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Mark 
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Day 254

Acts 2:17c "Your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams." Acts 2:17c"

Day 254 – Mark 12

“Your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams.” Acts 2:17c

THE ART OF PARABLE TELLING

Jesus was a Master at telling parables. Lots of things go into the crafting of parables.

1. The Choosing of a suitable theme

First, there is the choice of a relevant theme. Jesus chose the familiar theme of the Vineyard. Themes must be familiar enough for all to understand. If He chose a theme that was unfamiliar, He would not have been able to hold the interest of the audience.


“A man planted a vineyard and set a hedge around it,
dug a place for the wine vat and built a tower.”
MARK 12:1

It is difficult to develop any theme that is well known. The opening lines are reminiscent of “The Song of the Vineyard” (Cf. Isaiah 5). The following extract from Isaiah 5 would reveal the similarity.

“My Well-beloved has a vineyard on a very fruitful hill.
He dug it up and cleared out its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
He built a tower in its midst,
And also made a winepress in itâ?¦”
ISAIAH 5:1-2

2. A parable is like “the short story” genre

The short story is a genre that has a surprising twist when you least expect it. The parables of Jesus tend to have this element too.


“And he leased it to vinedressers and went into a far country.
Now at vintage time he sent a servant to the vinedressers,
that he might receive some of the fruit of the vineyard from the vinedressers. And they took him and beat him
and sent him away empty-handed.”
MARK 12:1-3

The twist in the tale was the description of an unexpected response from the lessees of the vineyard. They acted as if the vineyard belonged to them!


“Again he sent them another servant, and at him
They threw stones, wounded him in the head,
and sent him away shamefully treated.
And again he sent another, and him they killed;
and many others, beating some and killing some.”
MARK 12:4-5

3. A well-told parable has its own in-built lessons

Jesus must have told this parable with a tinge of drama. He used repetition for good effect. One servant after another was shamefully humiliated, and some were even killed. The point of comparison was obvious to the discerning. This was the story of Israel killing the prophets of God.