Sunday, March 27th, 2015
What is a parable? A parable is a fictitious or made up story designed to teach a lesson through comparison. When you hear the story, you can relate it to your own life. It is like an illustration for the points in a sermon. It conveys its message of truth through analogy, through comparison or contrast.
Parables are told so that only those who really care will come to know the truth. Not so much because they understand the parable, but because they care enough to ask what it means after the story is finished and hang around long enough to have it explained to them. The others don’t really care and leave. Remember, the disciples didn’t understand the parables, but they asked what Jesus meant after the crowds left. They had a soft and open heart. Understanding is an issue of the heart. Those who have a hard heart, also have closed eyes and closed ears and they don’t understand. Another purpose for parables was to reveal truths about the kingdom of God. (Content taken from Bible.org)
As you read and study together, make sure to work hard at hearing from everyone that has gathered together. Pray for one another and be accountable to applying the word of God to your lives.
Questions for this week:
- In the parable of the vineyard, who is the owner, who are the servants sent by the owner (hint…who in Scripture are special servants of God, sent with messages to God’s people?), who is the son?
- As Jesus is speaking this parable, what role does his audience represent? Why? Read Luke 20:19. How did they react to this parable?
- Describe how this parable can apply to God’s church today? As we struggle to provide good fruit in the vineyard of God’s kingdom, are we owners, or tenants? Discuss instances of times when perhaps you mistreated the messengers or message God sent into your life.
- What does the vineyard owner do at the end of the parable? What promise is made? What does that mean? Don’t focus just on death, but what about the yield of the vineyard? Is God’s purpose thwarted by rebellious tenants? How might this apply to our church in our time?