Volume IV
The Parables of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ Unfolded
Vol. IV, pp. xxviii–xli
“All these Things spake Jesus unto the Multitude in Parables; and without a Parable spake He not unto Them.”—Matthew xiii-34.
§Introduction
The parables of Jesus are the most attractive parts of the New Testament, to nearly all Bible readers and students, although they are often confusing because they present both a dark and a bright side of humanity.
There is a natural delight in this manner of teaching, because it appeals to the understanding, the feelings, and the imagination, exciting the whole soul, with all its faculties, into pleasurable activity. Things learned with delight are the longest remembered.
The disciples were offended at their frequent use as a means of instruction, and perhaps justly so, for they gave various views of “the kingdom of God” without explanation, which, as even a well-finished picture does, needed full and clear light to bring out the truth that is in the work, or in the lesson. Such clear light we have in the text of the gospels and epistles, but they who heard the parables never profited by those writings.
Some have said that the truth was hidden in parables as a means of puzzlling His disciples, and compelling them to search for instruction, and also for concealing the mysteries of the “kingdom” from the multitude. Esdras tells us that he was commanded by God to publish one part of the word revealed to him, and to conceal another part. This was probably so done because there are moral conditions necessary for understanding the truth. Some of his hearers desired spiritual instruction, and looked to him for help; others were indifferent, and many rejected the teachings. To all the warning words, “Take heed how ye hear,” were significant.
The parables were framed to teach spiritual and heavenly truth, which might awaken the soul to a consciousness of its divine origin, improve the intellect, and purify the reason. To this end, therefore, they are never sullied by jesting or raillery at the follies or the crimes of mankind.
Fables differ, in using animals and animal instincts, jests, raillery, sarcasm, and bitter mockery at the calamities which overtake men on account of their follies and crimes. While the parable never transgresses the laws of nature, the fable always does, in attributing speech and reason to animals, trees, and stones.
The myth differs from both, in presenting itself as the truth, while the parable and fable never pretend to do more than convey the precious essence.
Proverbs are usually obscure or enigmatical, and depend on remote allusions for their meaning and force, but sometimes they are concentrated parables—a whole lesson in a sentence; as in this one, "If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch."
The allegory is another form of fable or parable, or, rather, a different form of teaching, for it contains its explanation in itself, but it transfers the properties, qualities, and relations from the human to the lower order of things, as in the case of this one: "I am the true vine, and ye are the branches."
The faithful in the Church believe that God has established a spiritual "Kingdom of Heaven," through the atoning work of Jesus the Christ, and that the benefits of the kingdom have been freely offered to all. That kingdom is represented in the parables, which present it in different aspects: first, concerning the entrance to the kingdom; second, on the privileges and the duties of the kingdom; third, showing the relation of the kingdom to the world; and fourth, those which refer to the future world of spirits.
No rule can be made for interpreting the parables that does not allow good sense, reason, and spiritual insight to have full play. Too much must not be expected from any one parable. It is more likely that one single truth is the object of the lesson, than that we are to look for meanings in every phrase and every word, as some have supposed. The Gnostics built up a scheme of religious speculation on the supposed meaning of words, and even letters, and so made a cloud-land of their faith, where they could invent, color, and change their teachings as their fancy suggested. The parables to them were mere speculations about the creation, the origin of evil, the fall of angels, and other kindred topics, which they had imagined were more important than spiritual truth.
Other more recent writers endeavor to show that the parables are a part of the history of the Kingdom of God, and its progressive development to the end of time, thus combining spiritual with political and ethical things, unwisely.
The use of parables was common among the Jews before the teaching of Jesus, for He appealed to some as well known. The book called the "Shepherd of Hermas" has several, especially in the third chapter.
There are no parables in the apocryphal gospels, and a few only in other apocryphal writings of the New Testament age.
The parables have been grouped in this collection into four divisions, in which those which are like each other in purpose as lessons are placed together.
The four divisions are: 1. Entrance into the Kingdom of God—The Prodigal Son, The Lost Sheep, The Lost Piece of Money, and the Pharisee and Publican; 2. Duties and Privileges of the Kingdom of God—The Royal Marriage Feast, The Great Feast, The Friend at Midnight, The Rich Fool, The Barren Fig Tree, The Importunate Widow, The Two Sons, and The Good Samaritan; 3. Relations of the Kingdom of God to the World—The Mustard-Seed, The Sower, The Seed Growing Secretly, The Tares, The Leaven, The Pearl of Great Price, The Hid Treasure, The Merchantman, The Net, The Unmerciful Servant, The Unfaithful Steward, The Laborers in the Vineyard, The Two Debtors, and the Wicked Husbandmen; 4. Relations of the Kingdom of God to the Future World—The Ten Virgins, The Rich Man and Lazarus, Unprofitable Servants, The Tale of The Unjust Judge, and The Pounds.
In these divisions of these gems of teaching we see how fully the great Teacher dealt with the various problems of life, concerning what he needs to fit him for a life of faith, what society everywhere wants, and what will most contribute to genuine progress toward perfection in humanity. To follow His teaching is to make each succeeding generation better than it would be by merely imitating the faith and practice of former ages.
There seems to be an outline of belief in a future life, and teaching that the test of the personal life of each soul here will be reached when it passes into the future state of existence. How much the parables which are assigned to this subject add to what has been said in other places, in the Bible and elsewhere, must be left for each reader to determine from an acquaintance with the stores of thought and imagination laid up for us in the precious relics of ancient books.
The parables contain the secret mysteries of the heavenly kingdom, which are the guides for planting and increasing faith, and are the most precious of all in the library of choice readings for the Christian in a leisure hour.
§The Prodigal Son.
This is the pearl or crown of all parables. Many interpretations of its supposed meaning have been offered. One is that it refers to the Jews as the elder son, and to the Gentiles as the younger son, who wandered away into apostasy, and the return provided in the new dispensation of the Church.
Supposing that the publicans and sinners were Jews who had fallen into evil ways, the argument is framed for receiving again into communion those who had been cut off from the Church.
Others say that the publicans and sinners must have been heathen, in spite of the declaration of Jesus that one of the chief publicans, Zacchæus, was a son of Abraham, and that Matthew, the apostle, had been a publican.
The simple truth in the parable seems to be that Jesus came to call and receive sinners within the covenant, and wherever there are penitent and proud sinners there the parable is finding its fulfilment. In this view the younger son is really the Gentile world, and the self-righteous elder son is the Jewish synagogue.
The sin of pride is the sin of sins—and the name of Satan in Arabic is Eblis, pride. This sin possessed the younger son when he felt that he could become independent and sufficient in himself, and so asked for his share of his father's property. In spiritual language this means man's desire to become independent of God, to become a god to himself (Gen. iii. 5), and to lay out his life at his own will and pleasure. This is in great contrast to the prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread," which acknowledges a constant dependence on God.
The father granted his son's request, because he would not keep him at home against his will, whose heart was set on roaming. This is quoted as an argument in favor of the doctrine of free-will. The only true freedom is a freedom in God, all else being bondage to sin. Serving God is serving one master, but to depart from Him is to become subject to the natural passions, which are many masters.
After deciding to go away from home, a little while is spent in reflecting before actually setting out. This is the spiritual history of one who says that there is no God, and that he will set up an opinion for himself. His conduct is compared to that of men who forsake the fountain of living waters for broken cisterns that hold no water (Jer. ii. 13). In the long (six months) dry season of Palestine, a good cistern is very valuable, but a broken one is an infinite contrast to a fountain of sweet waters.
The wanderer feels free at last. Free to think and act, but without sufficient knowledge or wisdom to avoid errors and shun vices, and the inevitable result was disaster. The famine in the land where the young man had wasted his portion found him unprovided for evil days, and therefore increased his misery.
The spiritual famine among those who deny the existence of God means a want of truth, sincerity and love—the true nourishment of the soul. The love and care of parents and relatives, domestic affections, and the friendship of neighbors were absent, leaving the soul hungry—famishing.
One other fact is noticed, and which is as true now as it was then: when the young prodigal had spent his last piece of money, not one of all those who had joined him in wasting his substance would lift a finger to help him in his need. Such boon companions in riotous living are the first to take themselves off when the prodigal's money is spent.
He "joined himself to a citizen of that country" probably means that he tried to frame a new system of faith and belief in his apostate condition. To one who has been brought up "in the fear of the Lord," the change to unbelief after maturity is literally wasting spiritual inheritance and substance, and the attempt to reconcile one's self to the new surroundings is difficult indeed. The temptation to "arise and go to my father" was irresistible, when he remembered how happy and contented he was when under the care of his spiritual father and possessed of the riches of faith and belief.
But the resolution to return was not taken until he had tried to reconcile himself to the ways of the world by entering into its service. This may mean that he entered into business, became familiar with the crafty ways in which worldly men succeed, the subtle snares that they lay for the unwary, the deceptions, frauds, and mean, petty crimes that they practice who are bent on accumulating money, right or wrong, and that these are the husks that swine feed upon. To fill the belly, or the bank, with such husks is not to increase the riches of the soul. The man or the woman who grinds dollars out of poor, hard-worked, starving humanity, does not grow in spiritual riches, of truth, honor, brotherly love, or charity. Bah! they don't pay! Such a person is indeed a citizen of that "far-off land," far away from the heavenly Father's home of love, grace, purity, and joy. A citizen of that country of apostasy is compelled to associate with those who delight—or at least pretend to delight—in speaking disrespectfully of all that once was held precious and lovely in the Church. God and the angels, love and mercy, and all spiritual things are constantly held up to scorn, ridicule, and contempt. Such revilings are the merest husks from which the kernel of life, truth, and love has been stripped; and the more the soul strives to gather of such stuff, the more miserable it is, for the bondage becomes intolerable; it increases every moment, as Habakkuk says (ii. 5), he "enlargeth his desire as hell, and as death, and can not be satisfied."
Such a fall, so low in guilt and misery, is an extreme case, but is possible to any soul after the first downward step.
This parable might very well have a new title, for it is really a Soul's Tragedy.
In the darkest hour of his troubles "he came to himself." His first thought was of his father, the fountain of spiritual truth and life, and the pleasant home-life, where the atmosphere is faith and love. The return was then easy, when it had been decided upon, and the reception was cordial, hearty, and, except the envy of the brother, in every way satisfactory and consoling.
§The Lost Sheep.
Matt. xviii, 12-14; Luke xv, 3-7.
The popular character of the teachings of Jesus, at the time in which this parable was spoken, drew the outcasts of the people to hear His comforting words. He received them graciously, taught them freely, and lived in familiar social relations with them which offended the Scribes and Pharisees. The Old Testament form of righteousness was an outward separation from sinners, as from the infected with disease, and the Scribes and Pharisees had no remedies for sinners, nor hope nor wish for their redemption, nor had they knowledge of any antidotes against the supposed danger from infection. When asked why He received sinners, He answered that He acted as they would in seeking a lost sheep.
He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance,—to find lost sheep. It was the owner himself who seeks the lost sheep. Only one—one in a hundred—but that one was lost. A lost sheep is the most helpless of animals, and vainly wastes its strength in useless bleating and aimless wandering, until, exhausted, it falls in death.
The shepherd's care is the only hope for the lost sheep. His effort must be made at once, for every moment increases the danger, and he leaves the flock to go after the one lost.
The spiritual rulers of the Jews were called shepherds by the prophets. One of the psalmists calls the Lord his Shepherd, and another says the Lord is the Shepherd of Israel.
It is said by some that the incarnation of the Son of God was a putting on the shepherd's garment of flesh, and His life from the baptism of John was a search for the strayed sheep of Israel. And the text of the gospels sets forth the toilsome way, with its thorns of scorn, hate, and betrayal.
The shepherd is said to search until he found the lost sheep, when he carefully helped it out of difficulty, and, if needed, carried it back to the fold.
The dangers which the shepherds face from wild beasts in the wilderness in our day in Palestine are great. They are seldom armed with more than a stick, and, although lions are rarely met, bears, hyenas, and wolves are common in some parts, and are always hungry and terocious when they approach the flocks. David told King Saul that he had killed both a lion and a bear in defence of his flock.
When the shepherd returned to his home with the recovered sheep, he called his friends together, and they rejoiced over his success. The lesson is that heaven and earth are one in "the kingdom," and that there will be joy in heaven over one repentant sinner, more than over ninety and nine just persons which need no repentance. This repentant sinner then enters into the inner sanctuary of faith, and is the cause of more joy among the redeemed than those who remain at the legal door refusing to go in.
The early Christians portrayed the Lord as the Good Shepherd in paintings, sculptures, mosaics, on gems, glass cups, seals, and many other articles of personal or public use, and great numbers of those relics have been preserved to our day. In some of those ancient pictures Jesus is represented as the Orpheus of the Christians holding a harp and surrounded by animals that are charmed with His music.
§The Lost Piece of Money.
The Church is the organ by which the Holy Spirit does its works of mercy. In this parable the Church is personified as a woman; the piece of money is the soul, stamped with the image of the Great King (Gen. i. 27), as the silver, gold, or copper was with that of the emperor or other ruler. The candle is the word of God, held forth by the Church, and by whose light sinners are found, and each one is precious in the Lord's eyes as the silver money is to the merchant.
The woman sweeps the house when searching for the lost piece, and raises the dust—of selfish ease, and calls out such remarks as those in Acts, where it is said the Apostles were charged with having turned the world upside down, as the Church is always doing, while searching for sinners.
The woman confesses that she lost the piece of silver, as if she had contributed to the loss through negligence, and called her female friends and neighbors together (see Ruth iv. 14, 17; Prov. iv. 3); and it is supposed by some commentators that they were the angels.
In the Epistle to the Corinthians the term angels is applied to certain redeemed members of the Church.
In the book of Job it is said that "sons of God" shouted for joy and sang together at the creation, and in the parable of the Lost Sheep that there is joy in heaven over a repentant sinner; so in this parable there is rejoicing, but it is here on the earth. Some suppose that the joy here referred to is in a group of the invisible angels who are sent into the earth to minister to the heirs of salvation, and who belong to a higher race.
There are several thoughts which group around this lesson. The lighted candle is peculiar to this parable, and indicates that the Church needs help—the help of the truth, which the light signifies—for the search. The candle is the word. The image of the golden candlestick and its mystic explanation are familiar with students of the Old Testament, among the furniture of the tabernacle and the temple, and candles and candlesticks are used also in the Revelation of John.
The Spirit is the maker of the word, and its light the truth, and is therefore the true searcher, the Church or the woman being only means to the end. "Christ is the Light of the World," and therefore He it is who searches for and finds the lost pieces from the spiritual treasury.
Sweeping the dust away that may have covered the piece of silver was necessary as a part of the process of finding it. Whether covered with dust or hidden by tarnishing, the searcher must still sweep.
It was silver that was lost, and intrinsically precious; valuable, even when lost, and although more useful when restored, yet no more worth than before.
Those who are inclined to mysticism see in the lighted candle a symbol of the divine incarnation; the glory which the Saviour had within shining through the fleshly covering which only partially concealed it. The light of the candle and the divine glory still illuminate the world.
§The Pharisee and Publican.
Personal responsibility in asking for God's favors is illustrated in the parable of the Prodigal Son. There the son asks forgiveness. In this parable there is an estimate of the different views which men have of prayer to God.
Two men seek to draw nigh to God in prayer, in the temple, where was seen the great altar, with its daily sacrifices of blood, in token of sin; near it the great laver, for cleansing hands, faces, and feet, and supplying water for various purposes; and in the holy place the altar of incense, symbol of prayer, ever rising toward heaven; and the golden candlestick, with its seven typical lamps, emblems of the seven planets, the seven spirits of wisdom, goodness, and piety; and the table of shew-bread, where the tribes of Israel were each represented by a loaf of bread, which was renewed each week; and in the holy of holies, behind the veil, the ark of the covenant, with the two tables of the law; and each and all of these things, with many others in and about the holy house, indicated that Jehovah was believed to be a prayer-hearing God.
The Pharisee may have represented the Jewish people, and the publican the Gentiles. The Jew gloried in his own merits, and extolled himself, but through pride and selfrighteousness failed, in not gaining divine favor. The Gentile meekly acknowledged his vileness, repented of his sins, and obtained mercy and grace.
It is supposed that the lesson was intended for certain followers of Jesus who had a latent Pharisee in their hearts, and were content with cleaning the outside of the bowl, being indifferent or ignorant of the uncleanness within, and who would not be likely to say, "Deliver me from mine adversary," because they do not feel conscious that they have an adversary, and it can also be applied to others who have found their sins an intolerable burthen, and look to God for delivery.
The act of the Pharisee, in separating himself from others, because he felt himself to be better, less sinful, a more strict observer of fast-days, and tithe-paying, and other outward religious acts, was an exhibition of an ugly, foul, proud, and scornful soul, which was cold and dead to all the world of humanity beside itself.
The publican, through his humbling himself, was exalted, while the Pharisee, through his self-exaltation, was humbled. Pride is at the root of every sin, and even when doing good, if pride is mingled with the motives, there is a lessening of the good, in proportion to the extent of the pride.
§Duties and Privileges of the Kingdom of God.
§The Wedding Garment; or, the Marriage of the King's Son.
The King in this parable is Christ himself, and the feast referred to is an allusion to the joys prepared for those who are invited to their reward. The enmity of the Pharisees had reached its highest pitch, and they had resolved to put Jesus out of the way. The guests that are invited refuse absolutely to come, misuse the messengers, their acts amounting to open defiance of the king's authority, which was simply rebellion.
The king punishes them by destroying the murderers and burning their city. Some suppose that the enmity to the king had been growing in secret for a long time, and on this marriage found a pretext or opportunity for breaking out. Sinners of every degree were invited to fellowship in the blessings of the Gospel, and their entrance to the marriage feast was without scrutiny, for by grace alone were they called, both good and bad. But when they are inside the king will make a strict examination, and will not excuse any whose garments are in any sense improper or unfit. That is, members of the Church must live without reproach.
The guest was self-righteous, or a hypocrite, and in need of a garment that should cover, rather than expose, his poverty of spiritual things.
§The Two Sons.
In this discourse the two sons stand for two classes in the Jewish people. The one who said he would not work, and repented, and did go into the vineyard to work, was the representative of the publicans and harlots; and the other son who promised so readily to work, and did not go, was the representative of the priests, elders, Pharisees, and all the respectable and religious in society. The human nature of our day is precisely like that of the time in which this parable was spoken, and we have only to look around us for its application as they did who heard it at the first. Many are conscious of a willingness to do right, but who also are like the second son in neglect or refusal to act, and feeling satisfied in having a pious feeling, religious sympathy, and in having cherished sentiments of the most kindly import, without one effort at putting them into practice.
Others are unfeeling and wantonly rude as well as disobedient in their repudiation of God's authority, and take pride in affecting a deeper and more resolute ungodliness than they really feel. In our day such persons pretend to be viciously wicked and active in opposition to all that is called Christian, but whose hearts or consciences are still alive, hate hypocrisy, love to do right, and may at any moment resolve to come to the truth, the light, and the way.
§The Wicked Husbandmen.
Matt. xxi. 33-45; Mark xii. 1-12; Luke xx. 9-19.
This parable exhibits a picture of the inexhaustible patience and long-suffering of the Father toward His children the Jews, of the Son toward his Church, and of God toward the sinner.
In Isaiah the vineyard is the symbol of the Jewish Church, and the Lord is said in Exodus to have planted it. The wall around the vineyard, of stone or of thorns, is the separation by birth, race, or religion of the Jew from the Gentile—of the worshipers of God from those who fall down before idols.
This garden of the Lord was cultivated by the deliverance from Egypt, the law from Sinai, the wandering in the wilderness, the passage over Jordan, the settlement in Canaan, the teaching of the prophets, the captivity in Babylon, the restoration under Ezra, the long rest under the Greeks, and the final harrowing by the Romans. The annalists say that Jehovah refused at one time to speak any more face to face with the Jews, and after that declined to give responses when consulted by Urim and Thummim, leaving them under the guidance of the law alone.
When it was the fruit season, servants were sent to learn the results of the harvest. In spiritual language this is said to mean those occasions in which souls are tried and required to show good fruits of virtue and righteousness.
The servants sent were the prophets, and they were killed. Luke says that when the son of the owner of the vineyard was sent, the wicked keepers of the vineyard killed him, knowing him to be the heir of his father, their employer.
Jewish tradition is filled with instances of ill-usage of spiritual teachers—servants of the Lord of the Vineyard—and many of them are alluded to in the Epistle to the Hebrews: "And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover, of bonds and imprisonment; they were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain by the sword; . . . . . of whom the world was not worthy."
Sending the Son is the last and crowning act of divine mercy, and if it fail, the last resource of heavenly love will have been exhausted; and the transgressors will have filled up the measure of their guilt.
In this view the entire succession of generations of Israelites, from the first to the last, are considered as one body, one vineyard, and in that sense only could those then living be called to account for what had been done ages before to the prophets.
The punishment consisted in losing the favor of the Lord, and seeing their birthright transferred to the Gentiles.
The priests and Pharisees are said to have been angry when they saw that the parable was intended for them. But the Great Teacher, having shown that the charge laid on them was a duty, proceeded in another to set forth the same obligation as a privilege.
§The Friend at Midnight.
The lesson herein is addressed to every one who may be called to serve and assist or relieve a wanderer from the way of life when he wishes to return to the true path, for it teaches the method of gaining a supply of spiritual food needed in such cases. The application is made to the Divine Friend in behalf of the penitent who has returned, and who also engages in secret prayer. The gift is obtained by persistence, for "the kingdom of God suffereth violence, and the violent taketh it by force," and things long desired are more sweet when obtained. Faith, patience, and humility are called into exercise by these denials, for it is shown by them who will pray always and not faint, who will not be discouraged by the first lack of success.
§The Unjust Judge; or, the Importunate Widow.
The lesson enforced in this parable is the duty of continued prayer, in which God likens Himself to an unjust judge, and brings forward an instance of a wronged woman, a widow, pleading in vain for redress. She suffers injustice and appeals in vain to the dispenser of justice for a while, but succeeds through importunity. An unrighteous petition gains no hearing in any case.
Although long delayed the day of deliverance will surely come to all who are unjustly oppressed.
Those who look for the second coming of the Son of God find in this lesson much consolation, whether that event is expected at the end of each soul's earthly life, or at the end of the world's period. Delays are trials, wearisome, and seem like denials, but the Divine Father, who appears as the unjust judge, knows when and how to avenge his children's wrongs.
The judge is described in strong terms as a bold, bad man, who is boastful of his impiety, but who has more regard for his own ease than for either God or man. The prophet Isaiah said that God creates evil, and in the book of Job we learn that evil is used by Jehovah as a means of discipline. The appearance of the Father in this parable in such a character as the unjust judge is therefore no surprise.
The closing sentence is rich in suggestions for thought. At His coming shall He find such faith in the world as the widow had? His work then will be of heart-searching and of judgment. His search will discover the faithful to themselves and to each other, for they are known to Him now, and then will it be shown that prayer is the test of faith. Prayer is the medicine that expels spiritual sickness, says Chrysostom the Golden.
§The Good Samaritan.
The lawyer who questioned Jesus understood the letter of the law, but not its spirit—its spiritual application was to him unknown. He had no true conception of the meaning of the word neighbor. He probably felt obligation toward those who were designated as having claims on him—or, in other words, his poor, his relatives, his friends, his associates, and rejected every prompting to assist the miscellaneous herd of poor, the unknown crowd of beggars, the rags and tatters of humanity who were strangers and had no one to vouch for them as worthy and needy of bounty. This lawyer has representatives among us now. It is very difficult for a really deserving poor man or woman to find help, while a hypocrite who will fawn upon the dispensers of "charity" will be bountifully supplied.
The traveler—a Samaritan and not a Jew—found a Jew, whom he had been taught from infancy to despise and avoid, wounded and helpless in the highway, and without question as to whether he belonged to his church, or to any congregation, or had any society claims, he did all that was required, and more beside. This was to an entire stranger, stripped of every valuable thing which might have given a clue to his former rank or condition, and whose only appeal was present need.
In this case the priest did not recognize him as a member of his flock; the Levite failed to see a familiar face, having never met him among the frequenters at his shrine, because both flock and shrine had too narrow quarters. The Samaritan worshiped in a broader temple, as wide as the earth itself—all men were his brothers and entitled to his assistance when in need.
Some have recognized in the traveler personified human nature, or Adam, the head of the race, who has forsaken Jerusalem, the heavenly city, the city of the vision of peace, and is going down to Jericho, the profane city, the city under a curse. Once in the way, out of the presence of his God, he falls a prey to a robber, who strips him of his original righteousness and leaves him wounded, slandered, reviled, and supposed to be dead because crushed under the false and deceptive cruelties of defamation.
The special lesson is to exhibit the great gulf that exists between knowing and doing. Knowing and keeping the law is not enough, but having faith and doing what that requires is the true way of spiritual life.
§The Barren Fig-Tree.
Matt. xxi. 18; Mark xi. 12; Luke xiii. 6-9.
All of the parables, excepting this one, are founded on acts, or supposed acts, or relations between men, which are in themselves rational, or the product of sensible persons. In this case the surprise consists in the act of Jesus in punishing a natural object which could not possibly bear the stain of guilt. If the entire parable is symbolical it is certainly rational.
The fig-tree was said to have been rich in foliage, but destitute of fruit, and so a symbol of the Jewish people, so profuse in outward shows of piety, but destitute of its reality. The fruitless tree which failed for three seasons, under the patriarchs, the prophets, and the priests, or of the natural law, the written law, and of grace, to realize the aim of its being, was destroyed, and by this we understand that the Theocratic people, for the same reason, was worthy of destruction.
§The Seed Growing Secretly.
Mark alone records this parable, the lesson in which is the secret, invisible energy of the divine word, having a life of its own, with the power of unfolding itself according to the laws of its being, and it may be left, when once planted, to flourish by its inherent energy.
There is some difficulty in determining who was meant by the man casting the seed into the ground, whether Jesus or His disciples. It is clear that Christ was intended as the one who put in the sickle and gathered the saints at the harvest, which was when faith had done its proper work.
The parable is supposed to apply to the origin and progress of the Church, rather than of any one person. The Lord at His first coming in the flesh by sowing the word of the kingdom planted the Church and withdrew. It has been without His visible assistance ever since, and is expected to be so until it has borne and brought to maturity all its appointed fruit. When the harvest of the world is ripe, when all have had the opportunity of faith, He will appear the second time.
§The Laborers in the Vineyard.
Second to that of the Unfaithful Steward, this parable is full of difficulties in the way of clear interpretation. Chrysostom queried fifteen centuries ago over the various problems in this parable, as many have since and are doing now. He asked, "How can one who is himself a member of the kingdom of God be held by that lowest of all passions, envy, and an evil eye, grudging in his heart the favors shown to other members of that kingdom?" If it be denied that the grumblers are truly members of the kingdom, how is it that they are paid the wages?
Neander says the idea is, that all who faithfully obey their call, who are truly converted, and labor diligently after their conversion, whether it occur at an earlier or a later period, and their new life is long or short, are made partakers of the same blessedness in the kingdom of God. The question is not what they were before their conversion, but what they become after it. No one is entitled to receive more than his fellow receives; there being no human merit in the case, all that is given is of God's free grace and mercy in redemption. And it applies also to the relations of nations, including the Jews and Gentiles.
Many fanciful interpretations have been proposed, of which this is a specimen: If it is supposed that the hours of the day in which the laborers were hired are the successive ages in the world's history, then it is said that the different laborers hired were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and the Apostles; Jesus standing for the Lord of the Vineyard. In each case they were bidden to labor in the vineyard—to teach righteousness. Those called in the earlier ages had the harder task; the later were Christian teachers. Others say the summonses were given to Moses and Aaron, David and the kings, Maccabean princes and priests, and to Christ and the apostles.
Another idea is that the different hours are the different periods in men's lives at which they enter on the Lord's work.
The true spiritual meaning probably is that the reward is whatever each soul makes of it, as Thomas Aquinas says. There is one vision of God, but many degrees in the capacities of souls for enjoying it; one divine ray of light, which gladdens the healthy eye, but inflames and torments the diseased.
The Mystics taught that God exerted only one power, which operated for reward in good souls, and for punishment in evil.
The sentence, "Many are called, but few chosen," refers to the special qualities that some souls have for spiritual joy.
§The Wise and the Foolish Builders.
Hearing and doing, or practical efforts in support of the faith, is the lesson of this parable, which was spoken to instruct and encourage hearers to become doers of the word.
The wise man, who built his house on a rock, was one who took the faith into his heart, and built his spiritual edifice there, where it was secure against all attacks of doubts and criticisms, and resisted the storms of calumny and defamation.
The foolish builder is one who built on sand, and, spiritually, was the insincere man, whose self-righteousness was in opposition to the righteousness of the Lord; whose good works satisfied him that he had a claim on the Redeemer; whose profession of religion with its outward forms stands with him instead of the spirit and power of the faith.
Christ is the rock, the precious, immutable, sure foundation of all hopes of the kingdom of God. Those who build on that rock have some knowledge of the character, person, offices, and work of Christ, as set forth by the Church, and reject all things that are inconsistent with such a faith and belief.
§The Two Debtors.
Divine faculties were believed to slumber undeveloped in the soul until roused to action by teaching, example, or visions. It was further supposed that when that faculty was developed its possessor was able to see not only invisible things, but the character of any whom they met.
When the Pharisee noticed that Jesus permitted a lewd woman to perfume His head and feet with spiced oil, although the act itself was common, yet, because he believed her touch was contagious, he felt that Jesus was polluted by it; and probably thought that if Jesus could permit such defilement, or if He was ignorant of the character of the woman, He was doubly unfit to be called a prophet of God, because He could not see evil, or if He did, He did not rebuke it in this case. This argued in his mind a ceremonial lack of holiness.
The Persian poet Saadi wrote a beautiful legend which is well worth reading in connection with this parable:
"Jesus, it is said, while on earth, was entertained one day in the cell of a dervish of great reputation for sanctity. In the same city lived a youth sunk in vice and sin, whose heart was so black as to horrify Satan himself. Hearing of the presence of the great prophet, the young man appeared at the door of the cell, and lamented deeply the wickedness and folly of his past life, and shed many tears, imploring pardon and grace. The dervish was very indignant at his approach so near God's holy prophet, and bid him depart, for there was no forgiveness for such a wretch as he. He also apologized to Jesus for his intrusion, and offered a prayer in these words: 'O God, grant me that I may stand far from this sinful man in the judgment day.' Then said Jesus, 'Your prayers are granted. The young man sought mercy and grace, and has found them; for his sins are forgiven; his place shall be in Paradise on the great day. And for you, unforgiving and unmerciful dervish as you are, your place shall be in hades, far from him, as you wished it.'"
§The Wise and Foolish Virgins.
Constant preparation for the uncertain time of the second advent of Christ was the subject of this parable. The ever pressing necessity of being ready was clearly urged, but the time of that coming was purposely left undetermined in this, as it is in all other references to that question.
Virtue, under the form of prudence, is also a part of the lesson. Christian prudence differs from that ever-vigilant presence of mind which springs from one constant and predominant aim in life.
It is possible that the Great Teacher intended to warn His disciples against trusting in the vicarious services and merits of others.
The spiritual lesson is plain. The Bridegroom is Christ, the bride is the Church, the house is the earth. The wise young women have prepared for the expected visitation, but the foolish have neglected their duty. That is, some who are converted and join the Church never do anything more to advance in spiritual growth.
§Relations of the Kingdom of God to the World.
The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not wherewith to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made.
The parables in the thirteenth chapter of Matthew have been considered as a connected series, indicating, progressively, the several stages of advancement through which the mystical Kingdom of God on earth was to proceed, from its beginning to its end, or consummation, for it can never end. Each parable belongs or relates to a certain period in that growth, during which a certain state of things exists, and each succeeding stage includes all that have gone before, the grand concluding scene re-enacting the entire series. In this view the Sower belongs to the time of calling the apostles, when the seed of the word of eternal life was first sown; the Tares to the next season, when dissensions, heresies, and false doctrine began to creep in; the Mustard-Seed to the time of Constantine, when the church had grown strong and extensive, and could afford shelter and aid to others; the Leaven to the time of its diffusion throughout the world; the Hid Treasure to the age when the church was still persecuted; the Pearl to the time in the future when Satan will be bound and the Kingdom of God be esteemed above all other things; and the Draw-net to the judgment, when the separation of contending elements will take place.
§The Sower.
Matt. xiii. 3-8, 18-23; Mark iv. 4-8, 14-21; Luke viii. 5-8, 11-15.
This is the first of the many parables of the Great Teacher, and it introduced a new manner of teaching to His hearers.
This and the one of the Wicked Husbandmen are the only ones common to the synoptic gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
The seed, being the truth conveyed in spoken words, fell on ears that were more or less educated, trained, and fitted for understanding what was said. The different degrees of ignorance, indifference, scorn, jealousy, hatred, and active opposition were likened to the various accidents incident to the business of sowing grain in a field.
The explanation which the Lord gave is clear. A hearer can only profit by what is heard in proportion to former education and training, and in the degree of willingness to receive instruction. How much such a preparation may depend on heredity, how much we may be indebted to our parents or other ancestors and teachers, is well worth considering.
The Scripture teaching seems to be that no soul can be good until the word has been received, and that there are many degrees of difference between good and bad souls both before and after they have received the truth.
Vast tracts of the earth's surface are useless for sowing anything, much less for growing food, and many small gardens are so precious for use in raising choice flowers, etc., beside the many places occupied by dwellings and other things required in our busy world, that grain-producing is impossible in such soil. Many men are mental deserts, icy-cold regions, while others are so occupied as to make it nearly impossible to get their attention to divine things.
The typical hearer would be one who was mature, educated, trained to think, anxious to know the truth, received it from an intelligent source, gladly meditated over it, patiently proved its fitness for this world, and then imparted the glad tidings to others.
§The Tares.
The tares are the children of the wicked one, that is, doubts, errors, and heresies; and their fruit is centuries of violence and crime, intensified by having been done under a pretense of serving God; countries desolated by the follies, vices, and passions of their people; diseases that can not be eradicated, and that make us tremble for the future of mankind; sin and sorrow more bitter, more cruel, more appalling than any physical disease, because they are the products of spiritual disease.
The church teaches that Christ came to inaugurate a new order of things, which must prevail until all evil disappears from the world. Progress is difficult in the church where there are so many adverse elements, and is often apparently much farther advanced in the world outside of the church, in all the material requisites of civilization, and so far as a scientific basis for morals prepares the way, in spiritual matters also occupying a position higher and purer than the corrupt church.
The Master proposes to delay until the harvest, when He will separate the wheat from the tares, for He does not counsel hasty action in the church.
The true believer is satisfied with the reflection that although
"The mills of God grind slowly, But they grind exceeding fine,"
and simply looks forward to the second coming of Christ, and His purifying work in the final consummation, when evil will no longer be permitted to mar the lives of the good—the justified.
The tares may look as well as the wheat. The most dangerous enemies of good order and of virtue are often the most smooth-tongued and comely, finely-formed, plausible hypocrites and frauds in society.
The fruit of a person's life is according to the seed sown. No one in whose early years the seeds of tares were sown in greater proportion than of wheat, can expect a harvest purely of grain. The tares, fables, fancies, false doctrines, and all other forms of unwisdom, produce fruit as well as the truth, innocence, devotion to duty, and right.
§The Mustard-Seed.
Matt. xiii. 31, 32; Mark iv. 30-32; Luke xiii. 18, 19.
In this parable we are reminded how small and slight may be the beginnings, the gradual progress toward the marvelous increase of the church, and the final spiritual dominion throughout the earth.
Jesus is Himself the mustard-seed and the man that sowed it, for the germ of the church was in Him, and unfolded itself from Him; and its pure principles are one with Him, as the tree is with the seed from which it grew.
Jesus as the Sower of the seed is the Great Teacher and example and the field, or as Luke says, His garden was the world.
The smallness of the seed is shown in the spoken word, which may fall on indifferent ears and be remembered only in part; and even when an impression had been made on some one, a fisherman, for instance, the beginning was still small.
The image of the mustard "tree," with birds resting on its branches, suggests the many drones and hangers-on in the church, and hypocrites with all sorts of vicious and wicked frauds, who seek the cloak of religion as a cover for their evil intentions. The growth of the tree exhibits the increase of truth among the students of God's word. That truth is the wealth of the kingdom of God, and they are blessed who are so fortunate as to become heirs of its precious treasures, and in any way be able to contribute to the increase or growth of truth in humanity.
§The Leaven.
Matt. xiii. 33; Luke xiii. 20, 21.
As the parable of the Mustard-Seed signified the wonderful spread of the kingdom of God, openly, so this exhibits the hidden influences with which the church works its way in society and into the hearts of men. That is to say, Gospel truth in its influence on the hearts of men is like the working of leaven which in a little time affects the whole measure of meal.
Leaven is a fit emblem of the spread of gospel truth because it so aptly represents the good and evil which are ever blending in human life. The natural action of leaven is toward corruption, but the secondary action is for good, producing the best bread.
It was symbolic of moral corruption and therefore held to be offensive to God, and therefore it was condemned in the exodus (Ex. xii. 19), and was not permitted in the bread of the wanderers. But as the Passover represented deliverance from Egypt, the Feast of First Fruits was a memorial of the entrance into Canaan. After passing over Jordan the symbol of evil in leaven became the symbol of good.
In the most common use made of leaven we find it means falsehood, cunning, fraud, corruption, naughtiness, and sin, and yet Gregory Nazianzen says: "Lay aside the evil leaven which has grown old and maketh sour, and be transmuted into the new leaven, which is Christ Jesus." This good view of leaven indicates or prophesies the diffusion of the Gospel throughout the world—the three measures of meal perhaps meaning the Pharisees, Sadducees, Scribes, and the publicans and sinners and the Gentiles.
The working of leaven is like spiritual truth, from inside outwards. The world is not yet entirely leavened, and there is much work still for believers to do.
§The Hid Treasure.
This parable refers to the personal appropriation of the benefits of the kingdom of God, which every soul needs, and when possessed becomes a hidden treasure. The Gospel not being looked for by some, is yet sometimes met with by them, and becomes a matter of great joy, fitly termed a treasure, which is very naturally hidden in a country where there are no banks of deposits, and society is in an insecure condition.
It is the custom among rich men in the East to bury a part of their treasures while using another in business, as security against the rapacity of the government, thieves, and invading armies. Such deposits in the earth are frequently found by workmen. In one case at Sidon, in a garden, three stone jars were found filled with gold coins of Alexander the Great and of Philip, his father. Finding such a hid treasure one becomes suddenly rich. The inquiring sinner who finds the truth that is in the Gospel becomes suddenly spiritually rich, heir to and partaker of the wealth of the kingdom of God.
The value of this spiritual treasure becomes apparent only to those who make the discovery for themselves of the real nature of divine grace. Discoveries of treasure are made by those who search, and very seldom by accident.
Some say the field in which the treasure is hid is the Scriptures.
Selling all to buy the field containing hid treasure may mean that a soul must part with everything that has obscured God's claim to the homage of his heart, for the field is to be obtained "without money and without price."
§The Pearl of Great Price.
The kingdom of God is likened to a pearl of great price, which is eagerly sought by a wealthy man who is willing to pay any sum for it. The pearl is the truth, and when once the search for truth has been begun the effort gains in force, absorbs the thoughts and time of the soul, and permits no rest so long as there is a higher truth in prospect that may be attained. This is said in the parable to be selling all and buying the pearl of great price. This is a world in which exchange is absolutely necessary. No good thing can be had for nothing. Equal and exact exchange of value is nature's law, which law is as unerring as the law of gravity in the scales where a pound of gold only balances a pound of feathers. The soul is ready and really does exchange all that it has for the hope of future joy, believing that the hope is well founded and complete as a perfect pearl.
The merchant who seeks the pearl is Christ, and the pearl is the Church. In this view Christ gave Himself—all that He had to give—that the church might be established. Another says that the pearl is the kingdom of God, which was secured to us by one who was richer than all others, yet became poor for the sake of enriching humanity. Having gathered the riches of human life into a well-rounded and complete form, which is beautifully emblemed in the pearl of great value, he provided the machinery of the church as the most efficient means of imparting spiritual riches to poor souls.
§The Draw-Net.
The parable of the Tares recognizes the present mingling of good and bad souls in the church, good and bad plants in the garden, good and bad seed in the field, and this takes up the legend and refers to a future separation of good and bad elements in the spiritual world.
We are witnesses of such discrimination in the economy of nature constantly going on, in which fit material is chosen and unfit is rejected, and may easily be persuaded by analogy that a similar process purifies the spiritual world. This lesson, therefore, looks forward to the final consummation of the church, when it shall be coextensive with the world— that is, include every soul that has ever lived.
The problem of the presence of good and evil in the world, and also in the church of redeemed souls, has puzzled and grieved many of the best people in all ages. Many have asked, Why should the infinitely Just and Good apparently make laws and break them, in His dealings with men? Why should the infinitely Good and Wise seem to cast contempt on virtue and piety, and reward vice and rebellion? The only rational answer is that the Infinite has power to restrain or chastise wrong and avenge innocence, and this power is always used at the proper time.
That this is and has been the idea in the minds of all writers in the church, we learn from accounts of Satan in Eden, Ham in the ark, Golden Calf at Sinai, Judas among the Twelve, and now a spiritual Babylon within Israel's camp. When these opposing elements are to be harmonized has not been determined, for a large part of the church has maintained the belief that rewards and punishments are to be expected in the future life.
Chrysostom said this is a terrible parable, and Gregory the Great said that it is one to tremble at, but can not be expounded.
§The Unprofitable Servants.
This parable presents the Jew in his servile condition under the Law—the old or Mosaic dispensation. The disciples asked for increase of faith. The Lord will grant the request, but at the same time will magnify the value of the gift they ask. He shows them that all works done without the living principle of obedience which they enjoy under the new dispensation are merely servile, and merit only a servile reward, for God can take no pleasure in them, since He owes no thanks to them, because such are unprofitable servants after all they may do. The lesson teaches humility. Truly, there is no royal road to earthly ease and worldly distinction as followers of the Lord, for they must contend with their own corrupt hearts, trusting in Him for help and victory, for by a living faith in the Master they will be enabled to do all things.
Spiritually this lesson means that we must renounce our own righteousness and trust in that of the Great Example. All that we have or hope to become depends on grace—the grace of the Lord.
§The Unjust Steward.
Christian prudence is the lesson taught in this parable, that is to say, the faithful will always use the world and the world's goods against the world and for God, as exemplified in the conduct of the unjust steward, which was commendable.
Not to be honored for robbing his master, but commended for cleverness and shrewdness in providing for himself in the future, by making friends among his master's debtors. The sharp practice of business men is admired by men who are willing to profit by the wits of such as use craft and are unscrupulous.
The relation of the steward to his master shows the relation of man to God. The faithful are expected and required to be conspicuous among their fellow-men for intelligent and reverential acknowledgment of this lesson. Unfaithfulness in any form stands as its own witness against us, for all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do. He needs no witness, but unfaithfulness ever makes many witnesses who delight in exposing it
All stewardship looks forward to the day of settlement. It is the right of the master to require a report, and with God the reckoning is sure. We respect the laws of the material world, so far as they are known, and we are becoming more and more acquainted with them from year to year, and laws of the moral or spiritual world are probably founded on the same immovable principles, and will be obeyed as surely and as soon as we are made to know them as well as we know the laws of the material world.
The use of the conduct of bad men in the parables is somewhat perplexing, but even the upright may learn some lessons from selfish and dishonest men, without compromising themselves.
By showing their faithfulness in the things of this world, men prove their fitness to be intrusted with a higher stewardship, over heavenly riches, the true riches of faith.
Fidelity in the stewardship of the Lord is in choosing to serve God instead of mammon. In truly serving God mammon is made our servant.
§The Unmerciful Servant.
Peter inquired, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of God? and this lesson was the answer, teaching the law of forgiveness as a means of gaining souls. The Jewish law required forgiveness three times over for the same offence, but commanded punishment for a fourth, and Peter felt that he was proposing a very generous rule in more than doubling the number of times that one should forgive an erring one. The Master taught that forgiveness should be unlimited—seventy times seven meaning to an oriental an endless succession.
Some Christian writers maintain that certain offenses ought not to be forgiven, for in most good men's estimation there is a limit beyond which it is contrary to good morals to go. But even in most aggravated cases, when it is known that forgiveness can be ascribed only to a merciful spirit, men do applaud the man who dares to forgive even the greatest of injuries. In contrast to this the unforgiving spirit is quite sure to exhibit unreasonableness and meanness, as this unforgiving debtor did, and within a few moments after he had received the highest tokens of favor for himself. He betrayed no sense of shame, no feeling for his master's losses, but only a dread of personal slavery and suffering. He seemed incapable of serious humility, honest thoughtfulness in facing the facts, or of a love of truth. He is very ready to promise if he can by it escape present disagreeable consequences.
But the King (who is God in fact), who had before dealt with the unmerciful servant as a creditor with a debtor, after hearing of his conduct with his fellow-servants, then dealt with him as a judge with a criminal, and delivered him to the tormentors.
This raises a question. Do sins that have been forgiven return on the sinner by reason of after offences? The forgiven soul, living near Christ, is free; "the soul that sinneth, it shall die." The soul that sins knowingly, and not one that does a wrong ignorantly, is guilty. A soul may sin "ignorantly" against some priestly law and still remain innocent before Jehovah.
The unmerciful servant was delivered to the tormentors until he should pay his entire debt. This is said to mean that judgment in the spiritual world which is looked for at the end of the world. In the meantime those who are faithful in the kingdom of God forgive others their trespasses as they hope to be forgiven.
§The Great Feast.
God's provision for man's spiritual nourishment and gratification is called a great feast. The abundance and variety of supplies for the feast are calculated to satisfy the spiritually quickened who hunger and thirst after righteousness, and who long for peace and joy after trial and suffering.
The natural man is so indifferent to heavenly or spiritual things, his desire is so wanting or so very faint, that the feast must be prepared in an attractive manner. Even then, those who were invited, who knew what good things might be expected, and who are supposed to have been the Scribes and Pharisees, did not come, and publicans and sinners were compelled to attend instead.
The servants who were sent out to invite the guests were the apostles and evangelists, or, if we accept another interpretation, He was the Lord himself, who is the only true apostle and evangelist, whose mission was to do the Father's will on earth.
Those who were invited and excused themselves represent such as believe themselves in no need of divine things, rich enough in all that the priest is supposed to deal, occupied so much with their own affairs that there is no time for attending to anything more, and so well supplied with good things of their own that the feast has no attractions. Such souls may be spiritually poor without knowing their condition. The poorest, in fact, were those who felt it beneath their dignity to spend their time over such useless matters as the priests have to offer. The gospels do not record a single instance of one of the so-called spiritual leaders of the Jews who had attached himself in any way to Jesus. They all repudiated the Christ and His spiritual kingdom.
The anger of the master at those who despised his feast is the anger of God whose love is despised. They were all in the city—that is, in the Jewish people. The second class of invited guests were also among the Jews—the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind—or, in other words, the spiritually sick and needy.
The phrase, "compel them to come in," has been quoted as an excuse for calling in the civil power in aid of the church against such as opposed certain doctrines in all ages since the early church gained any power or influence in public affairs. Many wars have been waged over a trifling difference of opinion on one point or another, and probably will be in the future; for so long as the church can control in civil affairs, it will make a servant of the civil power. The only safety is in keeping religious and secular matters entirely distinct.
The spiritually poor, who are conscious of their poverty and unworthiness, must be forcibly reminded that the invitation is intended for them. The pious monk Anselm says that God compels poor souls to come in through calamities, and Luther said they were driven in by their awakened conscience.
Those who have no desire for or knowledge of spiritual things readily find excuses for absenting themselves from the "table of the Lord." The food is not attractive to them, and so the parable is true to human nature, which loves the world and its pleasant things, but has to acquire a liking for divine things.
Some are kept away by pride, or business, or pleasure, and are courteous enough to offer an excuse, but others refuse in plain terms—will not come to the supper because they have as good or a better at home.
Then the master in anger invited the poor, the maimed, the lame, and the blind to be guests at the supper. That is those who are spiritually ailing, while those who think they are spiritually rich, virtuous, meritorious, exclude themselves.
If the city in the parable represented the theocracy, or the Jewish people, then the highways and hedges stand for the Gentiles, or Pagans. In this sense the parable is prophetic, for it showed how God had prepared a supper for a larger number of guests than could be found among the Jews, and sufficient for the world—for both Jew and Gentile.
The command to gather from the highways and hedges other guests for the feast is supposed to refer to the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentiles, more distinctly announced in the command to preach the gospel to every creature.
The revelation of the Father's will in the solemn annunciation, "that none of these men which were bidden shall taste of My supper," seems to have been applied thoroughly to the Jews, for exceeding few have ever accepted the Gospel from that day to this. Jesus has never been welcome in the synagogue.
§The Rich Man and Lazarus.
In the writings of Justin Martyr, of Ambrosius, of Irenæus, and Tertullian, among the ancients, as well as in those of many moderns, this is not accepted as a parable, but such is its popular title still. The lesson enforced is the fearful consequences of unbelief, of a heart set on this world, and refusing to accept the invisible or spiritual world on faith, and the consequences, discovered when too late to avoid them.
The sin of the rich man is unbelief; hard-hearted contempt and neglect of the poor, and luxurious squandering on self are the forms of his transgressions noticed. Those who reject the idea of an invisible spiritual world of righteousness, truth, and joy, must of necessity delight in things which can be seen, handled and possessed. This was also the offence of the Pharisee, love of the world, hard-heartedness toward others, and prodigality toward himself. The possession of riches was not included as a part of the offence. The rich man was not punished for being rich, nor Lazarus rewarded for being poor. When the rich forget that they are God's almoners, stewards for the poor, and indulge in pride and idleness, they are in danger of future misery.
If this parable refers to the spiritual riches which the Pharisees, or Jews, were supposed to appropriate to themselves, and the poverty which Lazarus, as the type of the Gentile nations, endured, we may find it exemplified and illustrated by the world as it now is. The rich man as the church claims to have the choicest spiritual riches, and assumes that nonbelievers are outcast and poor as Lazarus was, but assuming that time has brought its proper retribution, we find on looking about us that the great work of civilization has been done outside of and in spite of the church, and they possess the true riches of the world which in any way benefit mankind, while the church is literally "in hell," or hades, as it is in the new version, under the criticism of the scholars and thinkers of the age. The parallel could be carried further, but, of course, what the actual experience is in the unknown world of spirits can not be conjectured by us with any certainty. If we accept the statements of this parable as direct teaching from the Great Teacher, who must have known all about the subject, then this is the most awful of all the passages in the Bible.
The church itself recognizes that the feeling of the masses is that of simple indifference, and that unlimited skepticism, the positive license of a conscious godlessness, and a resolute self-trust and self-will are their only rule of life, as we learn from the writings of the Bishop of Bedford and Canon Barry, both of England. And John Bright says that the working classes care as little for the dogmas as the upper classes do for the practice of Christianity.
The leading thought of the parable is this: He that could not be awakened to repentance by Moses and the prophets could not be by the reappearance of the dead. The subordinate idea is the contrast between the rich man and Lazarus; those who seek their highest good in the pleasures of the world, and are thereby excluded from the kingdom of God, forming the principal figure. The kingdom found the hearts of rich men far less accessible than those of the poor like Lazarus; for the very reason that their feelings and dispositions were precisely those of the rich man of the parable.
§The Strait Gate.
Who would not now gladly ask for instruction from the Great Teacher if it were possible? This parable is an answer to one who inquired as if in doubt about the ultimate success of the kingdom, and was not in earnest himself.
The answer was not direct, but general. Each parable teaches a special truth, and no one repeats the lesson in another. In one the present time is the field for work; in this the future is referred to, as a warning, as something to be prepared for. The door is open now, but there will come a time when it will be shut—by the hand of death.
If the lesson and warning were directed to the Jews, the door was shut to them at the destruction of Jerusalem, first under Titus, A.D. 70, and finally under Hadrian, A.D. 136, when the people were expelled from the promised land.
The Great Teacher urged His hearers to strive—not to rest and expect others to do the work—but to make personal and never-ceasing effort to improve every opportunity. The homely adage, "self-made man," applies to this lesson. Very few men, if any, succeed in life who are not self-made.
§The Good Shepherd.
Christ criticised the Pharisees with severity, and justly, as false guides to the people, a late instance having called attention to them, in the case of the action of the priests and leaders toward a poor blind man. Christ declares Himself the divinely called leader of the people, and the blind man the type of all who felt oppressed and were repelled by the selfish rulers and teachers. He is the door both for the sheep and the shepherds, and He addressed the shepherds specially in this parable.
All who seek to gather followers and form parties in the theocratic community, and to turn men to themselves instead of to the Messiah, were thieves and robbers, and such persons never gain entrance to the hearts really seeking salvation. They prey on simple and credulous souls. The true teacher who leads his flock to the true fold will be saved, both the flock and himself.
Hirelings can not be trusted when there is real danger. The two classes of Pharisees are described as thieves or hirelings. One sacrificed the welfare of the people to their selfish ends and aims; and the other with better intentions, but with too little true love, and therefore lacking in courage to risk their all for the good of souls. They fled before the Evil One, the wolf.
The flock is larger than the Jewish people, and includes the Gentiles—all mankind. But the Jews have neglected to enter the fold, and George Herbert, the sweet singer of the church, has told of their loss in this verse:
"Poor nation, whose sweet sap and juice Our cyens have purloined;? and left you drie; Whose streams we got by the Apostle's sluice, And use in baptisme, while ye pine and die; Who by not keeping once, became a debter; And now by keeping lose the letter."
§Christ the Door.
Here as in other parables we find spiritual truth represented by a similitude from nature. In the parable of the Sower Christ is the husbandman, the divine word is the seed. and the various degrees of susceptibility for the word in men's souls are likened to the variously productive soils in which the seed is planted, and in this the relation of souls to Christ is compared with that of sheep to the shepherd; and the self-seeking teacher, who offers himself, on his own authority and for a bad purpose, as a guide of men, is likened to a thief who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs over the wall.
This parable differs from those in the other gospels in being less historical in style. It merely alludes to what usually happens, while they refer to what might have or did actually happen once only, and then when human affairs are taken to illustrate spiritual truths.
Faith in Jesus as the only door of entry into the divine sheepfold is the lesson; and such faith is the supreme sacrifice for sin. All outward ordinances together will not suffice if this is wanting. This faith is for sinners, not for those who need no repentance. Any soul may come and be saved from the curse of the law, and when within the fold, under the care of the Shepherd, be free to come and go anywhere in the pasture land—that is to find spiritual food, to profit by doubts, criticism, inquiry, any and every aid to discovery of the truth. This method is now the rule in the church, and is bringing all sects and divisions into closer union. Thought, study, inquiry, scrutiny, for the fullest possible information on every point is the only safe way in this age of scientific investigation.
Christ is the shepherd and He is the door of the fold, for no one can enter but through His spiritual guidance and help into the kingdom of God.
§The Talents.
Diversity of gifts followed by equal rewards is the lesson of this parable. The reward depends on the motives, not on the amount of one's labors, except so far as this might be affected by the disposition of the heart, and perhaps also to rebuke ambition and jealousy among the disciples themselves. The servant who makes no use of the capital entrusted to him is condemned. Faithfulness and zeal, not the measure of gifts, are made prominent, and the disciple is encouraged to put all diligence into our outward service, if we would give our account at the last with joy and not with sorrow.
An Oriental poet has told a story, which illustrates this parable, as here:
"There went a man from home: and to his neighbors twain He gave, to keep for him, two sacks of golden grain. Deep in his cellar one the precious charge concealed; And forth the other went and sowed it in his field. The man returns at last—asks of the first his sack: 'Here, take it; 'tis the same; thou hast it safely back.' Unharmed it shows without; but when he would explore His sack's recesses, grain there finds he now no more; One-half of all therein proves rotten and decayed, Upon the other half have worm and mildew preyed. The putrid heap to him in ire he doth return; Then of the other asks: 'Where is my sack of corn?' Who answered: 'Come with me, behold how it has sped,' And took and showed him fields with waving harvests spread. Then cheerfully the man laughed out and cried: 'This one Had insight, to make up for the other that had none; The letter he observed, but thou the precept's sense; And thus to thee and me shall profit grow from hence; In harvest thou shalt fill two sacks of grain for me, The residue of right remains in full for thee.'"
§The Pounds.
Christ made use of many parables during His ministry, while His disciples expected Him to establish a visible kingdom, to give them clearer ideas of the process by which a spiritual kingdom was to be founded and developed.
Three points were brought forward in this: the opposition to be met at Jerusalem; His departure (to the unseen world), and later return in triumph; and, finally, their duty to labor actively in the interval, and not to await in indolence victory by other means.
He showed how they must win their places in the kingdom of God by faithfully using the means intrusted to them. The use of money loaned on interest is the framework of the lesson.
Jellaleddin, the great religious poet of the East, wrote a poem in which life is described as a sum of money, to be laid out at interest for God:
"O thou that are arrived in being's land, On His affairs was sent, at His command, Thee thy Lord gave thy faithfulness to prove, The sum of life, a capital in hand. Hast thou forgotten thine entrusted pound? Dazed with the market's hubbub dost thou stand?
"Instead of dreaming, up and purchase good: Buy precious stones, exchange not gold for sand, Thou at the hour of thy return wilt see Thy monarch set, with open book in hand. What thou from Him receivedst He will bring To strict account, and reckoning demand: And a large blessing, or a curse from Him, Thy faithfulness or sloth will then command."
The enemies of Jesus and of all righteousness will be judged in the great day. The destruction of Jerusalem has begun the fulfilment of this prophetic parable. That frightful day of doom to the Jewish people was a second coming of Christ in His wrath to them; but it will be fully ended only when Antichrist, and all who have served under his banner, shall have received his final doom.