Sunday, April 10th, 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:
- What does Jesus dining with the Pharisees, and them watching him intently, say about their relationship with one another.
- Shame and honor is the main theme of the parable of the wedding feast in versus 7-11. Are shame and honor still prevalent themes in our lives today? If so, in what ways do we display positions of shame and honor?
- What excuses, whether legitimate or not, do you give for reasons that you are unable to respond to an invitation from God? What does this parable say about the excuses that we make?
- What does the master closing off his invitation to the original invitees, and opening it up to a wider group of people say about who he is?
- What is God inviting you into currently, and what is your response?