Subject: Properly Interpreting the Bible |
Bible Note: SOUND EXEGESIS OF PARABOLIC TEACHING Definition: A parable is a brief story drawn from human life or nature, not related to an actual event, but is true to life and, concerning the listeners, is given for the purpose of teaching a spiritual truth. CHARACTERISTICS OF PARABLES 1. Parables teach a truth using the technique of similarity or illustration. 2. Parables are usually very short, thus they are intended to be easily remembered. 3. Parables can be described as simultaneously very simple and very complex. 4. Parables use earthly things as teaching instruments. 5. Parables have only one primary point. 6. Parables typically have three parts: (1) the setting (cultural context); (2) a story; and (3) a spiritual application. 7. Parables are intended to teach faithful disciples. 8. Parables are intended to hide the truth from the disobedient. GUIDELINES FOR INTERPRETTING PARABLES 1. Study the setting and the cultural background. 2. Read the story in its natural meaning. In other words, take it literally. 3. Determine the one central truth taught in the story. Learn to separate the unimportant details from the important issues. (Note that this isn't always an easy thing to do.) 4. Check to see if Jesus or other Scriptures interpret the parable for you. (Note: If Jesus gives an explanation, don't look any for another!) 5. Check to see if the interpretation or point of a parable is dealt with in a doctrinal section of the scriptures, particularly the epistles. 6. Check with good commentaries. (Note: Be sure to study the parable for yourself first. Don't become too dependent on commentaries. Instead, allow the Holy Spirit to teach you. But use the commentaries to verify that your interpretation is not too far off from what is understood by orthodoxy.) 7. Look for specific applications of the point of a parable to your own life. Apply what you discover to your life in a specific way. IMPORTANT NOTE: Solid interpretation must ALWAYS precede application. You cannot apply what you do not understand. |