Parables - did Jesus save these until His last year of Ministry.

[Eoghan]

The second sermon/lecture from a certain preacher made the observation that only after pronouncing judgment on the unbelieving towns and Pharisees does Jesus use parables. Given the tendency of most preachers to flit from one text to another (in the same sermon1) it would not surprise me that this might be true. Have others heard this before? If so what was the context? Jesus does seem to resort to parables in a very delberate fashion as He explained when asked (Mathew 13:10)

 

[Semper Fidelis]

I don't agree that Parables were something Christ did at the end of ministry. There is certainly no indication of this. My suspicion is that this is a view that arises out of a view that doesn't want to see anything in Christ's ministry that is aimed at the idea that a "hearing" of the Word of God requires regeneration. Since the common view is that Christ's ministry could never be anything other than everyone being able to hear and receive the Word then any idea that Christ's teaching would be enigmatic in any way doesn't fit this mold. It's the same idea you receive as an objection to the idea that God would, in election, permit some to believe while passing over others. God's hardening in Romans 9, for instance, is argued as if it's something that He does once a hearer has already hardened His own heart.

In fact, it is quite evident throughout the Gospels that the inner circle is struggling with Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom. Look in the Book of Mark, for instance, any time Christ starts teaching His disciples about the fact that the Messiah must suffer. Immediately following, you'll witness His disciples arguing about who's the greatest or some other thing that demonstrates they're still not able to fully apprehend His teaching and I would imagine that, when the Spirit came, all this stuff came rushing in on them as one huge "A Ha" moment after the Resurrection.

I think Parables are particularly interesting because I think they were so earthy and common that those that came to hear and see Jesus were, in large measure, there for the "miracle working". I think they heard the Parables and left with their own sense that they had understood what Jesus was talking about. After all, how often do we witness in our own day people claiming that Jesus spoke in parables so that everyone could easily grasp the message. They're so "obvious" after all. What is telling, however, is that all the "learning" didn't occur during the delivery of the Parable but only for those that abided with Christ and received illumination as to their true meaning.