GD: Lesson 11 Class Notes

"He spake many things unto them in parables"

Why did Jesus teach in parables?
* Symbolic at multiple levels
* Those who loved Christ understood the parable, those who were against Him, the lesson was hidden
* Lesson is hidden to the hard-hearted
* Instructs to those who are seeking truth
* An act of mercy to those where little is expected (ie much given; much expected)
* They are milk to prepare the spiritual stomach of those who would eat the meat of the Gospel

Parable of the Seeds
* Wayside = people w/ hard hearts, the wicked
* Stony Places = those who believe weakly, but don't endure
* Thorns = worldly, give in to natural man (ie rich young man)
* Good Soil = saints, those who endure
All of these conditions can be various conditions of our hearts.  Depending on the doctrine, we may receive it with 'good soil' or with a 'stony place'

Parable of Wheat & Tares
Why did Lord allow tares to grow with the wheat?
* Opposition in all things
* Wheat gets stronger b/c of tares
* Tares and wheat look similar at first, but as they mature, it is clear what is wheat and which is tares; therefore, to not destroy the wheat, both are allowed to grow until it is settled which is which.

Parable of the Leaven
* Underscores growing process
* Talmage says, "The process of leavening, or causing dough 'to rise,' by fermentation of yeast placed in the mass, is a slow one, and moreover as quiet and seemingly secret as that of the planted seed growing without the sower's further attention or concern." (271, Jesus the Christ)
* Also, see Note 7 of  chapter 19 in Jesus the Christ - it talks about the difference between the leaven in this parable and the 'leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees' and the 'leaven of Herod'

Parable of the Hidden Treasure
* The kingdom of Heaven is worth everything
* The finder stumbled upon it
* After finding it, he still has to go and sell all that he has to purchase it

Parable of the Pearl of Great Price
* The kindom of Heaven is worth everything in this parable as well
* The seeker actively sought the pearl as opposed to stumbling upon it
* Also after finding it, the seeker still had to go and sell all that he had to purchase it, so in both parables, the seeker/finder had to do additional work after their discovery.

Parable of the Gospel Net
* The good fish are put to usefulness while the bad are entirely wasted