Mark 4:33-34
“With many stories like these, he presented his message to them, fitting the stories to their experience and maturity. He was never without a story when he spoke. When he was alone with his disciples, he went over everything, sorting out the tangles, untying the knots.”
“Jesus used may similar stories and illustrations to teach the people as much as they could understand. In fact, in his public ministry he never taught without using parables; but afterward, when he was alone with his disciples, he explained everything to them.”
Jesus taught by using stories, not by doing deep studies on the law. They were how these Galilean peasants absorbed the subtleties of the gospel. We are more similar to them then to Pharisaical scholars and it is how we learn best too. Evangelical zest for the inerrancy of God’s Work minimized the use of stories. Thankfully the power of storytelling is being revived today in untangling and untying the knots of scripture.
It is easy to envy the disciples for the wealth of stories told them. How wonderful it would be to hear them all. Maybe someday we will. For now, it is enough to know the stories coming down to us are those God wants us to hear, the ones we all need.
Lord, I rejoice in the simplicity by which you teach and speak to me. Your voice is so clean and clear, in contrast to worldly complexity. Thank you for teaching me to hear it. It anchors me to you, my rock and my redeemer.