The Parables of Jesus
1
- The Parable of the Sower
Christ went out by the sea later that day,
Then in a boat to keep the crowd at bay.
While He sat down, the crowd stood on the beach.
He saw their need and so began to teach:
A sower went out sowing in his field,
With hopes of an abundant crop to yield.
Some seeds fell where the soil met the road,
And so were underneath where people strode
Or laid there till, by hungry birds were found.
Some other seeds fell onto rocky ground.
With little dirt, they sprang up right away,
But lacked the depth of dirt plants need to stay.
The scorching sunlight they could not withstand,
For dry a plant can’t bear the Sun’s demand.
Some fell on thorns, which grew to choke the seed.
So many seeds could never grow to feed.
Some fell on great soil, producing grain
That would give the sower such a gain,
Of thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold,
A treasure worth more than its weight in gold.
Let anyone by whom this may be heard,
Listen and take heed unto every word,
Reflecting closely till they understand
The word of God like the back of their hand.”1
1 These four lines (beginning with “Let anyone…”) are my translation of the line that appears several times in the Synoptic Gospels, “He who has ears, let him hear.”The Greek word used in the texts for “hear”,“”, also can mean “learn”, “obey”, and “understand”. I feel certain that Christ, in using this play on words, was not singling out those with the physical ability to hear, but saying that those who can hear His words should learn them, understand them, and obey them.
This line also illustrates a major reason for me writing the Gospel story as an epic poem. People are greatly aided in their efforts to obey the Word of God if they hear it and learn it. At least some people are more likely to read poetry than prose, and, for anybody, rhyme is easier to memorize than prose.
The Reason for Speaking in Parables
Disciples asked, “Why is it that you speak
In parables to give them what they seek?”
Christ said, “Wisdom to you has been outpoured
To know about the kingdom of the Lord.
For he who has will keep receiving more,
And those without will grow forever poor.
For those who’ve taken Yahweh’s Law to heart,
The parables will more wisdom impart,
While those who took God’s Word just to misuse,
Will hear these and it greater will confuse.1
They make God’s law a pointless, strict law code.
It was designed to bring folks to the road
To walk in life, that of unselfish love,
To lead them to the life with God above.
Those who see guaranteed inheritance
‘Cause they can walk, no words could them convince.
It is exactly like Isaiah said,
‘The words you hear will be lost in your head,
And what you see you never will perceive.
These people have chosen to be naïve.
They’ve closed their eyes and ears with hardened hearts,
Lest they should see, for then wisdom imparts
Insight into exactly who they’ve been
And how they’ve lived their lives so full of sin.
They’d then repent and turn back to the Lord
To have their spiritual health restored.
But blessed be your eye, blest be your ear!
For many prophets2 longed to see and hear
What you have. Truly they would be so jealous.
This revelation should make hearers zealous!”
1 Jesus’ explanation to the reason He speaks in parables is one of the more difficult passages in the New Testament. He says that “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.” (Mt. 13:12) This seems a complete reversal of “He has filled the hungry with good things; and sent away the rich empty-handed.” (Lk. 1:53) Raymond Brown conclusively showed that this text in Matthew referred to the Old Testament. Those who understood the central messages of it (agape, justice, faithfulness to God, etc.) would receive greater understanding, while those who did not understand the Old Testament, lowering it to a legalistic faith, or using it for power, would have even greater confusion than before.
2 The original text says prophets and righteous men. One possible translation, which I do not favor, would be “righteous prophets”.
Interpretation of the Parable of the Sower
“In case the message you don’t understand,
The symbolism I will now expand:
In it, the sower sows God’s holy word
And Satan’s represented by the bird
Who takes away what’s sown into his heart,
Who hears but only understands in part.
And those on rocky ground receive with joy
God’s word, but like a boy with a new toy,
They have no roots and when there comes temptation,
Or when the word will bring them tribulation,
They lack the strength for to endure the storm.
And what of seeds who fall among the thorn?
They are the ones who live to please the self.
For, choked by love of pleasure and of pelf,1
They never give the world a single fruit.
Whether they ever cared, the point is moot.
Yet he who holds true to the word will yield
As much fruit as would an entire field!”
1 “Pelf” is a Middle English word for wealth, most especially ill-begotten wealth. (Many great theologians have made the case that virtually all wealth is ill-begotten, an argument that is virtually air-tight.)
- The Parable of the Seed Growing Secretly
“God’s kingdom can be likened to a man,
Who scattered seed to grow, as was his plan.
He woke and slept, while seeds grew o’er the land.
Yet, how they grew he did not understand.1
The land gave fruit, all of its own accord.
The plants, from shoot to ear, to heaven soared!
And, when the crop is ready, he will reap
And gather them, as shepherds would their sheep.2
1 Since the man who scatters seed does not know how they grow, and “the very hairs of your head are all numbered” (Mt. 10:30), many have interpreted the man to be a prophet, any person who spreads the word.
2 The original parable does not have this shepherd metaphor, but I think it common enough to be used freely. In the gospels, tending sheep is described as a job of the Father, the Son, and good Christians in general.
- The Parable of the Tares
“The kingdom’s like a man who sowed good seed,
Whose enemy then sowed many a weed
Amongst the wheat, all while the farmer slept.
Then those servants by whom the field was kept
Asked him, ‘What kind of seed, sir, did you sow?
For, there, among the good plants bad ones grow.
Should we gather those that should not be there?’
‘If you did that, how would my good seed fare?
They’ll grow together till it’s harvest time.
To judge them all the same would be a crime,
Just like the man who sowed the wicked seed,
An enemy consumed by hate and greed.1
When harvest comes, bring to my barn my wheat,
While weeds will be consumed by flames and heat.’”
1 The text does not actually say that the enemy is consumed by hate and greed, but merely that he (or she?) is an enemy. Were this a real story, greed is a logical motivation to destroy another’s crops in a society of farmers (lowering the supply to increase the demand). Also, the saying, “Money is the root of all evil,” is biblical (1 Tim. 6:10).
Interpretation of the Parable of the Tares
The sower’s enemy’s the Evil One,
Through whom all malice and deceit is done.
The sower is the Son who is revealed,
And Earth is represented by the field.
The weeds are slaves who serve the Evil One,
While good seed serves the Father and the Son.
When harvest time comes, that is the world’s end.
Its reapers are those angels who are friend
To God, who gladly follow His commands,
Against whom no servant of sin withstands.
Just as the weed must be fuel for the fire,
So to who evil do or do inspire.
The angels will into the furnace throw
The wicked, while the just like stars1 will glow.
Let anyone by whom this may be heard,
Listen and take heed unto every word,
Reflecting closely till they understand
The word of God like the back of their hand.”2
1 The text actually says the just will shine like the sun, not just any star. The sun is, obviously, one of billions of stars and, like the just, some shine more or less than others.
2 Since Christ uses the phrase“He who has ears, let him hear,” to conclude many teachings, I repeat my four-line interpretation of this as a kind of refrain at the end of these teachings.
- The Parable of the Mustard Seed
“With what else can God’s kingdom be compared?
‘Tis like a mustard seed,” then Christ declared.
“The smallest of the seeds when it is sown,
But greatest of all shrubs once it has grown,
So large its branches hold a small bird’s nest,
Where she can hatch her young and let them rest.
- The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and of the Pearl
The kingdom’s like a treasure in a field,
But buried and the place to one revealed.
He covers it and sells all that he owns,
To buy the dirt, for gold and precious stones.1
Again, it’s like a man who searches for
Great pearls in every marketplace and store.
He found a great one. All he had was sold
To buy a pearl worth his whole weight in gold.
Such efforts will men make to get their treasures.
1 I often think these arealso excellent analogies for the Church. Some people can only see the dirt and the mud, while others see a mixture of wheat and weeds, but people should focus on the treasure in the field (not to say that God himself can be contained within the Church or that the sins of its members/hierarchy should be ignored).
- The Parable of the Leaven
For heaven is like leaven in three measures
Of flour (where all women put their yeast).
The leavened bread then grew for such a feast!
- The Parable of the Net
The kingdom of heaven is like a net
That was thrown in the sea as the sun set.1
The net then gathered fish of every kind
And fishers did as they are all inclined.
Once full, the fishers hauled the net ashore
And threw away whose tastes people abhor.
Once useless ones were gone, the good were placed
In baskets that were delicately laced.
So ‘twill be when the world comes to an end:
God’s angels separating foe from friend,
The wicked being thrown into a furnace,
To wail, “Why must our hatred always burn us?”
1 The original does not give any indication as to what time of day this event occurred. However, it is almost universal in human societies to link the sun’s rising with birth and its setting with death.
Another interesting parallel is that this story mentions the nets being filled with fish of every kind. A similar story has the apostles, at the command of Jesus, put down their nets and catch 153 fish, at a time when people had categorized fish into 153 species. This story occurs in the morning, after a long fruitless night, and is also shortly after Jesus’ resurrection.
- The Parable of the Lost Sheep
The Pharisees came by for to chagrin,
And said, “This man breaks bread with those who sin.”
So He reached out to those who were so lost,
“You all know just how much one sheep can cost.
When one sheep of a hundred goes away,
Who with the faithful ninety-nine would stay?
Instead, you’d leave the ninety-nine behind,
And when the sheep who’d lost his way you find,
You would rejoice and lay it on your back,
Unless love, joy, or gratitude you lack.
Once home, you’d gather the community
To celebrate and share your joie de vie.
Just so, in heaven will there be much joy
Whenever sinners will virtue employ
And turn back to their God, more so than when
The ninety-nine remain as faithful men.
- The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant
“God’s kingdom’s like a king who settles his accounts
With slaves in debt to him in various amounts.
One came who did ten thousand talents1 owe.
No means to pay it back did this man know.
Unto him who could not control his greed,
The master sat in judgment and decreed,
‘Since you’ve no way of paying back your debt,
The penalty for this offense I’ve set:
You shall, with wife and kids and goods, be sold
As slaves, where you shall work until you’re old.’
The servant, in despair, fell to his knees,
And begged his master, ‘Lord, have patience, please!
I’ll pay it all! Just grant me some more time!’
The king knew that this height he couldn’t climb,
And let him down, forgiving all he owed,
Thus granting peace instead of the abode.
He thanked the king and got back on his feet,
He left and met a man while on the street,
Who owed this man a hundred denarri.1
Although his fellow servant was sorry,
He choked the man and further did attack.
‘I’ll make you suffer till it’s all paid back!’
Despite the other servant’s desperate pleas,
Naught but full payment would this man appease.
When he was thrown in jail till all was paid,
The news of this the first could not evade.
When other servants heard, they were distressed.
Unto the king, this news they did attest.
The king said, ‘Since you have not mercy learned,
You’ll rot in jail till your full debt’s returned.’
The master had him handed over to
The torturers. So shall it be with you
Who will not with his heart his foe forgive.
In agony for all your days you’ll live.”
1 A denarius is the equivalent of the daily wage for a laborer, while a talent is worth 6,000-10,000 denarii. If we estimate that a day’s wages was equal to $50, then the servant owes the king 3-5 billion dollars! The servant would then be owed about 5 thousand dollars from his fellow servant.
I think this story well illustrates how my looser translation in verse can, at times, be more accurate than standard prose translation. Jesus talks about forgiving, not seven times, but seventy times seven times. The point is then illustrated by a king forgiving a man several billion dollars, while this man will not then forgive his fellow servant a few thousand dollars. This point is completely lost when translations say that the servant is owed “a few dollars” (New International Version), “ten dollars” (The Message), “twenty dollars” (Amplified Bible), “an hundred pence” (Wycliffe New Testament, King James Bible, and 21st Century King James Version), “very little money” (New Life Version), or “a hundred shillings” (American Standard Version).
The Lawyer’s Question
A lawyer came to Jesus for to test,
“What must I do to gain eternal rest?”
Christ said, “Well, what, my friend, is written in law?”
“Of all the words of God’s I ever saw,
What I think is the most important part
Is ‘Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart
And all your soul, and all your strength and mind,’
And, what I think with this is intertwined
Is ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You’re right.
Do this and you shall always see the light.”
This man, wanting himself to justify,
Said, “Who’s my neighbor, just to clarify?”
- The Parable of the Good Samaritan
Christ taught, “A man went down to Jericho,
Where great hardship he came to undergo.
For bandits beat him, stripped him, left for dead.
And who would make the effort to bestead1?
The first to pass this man by was a priest,2
Who should know best but acted as the least.
He passed him on the other side of the road.
Soon after this, a Levite2 likewise strode
Avoiding contact from the other side.
Then a Samaritan walked right beside.
On seeing him, was with such pity moved,
That, in one act, his righteousness he proved.