This short one minute video comes from our full length video called "Unpopular Bible Doctrines #1: The Biblical God No One Wants To Know" at    • Unpopular Bible Doctrines #1:  The Bi...   . See the entire "Unpopular Bible Doctrines" 16 part series at www.sermonaudio.com/broadcasters/christiananswers/… . See also our playlist called "Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpopular Bible Doctrines" with 80 videos at    • Dealing with Hell, Lake of Fire, Unpo...   .

Are parables meant to be confusing?

Jesus did not speak in parables to confuse people. Instead, it was so people would not be forgiven (Mark 4:10-12). As difficult as this might be, that is exactly what Jesus said. Let’s take a look.

Mark 4:10–12, “As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11 And He was saying to them, ‘To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, 12 so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.’“

The all-caps above are quotes from the Old Testament (Isaiah 6:9–10). So Jesus spoke in parables not to confuse people but so that they would not be forgiven. This is consistent with what is said in John 12:40 where God blinds people so they won’t be converted. How, then, can we make sense of this truth when we contrast it with “God wants all to be saved?” (1 Tim. 2:5; 2 Pet. 3:9). The solution is found in the doctrine of election. Now, election is often denied by many Christians but the fact is election is taught in Scripture. Election is God’s choosing people for salvation.

Ephesians. 1:4–5, “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love 5 He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will,”

2 Thessalonians 2:13, “But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth.”

Without getting too deep into the issue of “all” in those two verses above, there is a sense in which the “all” can mean all people groups, not just the Jews. This is because Jesus said He was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matt. 15:24).

Jesus spoke in parables because He found it the best way to expose the true spiritual condition of those to whom He was preaching.

And He says this actually in connection with parables in Matthew 13 and verse 10. He's been telling parables and the disciples want to know, "Why is it that You're speaking in parables?" Well, they were used to parables, but they were not used to teachers telling so many parables. And Jesus answers the question by saying this. The disciples came and said to Him, "Why did you speak to them in parables?" He answered them, "Not because people need illustrations." People do need illustrations; that's an important point. It's not the point Jesus makes. He answered them: "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand."

You tell a joke. The punchline in a joke is usually at the end, and sometimes you're with people who just don't get it. The parables are not jokes, but in a parallel way, the punchline in most parables comes at the end. And what Jesus is doing is assessing whether people get it or not. He made a clear distinction between those who had been given “ears to hear” and those who persisted in unbelief—ever hearing, but never actually perceiving and “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth” (2 Timothy 3:7). The disciples had been given the gift of spiritual discernment by the spirit. The same is true today of believers who have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth (John 16:13).

Our Lord Jesus understood that truth is not sweet music to all ears. Simply put, there are those who have neither interest in nor regard for the deep things of God. So why, then, did He speak in parables? To those with a genuine hunger for God, the parable is both an effective and memorable vehicle for the conveyance of divine truths. Our Lord’s parables contain great volumes of truth in very few words—and His parables, rich in imagery, are not easily forgotten. So, then, the parable is a blessing to those with willing ears. But to those with dull hearts and ears that are slow to hear, the parable is also an instrument of both judgment and mercy.