the world. If the matter of content is regarded, their incomparable clarity and power of illustration (no one who hears these parables ever forgets them) make the things of this world ai. forage for eternal verity. If one looks at that which they illustrate, he sees that their like for the nourishment of the soul does not exist. The psalmist says that " the heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament showeth his handiwork." Jesus shows how heaven and earth make known the wiil of God to lead all men to blessedness through the power of faith, of self-renunciation, of love and of
humility and hi ->e. He consecrates the earthly by revealing its rela ':on to the divine. Jesus used the parable to test, to arouse, to educate. The space the parables occupy in the narrative of the Gospels show their importance in the gospel of Jesus. They reveal not merely the inner life of Jesus but also the purposes and views which guided his preaching and bore ever upon the future and were severely intent upon the ethical and the religious.
The history of the interpretation of the parables, like that of the interpretation of the Apocalypse, mirrors the ecclesiastical, theological, and scientific interests which have emerged in the development of the Church and also illustrate the history of doctrine. From the time of Origen till the Reformation the subsumption of exegesis of the parables was the Scripture as the unapproachio. History able deposit of the word of God. The of Inter- idea of an inner sense was dominant, pretation. and stress was laid upon the minutiae as well as upon the general teaching of the parables as revealing the " mysteries of the kingdom." As a consequence arbitrary fancy played all its freaks in the exposition of these illustrative teachings as in that of the Apocalypse. A stimulus to the exegesis of this literature came from the Gnostics, who read their sophia and their ceon into the parables. The protests of Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Hippolytus against this arbitrary proceeding did not deter others from pursuing the same path, which even Tertullian followed. Origen led in seeking ever new readings to discover in these narratives, and Chrysostom, Augustine, and generally the exegetes of East and West were agreed in developing the manifold sense of Scripture. The humanistic and theological movements during the Reformation gave a new turn to the conception of the parables. Erasmus, Luther, and Calvin from various standpoints plead for the recognition of the principle that Scripture is to be interpreted on the basis of the literal sense. Flacius emphasized the historical viewpoint, and Roman Catholic exegesis could not avoid the tendency to a historicalgrammatical exegesis. Hugo Grotius worked in the spirit of humanistic philology. Soon after the Reformation, dogmatic interest again invaded, and found its proofs in the details of the parables. In more recent times Lessing and Herder led in the attempt to understand the parables in their essence, apart from dogmatic eisegesis. Herder's work is especially to be noted, since he introduced the psychological factor. G. C. Storr (1778) proposed the rule that the sense is attained through grammatical insight, through determination of the matter indicated in the parables, and through a recognition of the relation between the matter and the teachingnarrative. A. F. Unger made the distinction between the dress and the essence of the narrative, and he was followed by F. Greswell (Exposition of the Parables, 5 vols., Oxford, 1834-95), R. C. Trench (Notes on the Parables, London, 1857), and A. B. Bruce (The Parabolic Teaching of Christ, London, 1882), whose work, while keen and learned, is not Tee from arbitrariness. Closely related to the work f,f Storr and Unger is the exegesis of C. E. Koets- ( veld (De Gelijkenissen van den Zaligmaker, 2 vols.,
Parables of Jesus Christ Parakletike