Why Jesus Told Stories

One of the first things to notice about the Bible (besides the fact that it is not a single book but a library of books) is that most of it is in the form of poetry or story.

Why is this?

We get a clue in the teaching of Jesus. Early in the narrative that Mark writes, Jesus explains to The Twelve and other close associates why He uses 'parables' to teach. 'Parables,' you may recall, are short stories, sometimes riddle-like, usually with homespun characters and situations, which seem to have a primary point (rather than a loaded this-means-that symbolism). You know many of them: The Prodigal Son, The Good Shepherd, The Sower and the 4 Soils, and so on.

With 'The Sower' story in Mark chapter 4, we get 2 explanations: why Jesus tells stories in the first place, and what the point of the Sower story is.

First, Jesus' explanation to his inner circle for using stories is cryptic: 'To you has been given the secret (or, in some translations, 'the mystery') of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables, in order that 'they may indeed look but not perceive, and may indeed listen but not understand, so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.' (Mark 4:10-12).

Uh -- what?

At first glance, it seems there are those who are 'inside', a spiritually privileged few who get the full teaching, and those in the 'out crowd,' who do not belong to the elect and rightly so. The goods are deliberately kept from them.

That's the surface reading. But I wonder, instead, if the parables are a gentle invitation for those on the 'outside' who are already inclined to not see or listen, who are predisposed to resist, who have already decided to put up their defenses and crossed their arms and huffed, 'just try to teach me.' Believe me, I met many such people in my years of teaching.

So Jesus is beckoning to them with a folksy, often funny story, and inviting them to 'Listen!' (Mark 4:3). 'Pay attention to what you hear' (Mark 4:24). 'Let anyone with ears to hear, listen! (Mark 4:9). Can you hear it? He's almost begging people to lean forward and engage. Why? 'Because the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For those who have, more will be given. From those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away.' (Mark 4:24-25).

Wait: is that fair?

Absolutely. No one is forced to listen and grasp what has been said. If you engage and give it some thought and act on what you hear, you get more. If you guffaw and turn away (perhaps having been entertained), you get nothing else and it's your fault. No one is compelled to believe. All are invited. The story reveals something for one who is open minded and ready, and kindly conceals from those who are not.

What follows in Mark chapters 5 and 6 are examples of both these kinds of people. Some hear, engage, take another step. Some turn away and miss the opportunity.

So the parables -- and the story of Mark itself -- is an invitation to think and to grasp the truth of the story. By extension, the whole Bible is.

Then, secondly, Jesus offers a play-by-play of the Sower story. It describes 4 kinds of listeners. The first three receive the truth but have trouble grasping it and holding on. The 4th gets it and grows. The sower keeps sowing wildly anyway, even with a 75% fail rate. The original listeners probably laughed out loud at his stupidity and wanton flinging of seed -- and of stories.