Browse Bible Study Resources

Daily Devotions

Matthew

Matthew 
Day 
Day 209

Another Word Concerning the Use of Parables

Text: Matthew 13 : 24 - 43

Matthew took a bit of a breather when he made another comment about why Jesus used parables as a means of communication.

“All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables;
and without a parable He did not speak to them,
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet saying:
‘I will open My mouth in parables;
I will utter things kept secret from the foundation
of the world.'”
MATTHEW 13:34-35

Let us recall what Matthew wrote earlier on the same subject.

“And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says,
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive…'”
MATTHEW 13:14

What are some special lessons Matthew wanted to highlight in his second comment on why Jesus used parables so extensively?

1. Fulfilment

Foremost in Matthew’s mind was the thought of “fulfillment”. The reason why Jesus used parables so much was because of His consciousness to fulfil all prophecies foretold by these special servants of God!

2. Asaph as a prophet of God

When Matthew cited the text, “I will open My mouth in parables,” he was in fact remembering a psalm attributed to Asaph. Let us take a look at a statement made concerning Asaph and his family.

“Moreover David and the captains of the army separated
for the service some of the sons of Asaph, of Heman,
and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps,
stringed instruments, and cymbals…
The sons of Asaph were under the direction of Asaph,
who prophesied according to the order of the king…”
1 CHRONICLES 25:1-2

Matthew knew his Scriptures. He correctly identified Asaph and his sons as belonging to the order of royal prophets. These functioned as special advisers in the court of king David.

3. The historical-didactic Psalm 78

Asaph and his family of priests fulfilled a number of roles.

a) They were actually from the priestly line

Not all priests looked after the sacrifices. Some fulfilled other roles, such as those who belonged to the Aspahic family.

b) Their special area of concern was in the music ministry

One of the assigned areas of ministry was in the realm of music. The Asaphic family was obviously blessed with the gift of music. They led in the worship of God through their musical talents.

c) They combined music with prophecy

Perhaps music provided a quiet and soothing atmosphere. Asaph and his sons appeared to have been blessed with the gift of prophecy as well.

d) They were intercessors

Another area of ministry that Asaph and his sons were involved in was prayer. Psalms 73-83were attributed to Asaph. They are perhaps better called “Asaphic collection”. These psalms were classified as belonging to Asaph. The psalms were in fact prayers made on behalf of the nation. The contents of these psalms would indicate that some of them were written in later centuries, rather than just in the reign of king David. It was not uncommon to use the name of the head of a family to a series of special psalms.

e) They were teachers of God’s Word

The text that Matthew cited was from Psalm 78. This rather long psalm is often called historical-didactic, because the focus was to teach Israel from its own history! The full text from Psalm 78 reads,

“Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.”
PSALM 78:1-3

Asaph was conscious of his role as a teacher of God’s Word. The history of Israel provided many relevant lessons for every generation. However, some of these lessons were not easy to comprehend! Hence the phrase, “I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old.”

Jesus was most conscious of the fact that some of His lessons must have sounded hard to the hearers. Even as He taught He was conscious of this word from the Book of Psalms. The hearers could not complain that they did not understand Jesus’ parables, because even in the days of Asaph, this method of teaching was used!