The Language of Heaven
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”
Matthew 13:34-35
Ah, parables! There had been a shift in Jesus’ teaching, an urgency to make the secrets of the kingdom clear. Now that He was on the road to the cross, it was imperative His followers understand these truths and pass them on. Parables would touch their hearts and be remembered when He was gone.
Sadly many of the kingdom truths, present in creation, had been hidden in the “fall”. Articles I read are peppered with the “already/not yet” of Scripture. Perhaps parables do as much to illustrate that concept to us as anything.
Simply put, a parable is “an illustrative story that compares or contrasts an earthly reality with a spiritual truth.”* I love it that Adam Clarke** calls a parable: “language peculiar to heaven”.
Think of a word picture that makes a truth clear to you. An article in the September/October 2024 Smithsonian magazine about the impressionist painters caught my eye. Monet’s Water Lilies is possibly my favorite. The beauty of the floating lilies is sharp, clear, distinct, the trees in the pond but a reflection of the big picture.
n my mind the hidden truths from creation on down are that reflection of the trees in the pond. One day they will become as clear and beautiful as the floating lilies: Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Face-to-face and fully known—what a blessing that will be! In the meantime I raise my mind’s eye through the lens of Jesus’ parables to catch a deeper glimpse of the things of heaven. The secrets of the kingdom of God are available to each and every one of us who believes.
Nancy P
All Scripture quotations are from the NIV Translation 1973, 1978, 1984, unless otherwise noted.
*Jennifer Kennedy Dean: Secrets Jesus Shared, p.45
**Adam Clarke's Online Commentary
