Jesus the Master Teacher
Page Two

A sample of the manner in which synonymous parallelism is used in writing is demonstrated by the old mystic Edward Henry Bickersteth in his searching study THE TRINITY. On page 120 while he is opening up his study of the distinction of the Holy Spirit in the work of the 'three-in-one', he says, "Thus we read at our Lord's baptism, of the voice of the Father, of the human presence of Jesus, of the visible descending of the Spirit, for ... 'the heaven was opened and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven which said, 'Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased,' we are compelled to say, that the descending Spirit is distinct from the baptized Saviour, and from the approving Father.

Bickersteth continues to put to good use the idea of synonymous parallelism when he expands his ideas like this: ... we are constrained to acknowledge that the apparent Spirit is distinct from the mediating Saviour, and the loving Father who decreed the gift. Scripture leads us to conclude that as the bleeding Saviour is distinct from the predestinating Father, so the sanctifying Spirit is himself distinct. He uses the same literary device as he expands his teaching of the Trinity again and again through the entire Bible, fully expounding his observations, and urging his readers to understand his teaching-by the repetition of synonymous parallelism, a method easy to grasp, and convincing in logic.

b) Antithetic Parallelism: This is where succeeding lines express opposite truths. He said: "He that finds life shall lose it; he that loses his life for my sake shall find it." The facts expressed were not contradictory but complimentary. But each line contains an expression which was the opposite of the other-it was antithetic parallelism.

Another example is: "Whosoever exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted'. A contrast was made that his pupils could easily understand. So many of these pithy sayings of Jesus have become proverbs in the English language. That itself is evidence of the value of this poetic form of teaching. "When the devil reminds me of my past, I'll remind him of his future" is a form of antithetic parallelism. Contradictory but complimentary.

c) Synthetic Parallelism: (Or, repeated parallelism). A third poetic form which Jesus used was this one in which the second line of the couplet interprets the first. John 6:35 illustrates this; "I am the bread of life; he that comes to me shall never hunger". The second line interprets the first. Another is, "You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He has sent."

Another example of synthetic parallelism is where He told his listeners it was 'easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle' than for a rich man to partake of the new life. Then he said, "With men it is impossible, but not with God, for with God all things are possible.' No further explanation was necessary to interpret the first statement for nothing was impossible with God who is Omnipotent!

d) Step Parallelism: In this form there is a development in each successive line. This is seen in Matt. 10:40: "He that receives you receives Me, and he that receives Me receives Him Who sent Me." Here the listeners were led on to the spiritual teaching of the Oneness of Jesus with God the Father, and they were given an inkling of their own importance as his ambassadors. These sayings are alive with spiritual meaning.

Strong forms of Step Parallelism and Antithetic Parallelism are displayed in a recent Bible translations. Tyndale House's Living Bible for Students carries this outline in the pages of Genesis: Genesis and Revelation:

The sun is created—The sun is not needed.
Satan in victorious—Satan is defeated.
Sin enters the human race—Sin is banished.
People run and hide from God—People are invited to live with God forever.
People are cursed—The curse is removed.
Tears shed, with sorrow for sin—No more sin, no more tears or sorrow.
The garden and earth are cursed—God's city is glorified, the earth is
    made anew.
Fruit from tree not to be eaten—God's people may eat from the Tree
    of Life.
Paradise is lost—Paradise is regained.
People are doomed to death—Death is defeated, believers live forever
    with God.

New Testament illustrations of facts and events also are forms of Step and Antithetic Parallelism—illustrated from the life of Jesus Christ.

"He descended on earth that we might ascend to heaven, John 6:38; 14:3.
He became poor that we might become rich, II Cor. 8:9; James 2:5.
He was born that we might be born again, John 1:14, 33.
He became a servant that we might be sons, Galatians 4:6, 7; Phil. 2:7.
He had no home that we might have a home in heaven, Matt. 8:20
    John 14:2.
He was hungry that we might be fed, Matt. 4:2; John 6:50.
He was thirsty that we might drink of the springs of Salvation, Isa 12:3,
    John 19:28.
He was made weary that we might find rest, att. 11:29; John 4:6.
He was stripped that we might be clothed, Matt. 27:28; II Cor. 5:4.
He was forsaken that we might be accepted, Matt. 27:48; Heb. 13:5.
He was bound that we might go free, Matt. 27:2; John 8:32-36.
He was made sin that we might be made righteous, II Cor. 5:21.
He died that we might live, John 5:24, 25; 19:33.
He will come down that we may be caught up into heaven,I Thess. 4:16-17.

C. The Doctrine He taught:

In all of Jesus' teaching, He unquestionably included matters we have come to see as Doctrine, or Divine Principles which are the basis and content of today's Bible. Jesus based his teachings on Old Testament law expanded with his own application to his world which became New Testament Doctrine. That's why Paul said in II Corinthians ..."The Lord has magnified his law and made it truly glorious. Through it he had planned to show the world that He is righteous" (II Cor. 5:19).

And that's why Sir Winston Churchill leaned heavily upon strong principles all his WWII leadership, tho he did not follow them fully, when he said: "Those who are possessed of a definite body of doctrine and deeply rooted convictions upon it will be in a much better position to deal with the shifts and surprises of daily affairs."

Jesus did not teach without a doctrinal subject and a purpose. His doctrines or principles were always wholly in keeping with Old Testament content and intent. Jesus always credited His Father with the authorship and authority and sufficiency of his teachings. Each time he taught, it was with a purpose to move hearers to understand the underlying, inherent and essential doctrines that govern life and destiny. The methods and styles he used to teach doctrine were varied; obvious, inferred, assumed or applied.

Summary: The forms and purpose Jesus used opened the minds of his hearers to eternal truths. One only needs to search the Scriptures at such passages as 'The Sermon on the Mount,' The Beatitudes, John 17 Prayer, or "The Ministry in the Upper Room," to see examples of poetic form.

Observation: How do we apply these forms to our present day teaching? "The Touch of the Master's Hand" is a classic example of reaching people through poetic form. G. Studdart Kennedy did so in the trenches in WWI with the troops and F.W. Boreham with his twenty volumes around the same time. "I met the Master" is another poem that has touched many people for Christ. Chuck Swindoll's excellent coffee table publications are filled with forms to reach the heart. Find in your reading verse that applies to your students, and use it sparingly and powerfully to reach into hungry minds. That outline that says the Cross is a place of perfection, pardon power promise and peace is a form of 'outline parallelism' which aids hearers memories as well.

D. Jesus use of other styles:

Our use of other styles:

1. Metaphor: A picture whereby something is described by calling it something else: "Life is dust or leaf that ..." "Make prayer key of the day and bolt of the night."

"People tend to look down on the word nothing and ignore its importance! However, it can mean life and death; success or failure; joy or sorrow. Mountain climbers have died when they stepped out on it. Parachutists despair when they pull the ripcord and it comes out. Farmers have lost their farms when they grew it. Cricketers and football players have been replaced when they scored it. It is a good reason for joy when it represents the sum total of your debts. It's what you earn when you do it. If you've saved it over the years you now have it in your bank account. It's often discussed at meetings with arguments and fights starting over it. You may find it in your mail box or the next chocolate machine. I could go on and on, but would mean ... nothing!"

The metaphor is an abbreviated simile, omitting the word of comparison.

2. Simile: A word picture where one thing is likened to another usually by the use of 'as' or 'like'. Herod as that old fox. Slippery as an eel. Gentle as a lamb. Ugly as sin. Solid as a rock. Fast as a bullet. "Maybe there is something to this idea of evolution proposed by Charles Darwin, after all, comments the joker. Maybe people did descend from lower animals, for church folk often seem stubborn as mules about church work; sly as a fox in their own business deals; busy as bees in spreading the latest gossip; blind as a bat to the world's needs; quiet as a mouse in spreading the gospel; but have eyes like a hawk to see the mote in their brother's eye. They are eager as beavers about a bazaar and barbecue but lazy as dogs about prayer meetings; mean as snakes when things don't go their way, but gentle as lambs when they need the pastor's help; noisy as crows for the church to advance but slow as snails in visiting the unchurched. Many are night owls (metaphor here) on Saturday night but bed bugs on Sunday morning. They are slippery as eels on Sunday night and scarce as hen's teeth during fund raising or the Church mission."

3. Analogy: A relation of likeness between two things. Jesus is the best Shock Absorber. Resemblance not of the things themselves but of two or more attributes or elements of the thing. Jesus is our Supreme Ecologist, when inner pollution became instantly biodegradable. "I am the vine; you are the branches."

Ghalali a Muslim scholar says: "An analogy does not have to agree in every way with that which it resembles. Otherwise it is not an analogy, but an exact copy of the thing which it resembles."

4. Hyperbole: Where a moral is taught by vivid imagery-rhetorical exaggeration, or overstatement; emphasise a point by exaggeration or irony. "Ye blind guides, that strain out the gnat, and swallow the camel" (Matt. 23:24). "If you had any brains." "Time stands still."

The other day I heard of a six-year-old who was told the story of Moses leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea and the wonderful way the water parted for them. When his mother asked what the story at Sunday School had been about, he replied: "Well, our teacher told us that a big bunch of people were running away from an old wicked King and his army. They came to a sea where there was no way to cross. So they built a bridge and crossed over. When they got to the other side they saw the wicked old king and his army crossing over after them. So they got down on their knees and prayed and God made the bridge fall down and that wicked king and his army all drowned." When the boy paused for breath his mother said:"Now, you don't really expect me to believe your Sunday School teacher told you that, do you?" The shocked lad shook his head and said, "No mother. But you wouldn't believe me if I told you what she really did tell us."

5. Allegory: Describes one thing under the guise of another. Moral not stated, as a fable states moral at the end. It is an illustrated story. It is a sustained metaphor or simile. "I am the vine, ye are the branches". John 15:10. Pilgrim's Progress. Jungle Doctor. Beauty and the Beast. Alice in Wonderland.

An Allegory is one form of speech in which the spiritual meaning of the story is woven into the telling of the story, as in the Vine and the Branches (John 15). Recall the question raised as to the peculiar form the parable takes in John's Gospel.

6. Parable: Moral generally not stated but inferred. The parables of ... The Lost Coin. The Sower. The Price of a Pearl, etc.

G. Campbell Morgan in his Parables and Metaphors reminds us that the fourth chapter of Marks Gospel opens with the statement that on the day Jesus went out of the house and went into a boat, and He spake many things in parables. The text specially focuses on this and says,"... and without a parable spake He not unto them." This means that Jesus used
parables constantly in what He said to the multitudes.

There are ... 58 Old Testament parables and 38 of Christ's parables, and ... 16 remaining N.T. parables in the Bible. J. Stuart Holden in his Some Old Testament Parables (Pickering & Inglis, London, 1938) records some of the O. T. parables in detail. His chapters on The Ewe Lamb in II Samuel 11 and Romans 2:1; The Vineyard in Jer. 2:21 and Gal. 5:19 and The Potter in Jer. 18:4 suggest the basis upon which Jesus may have taken the OT parables to teach his new world doctrines.

Holden in his chapter on 'The King Tree' (Judges 9:15) is very descriptive. He says this is a parable in the form of a fable, which could not fail to secure the attention and then to prod the imagination of all who heard it. Jothan tells of the trees meeting together to anoint them a king. In turn they ask the olive, the fig, the vine to reign over them. But all three, whose claims to such distinction were obvious, refused to leave the proper functions of rich fruitfulness in order to assumed kingship. Then, at last, the trees came to the prickly, scrubby bramble. And the bramble immediately consented-but upon terms. The other trees must put their trust under its shadow. What trenchant satire! Ludicrous, is it not? The shadow of a bramble! It claims all. Nothing less will suffice. This, the most unworthy, unsuitable, inadequate groundling, with thorny arrogance is ready, eagerly ready to be king, on one condition-that is-he really is king!

Holden says this is a parable. It's meaning then and now is plainand heart-probing. From first to last it is a warning, both to the foolish trees, and to the shameless, head-strong, swaggering bramble. It holds them both up to scorn, to kindle in them, if may be, the first of self-judgement. It warns of the character of Abimelech; that he is nothing more than a mean and worthless and flesh tearing thorn-bush, whose end is to be burned, that he will do them no good if they yield to his bluster, that he will involve them in his own destruction. And it warns them, that even if the trees of the garden, the olive, the fig, the vine have more sense than he has, for they will not let the pride that goes before a fall tempts them to play Providence to themselves, which is what he is doing! Also, the triumph of the adventurer is one of the trails of the upright. The success of a man like Abimelech is almost an argument for the indifference, even the cynicism of God, who does not interfere to prevent it in the name of righteousness. Or, it would be if He had not said, "Wait." Divine justice may tarry, but it never sleeps.

(a) Herman Horne in his 1910 publication, Teaching Techniques of Jesus, says one of the most outstanding features of the method of Jesus as teacher is that he told stories. We call his stories Parables, though some of his sayings regarded as parables are not exactly stories, but rather short comparisons. "A city set on a hill cannot be hid" (Matt. 5:14) is an example. There are twenty eight of these short comparisons and perhaps twenty five different stories. About a quarter of all the spoken words of Jesus in Mark are parables in this double sense of the term and in Luke nearly half. The term 'parable' occurs about fifty times in the New
Testament.

(b) Horne says that a parable is a comparison between familiar fact and spiritual truths. This may be short and pithy like, "If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch", (Matt. 15:14), or it may be worked out in a story.

Jesus told the story but not it's meaning, unless asked privately by his disciples. It is the kind of parable which is familiarly referred to an 'earthly story with a heavenly meaning."

(c) Then, he continues, 3) It is an illustrative story carrying the truth within itself, not above itself, like the Pharisee and the publican praying in the temple. Further, Horne clarifies it further and says in order to show clearly the distinction between a true parable and an illustrative story, or an allegory, undertake the venturesome task of making a true parable based on the allegory of the Vine and the Branches, from John 15:1-10. This attempts to separate out of the allegory the meaning from the story:

"The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a thrifty-looking vine planted by a vine-dresser, which turned out to be a wild plant of a strange vine, and failed to bring forth fruit. Then he planted a true vine, and cut away the branches that bore not fruit, and cast them forth, and they withered and were gathered, and cast into the fire and burned. But he pruned with his pruning hook the fruitful branches remaining in the vine that they might bear more fruit and their fruit ripened and gave joy to the vine-dresser." And when he had ended, Simon Peter said unto him, "Master, declared unto us this parable?" And he said, "Israel is the false vine. I am the true vine and my Father is the vine-dresser. The word is the pruning hook and ye are the branches, some fruitless to be destroyed, because you are not continuing in me, and some fruitful to be saved, because you are continuing in me. Abide in me and I will abide in you." What do you think of this?

Why did Jesus speak in parables?

It was not an original idea to speak in parables, says Leslie D. Wetherhead on page 58 of his "In Quest for a Kingdom." There are many in the Old Testament. The very parables Jesus used are not original. Critics have dug out ancient stories which Jesus used. That doesn't matter. We don't quarrel with Shakespeare because in the Merchant of Venice we discover he has used an old Italian story. We don't quarrel with Dvorak, when we listen to the New World Symphony, because he has used Negro Folk Songs. The use of the parable was an ancient method of teaching, but through the artistry of Jesus the stories became jewels. The world will never lose one of them. They are all pictures.

We find pictures of the countryside and it's dangers, the rough, rocky pass and the man falling a victim to robbers and highwaymen, the sheep on the hills in danger from wild beasts. We see pictures of nature; the lilies and the fig-tree and the vine and the mustard plant. We see pictures of home life; women baking bread, sewing, putting a patch in a garment, cleaning out a room. We see pictures of men's hearts; greedy and mean and lustful, proud and tender and loveable. But above all, in every parable we see a picture of God and His ways with men.

The preaching of Jesus was so profound that men have been discussing it ever since. Great minds have given a lifetime of study to His words and found at the end that they could have wished for another lifetime to continue the quest. The stories were part of Jesus strategy in attacking men's proud and sinful hearts. They got under men's defenses. They bore an obvious meaning, but frequently they were shrewd-if the word be allowed-to attack by means of an implication that frequently did not by any means dawn at once on the minds of the hearers. They will, for example, pretend the preacher is talking about someone else, and even rejoice in the way his shafts must be striking another.

G. Campbell Morgan again reminds us of the reasons Jesus spoke so often in parables. One is that at this hour in the ministry of Jesus He specially adopted the parabolic method of addressing the crowds. He had used parables before this time, notably to the woman of Samaria, when He spoke of the water of life; to the disciples, when He told them field were white to harvest; in Nazareth, when He spoke of the physician and his healing work; to the disciples again, of fishers of men; and in His
Manifesto, of salt and light and building. But the Sower was the first full parable uttered at this time.

That is, when you trace the course of the Lord's ministry you find that there had come a moment when definite and positive hostility had hardened in a peculiar manner. In the home at Capernaum He had been challenged, because He claimed to forgive sins. In the house of Levi He had been challenged because He permitted His disciples to omit fasting, and because He consorted with sinners. In the cornfield He had been criticized for allowing His disciples to pluck the ears of corn on the Sabbath. In a synagogue on a later Sabbath, He was challenged, and they counseled to destroy Him. Again, in the house in Capernaum He was charged with being in complicity with the devil. All this had its definite effect upon the minds of the people.

In Mark 3, we find... "He looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart." Luke is even more the point, though Matthew's is fuller. In the thirteenth chapter of Matthew after the parable of the Sower ... 'the disciples came and said unto Him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?' And He answered "Unto you is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but whosoever hath not, from his shall be taken away even that which he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand." Carefully note the change, says Morgan. They are seeing, but they do not see. They are hearing, but they do not understand.

Therefore, He spoke to them in parables. In so doing, Jesus quoted the Prophet Isaiah, 'By hearing ye shall hear, and shall in no wise understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall in no wise perceive. Why? you ask. Study this issue further in the words of Jesus, 'For the people's heart is waxed gross and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes have
they closed '. . . etc. St. Paul often took the hint from Jesus' parables and used his teaching to (1) conceal truth from the pessimist while revealing it to the believer. A simple explanation occurs in the anonymous letter to the Hebrews, chapter 12, v11 where it talks about a great cloud of witnesses in the Hall of Faith.

Dr. Peter Adams writes in his Majestic Son, a study of Hebrews (AIO, Sydney), "These words are most often read out of their context, and so we usually understand them to mean that the departed saints are spectators of our progress (or lack of it), that they can see what we are doing, and that they are standing on the sidelines encouraging us to persevere. But, of course, the context suggests something different, for 'such a great cloud of witnesses' refers primarily to those old covenant believers mentioned in chapter 11, who are there for us to look at them, not for them to look at us! We receive their witness to God's faithfulness as we read about them in Scripture, and like Abel, they still speak to us even though they are dead." Of course, Scripture would be made easier if it simply has exchanged the word 'witnesses' for 'examples', but that may have not been the writer's purpose. In this case, it conceals the truth from the skeptics, while it is clearly revealed to the convinced disciple.

Also, secondly, the parable would judge them on the last day, showing them to belong to the ignorant or not to the understanding kind. "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" is the line of distinction between those with and those without the hearing ear. Very likely there are other reasons also why Jesus used the parable. He adopted this method suddenly in the midst of his public ministry when the tide of opposition was rising about him, perhaps as a mode of self-protection in his teaching, enabling him to survive until his time should come. Besides, the story is the common Oriental method of imparting truth and the OT prophets (Ex. 17) as well as the recent Jewish Rabbis used this method though without the perfection of form displayed by Jesus.

Can you think of other reasons Jesus may have used parables? When you read His words, ask yourself if you understand them fully at first, or not. Ask if you are a religious moron, as Horne asked? What then is the meaning of one of the more difficult parables, 'equal pay for unequal work' (Matt. 20:1-6). See Michael Frost 'Jesus the Fool', pp135 (Albatross.) How did the disciples pass this test when they first heard the parables of the Sower and the Tares?

Also, not all the sayings of Jesus that go by the name of parable belong in this class. "Physician, heal thyself," is very different from the story of the lost coin, the lost sheep or the lost son. These say one thing and mean another; something about the sense world and mean something about the spiritual world. Both of these differ from the Good Samaritan or the Pharisee and the Publican, which combine the spiritual and material worlds in one story. There is no parallelism, but the virtue is embodied in the story itself.

England's E. Stanley Jones agrees with missionary Leslie Weatherhead: "It was not an original thing to use parables." Emulate them .... To review then, the first kind of parables might be called proverbs, maxims, or aphorism. The second class are properly called parables, because they convey a moral or religious truth in short-story form. The third are illustrative stories. And then, in the fourth place, we have the form that the parables take in John's Gospel, the allegory. Given these four headings, how would you classify each? Proverb? Maxim? Aphorism? Story? Allegory?