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Parables. Meaning of Parables. Origin in Greek words: para , meaning “beside,” and ballo , meaning “to throw”. Something “thrown beside.” Stories with a meaning that runs alongside them. Puzzling, figurative speech, symbolic language with more than one level of meaning.
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Meaning of Parables • Origin in Greek words: para, meaning “beside,” and ballo, meaning “to throw”. • Something “thrown beside.” • Stories with a meaning that runs alongside them. • Puzzling, figurative speech, symbolic language with more than one level of meaning.
Jesus taught through parables • About Kingdom of God using images from people’s everyday experiences: • The Kingdom of God like…. • A woman who mixed yeast into dough; • A fig tree; • A pearl; • A treasure buried in a field; • A sower sowing seed, a mustard seed.
Three types of Parables 1) Similitude very concise narratives that make a comparison between an aspect of God’s realm and a typical event in life (seed growing in the ground in Mark 4: 26-29)
Three types of Parables 2) Parables longer and more detailed telling a story about one-time fictitious but true to life event (a farmer whose enemies sow weeds in his wheat field in Matthew 13: 4-30)
Three types of Parables 3) Exemplary story Presents a specific example that illustrates the general principle (the good Samaritan in Luke 10: 29-37)
Goal of Parables • To persuade the hearer top adopt the particular view of God and of life in God’s world; • To convert the hearer; • To prick away at his/ her conscience; • To cause a person to stop and reflect.
Mark 4:1-9 • Check which kind of soil represents your current commitment to Jesus word? • What thorns – especially worries – keep you from getting closer to Jesus? • List some things you can do that will help the word of God grow in you. Name some people who have helped you grow closer to God.