14
votes
Accepted
Why does the sower not know how the seed grows in Mark 4:27?
We should first note that Jesus is telling a parable. A parable is a form of comparison to help us understand something that is difficult or abstract. The word parable means "to cast alongside.&...
- 1,836
13
votes
What is signified by the man without wedding clothes in Matthew 22:11-13?
The marriage was of the Son of God (the Messiah / Christ) to His assembly (church) of His saints (Rev. 21:2). He is the husband of the church (Eph. 5:25). All of the guests at the wedding feast in ...
- 10.6k
13
votes
Is the story of the magi in Matthew’s Gospel a parable?
I personally know New Testament scholars who believe this account was not a parable--so at the very least, I can confirm that such people exist.
Verifiability
One of the most useful metrics for ...
- 18.2k
11
votes
Accepted
Understanding the Parable of the Weeds (Matthew 13:24-30)
The Greek ζιζάνια for tares/weeds has often been understood as a reference to darnel (a type of ryegrass, see here). If so, the meaning is clarified.
Wheat & darnel look essentially the same in ...
- 18.2k
11
votes
Accepted
In the parable of the ten bridesmaids, why wouldn't those who had oil share with those who had none?
An important concept in biblical hermeneutics regarding parables is this: Do not make a parable say something it does not intend to say.
The central message of the parable in the beginning of Matthew ...
- 7,503
9
votes
Accepted
Did the 5 foolish virgins lose their salvation or were they never saved to begin with?
In answering this question, we MUST remember that it is a PARABLE!! It is not necessarily literally true but teaches an important spiritual lesson.
However, we observe several things about the ...
- 113k
8
votes
Is the younger son’s inheritance restored in Luke 15:31?
An article in Jewish Encyclopedia sheds a little light on this topic.
My summary of the information combined with information from the parable is:
The father can do what he wishes with his property
...
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8
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Is there a contradiction in being told by disciples the hidden (disciple only) meaning behind parables for the masses, even though we are the masses?
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry he taught by using analogies that would be readily understood by everyone – salt, bread, sheep – and the meaning would be clear within the context of his teaching. ...
- 9,198
8
votes
Is the story of the magi in Matthew’s Gospel a parable?
If that is the "universal assumption of people he [Spong] knows", then Spong has a very limited set of friends - I also know many NT scholars that believe Matt 2 is history.
Biblical ...
- 113k
8
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Is the story of the magi in Matthew’s Gospel a parable?
The flaw in Sprong's and Crossan's approach to hermeneutics is three-fold. First, they recognize Matthew is making a valid point, but they assume he simply made up the details to illustrate that point....
- 17.6k
7
votes
Accepted
The Parable of the Ten Virgins - proportion 5 to 5 - meaning
This attempt to answer the question "Why 5:5?" falls into four parts: (1) number symbolism; (2) the Matthean context; (3) why ten?; and (4) why 5:5?
Number symbolism in Judaism
(OP) I know that ...
- 24.8k
7
votes
How can the kingdom of heaven be like a man?
The Kingdom is not like the man but like the man who sowed seed (Luke 13:24). We are then given an explanation about the parable's symbols:
The sower is the Son of Man (v37)
The field is the world [...
- 113k
7
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In Jesus' parables, how does the value of Talents differ from Minas, and what does the change signify?
Units of currency
1 mina = 60 shekels
1 talent = 60 minas
(source)
--
Different accounts
As an itinerant preacher, Jesus would have told the same story more than once. The classic example is the ...
- 18.2k
6
votes
Accepted
Meaning of Matthew 21:44
This passage is the conclusion of a string of events attested to in this chapter, and so we must take these events together to understand the broader context.
Parables about Obedience and Judgement
...
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6
votes
Accepted
What does the produce of the vineyard represent in the Parable of the Vine-growers?
What an interesting question, one that gave me pause to stop and think. It is obvious that the produce from a vineyard is grapes, but what do “grapes” represent in this parable? The context in which ...
- 9,198
6
votes
Who is my neighbor?
The answer to that question is given by the lawyer / legal expert in Luke 10:37
And he said, “The one who showed compassion to him.” Then Jesus said
to him, “Go and do the same.”
So instead of ...
- 5,745
6
votes
Accepted
What is meant by "secret" in John 18 20?
He means that He taught all those things, for which He is now held answerable before the Sanhedrin as a blasphemer, openly. What are those things? That He is the promised Messiah (Luke 4:21); that He ...
- 11.2k
6
votes
Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Mark 12:6, Matthew 21:37 Luke 20:13) - Does it imply that God did not send Jesus to Die?
The question can be resolved by considering who it was to whom Jesus addressed that parable. Matthew's account shows that:
"And when he was come into the temple, the chief priests and the
elders ...
- 27.4k
5
votes
Do the birds who perch in the mustard tree have allegorical meaning?
But recently I heard it suggested there might be a connection to the birds in the Parable of the Sower just a little before this passage
The way the parable is phrased doesn't lend itself to any ...
- 12.5k
5
votes
What is signified by the man without wedding clothes in Matthew 22:11-13?
It is a complex metaphor, for how a man in dirty and inadequate clothes was at all allowed to be present there initially in the first place?
This must mean that he had a certain feature that allowed ...
- 11.2k
5
votes
What is signified by the man without wedding clothes in Matthew 22:11-13?
The "wedding garment" signifies the state of justification.
In the first place, this 'new undefiled garment' is language used else wherein Scripture; it's use in the New Testament isn't ...
- 9,856
5
votes
Accepted
Why did the father of the prodigal son put his best robe on his son? Luke 15:22
According to the OT this is true, in part. I’m sure that centuries later it might have been modified, where if a father rejects his son the community would purge the son from their midst without the ...
- 9,270
5
votes
What does the produce of the vineyard represent in the Parable of the Vine-growers?
Excellent question? In fact I was thinking about this parable today and then I spotted your question. One of the main points of the parable is the fact that The Son Jesus Christ preexisted His ...
- 4,354
5
votes
Who is my neighbor?
Jesus does indeed reverse the perspective by showing someone receiving neighbourly kindness and asking "Who was a neighbour to him?" instead of answering "Who is my neighbour?"
But ...
- 1,609
5
votes
Who is my neighbor?
And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” (Luke 10:25) [ESV]
καὶ ἰδοὺ νομικός τις ἀνέστη ἐκπειράζων αὐτὸν λέγων διδάσκαλε τί ...
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5
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3. In The Parable of the Pearl, Mat13:45-46 how does one reconcile the phrase, “and bought it” with the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
I’d like to offer a different perspective to cut your pastor some slack. Not because I believe the answers here are all wrong, but because this site functions at its best when multiple perspectives ...
- 18.2k
5
votes
Why would King Herod not know where the Messiah was to be born?
Herod was an Idumean, that is an Edomite, not a Jew. Thus, he wasn't versed in the Tanakh.
Herod was born in the 70s BC. His family was Idumean. Herod and his father, Antipater, were both loyal to ...
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5
votes
Why would King Herod not know where the Messiah was to be born?
As noted by Perry Webb, Herod was an Idumean (see here). He did make efforts to ingratiate himself to the Jewish people (e.g. his work on the temple), but his acts of barbaric cruelty & violence ...
- 18.2k
5
votes
Accepted
Exegesis of Matthew 13:30; 40-42
A hermeneutic point is about two different words that can be used for 'sickle', the instrument used at harvest-time. A sickle is used for the harvest of good wheat to be safely gathered in. Another ...
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Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible