Subject: An Enemy Has Done This! (Matt 13:24-30) |
Bible Note: Dear Vintage, Thank you for your greeting. Regarding the number of parables: I pulled the number from memory. As I recall there were one or two in dispute amongst scholars as to whether they might actually be considered parabolic. (I think I remembered the number 33 simply because that was about Jesus' age at His crucifixion. That's just the way my mind works.) You can search around the Internet and find itemizations of the parables. Counting them oneself might yield the greatest benefit. At 90 chapters, reading through the gospels in a month is an easy task. One might make that effort, counting and categorizing the parables, and later checking one's work against readily available references. A book that is well worth picking up is "How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth" by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart. The chapter "The Parables: Do You Get the Point?" would be particularly helpful -- but I'd encourage anyone to read it cover to cover. This is just one of the books I've used in my hermeneutic classes. Of all of them, though, I deem this to be the easiest read and the most immediately practical. Since the parable in question was explained by Christ after its telling, I should think that we are remiss in seeking any other explanations. As Fee and Stuart wrote, "...for all their charm and simplicity, the parables have suffered the fate of misinterpretation in the church second only to the Revelation." (page 149) That observation certainly seems to be confirmed from posts here on the SBF. As to the specific parables that were directed to people other than Christ's disciples, I think you will find that there are only a very small number. Whereas it is certainly likely that we do not have all the parables Christ spoke, I assumed that our discussion related to those specifically disclosed in the gospels. By the way, Christ explains with almost painfully explicit language why people did not understand what He was teaching in John 8:43-47. The apostolic teachings as expressed in the epistles confirm that the reason for comprehension or the lack of comprehension remains the same today. In Him, Doc |