Unveiled: The Hidden Messages in the Parables of Jesus

Unveiled

Festus Eghe Agbonzikilo, PhD.

The Hidden Messages in the Parables of Jesus

ISBN 979-8-89345-169-6 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89345-170-2 (digital)

Copyright © 2024 by Festus Eghe Agbonzikilo, PhD.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible.

Printed in the United States of America

Contents

Introduction

The Parable of the Prodigal Son, Also Known as the Parable of the Lost Son (Luke 15:11–32)

The Parable of the Wedding Feast (Matthew 22:1–14)

The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30–37)

The Parable of the Ten Virgins (Matthew 25:1–13)

Conclusion

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Cover

To my precious Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the eternal One, who is both the message and author of the message unveiled in this book.

To God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the One who gives insight into all mysteries and secrets, the One who gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning, the One who reveals deep and hidden things. The One who knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him. I’m eternally grateful for the privilege of your boundless love, grace, and Holy Spirit. Praise, glory, and honor be to Your holy name!

Chapter 1

Introduction

The Lord Jesus Christ gave so much information about the kingdom of God and the church during His earthly ministry. This information is encoded and hidden in stories that were told as parables. Parables have two different stories: the surface story and the underlying (hidden) story. While the surface stories of these parables are very relevant and meaningful, for every intent and purpose for which they were told, nevertheless, the underlying message is where the deeper kingdom meaning resides. The Lord Jesus Christ is the only One that could tell such powerful parables with both meaningful surface and underlying messages. One may therefore be tempted to wonder how the Lord Jesus came up with these powerful, meaningful parables. We must remember that the Lord Jesus Christ is the wisdom of God, according to 1 Corinthians 1:24, 30. In Colossians 2:3, we further understand that in Him dwell all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. The Lord Jesus is the epitome of wisdom; He’s the epitome of knowledge; He’s wisdom personified. When the Lord walked the earth, during His earthly ministry, that was wisdom literally having hands and legs and walking the streets of Galilee. The believer, too, has received this wisdom of Christ, for Christ has become for us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30).

What is a parable?

A parable is a mystery, which conveys spiritual secrets (Matthew 13:11, 34–35).

It is a story used to illustrate a deep, hidden spiritual lesson.

It is a story within a story, having a surface story and another story hidden underneath, known as the underlying story.

It is an allegory (Matthew 22:1 TPT—The Passion Translation). It says one thing on the surface but means something else that’s much deeper underneath.

How did the Lord Jesus Christ explain some of His parables?

A parable carries a far deeper message than its literal meaning, as will be seen in the three parables of the Lord Jesus that were privately explained to His disciples.

The Parable of the Sower

Firstly, the Lord Jesus told the Parable of the Sower and gave the interpretation as something different from the literal meaning (Matthew 13:3–9 and 18–23).

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Matthew 13:3–8)

On the surface, the Parable of the Sower is about a farmer who went about sowing his seed, but in reality, the Lord Jesus wasn’t referring to the sowing of seed by any farmer. He meant something far deeper than that, which is the hidden or underlying message conveyed through the parable. This can be seen in the way He explained the parable to His disciples in verses 18–23, as follows:

Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Matthew 13:18–23)

Based on the interpretation given by our Lord Jesus Christ, the Parable of the Sower can be broken down into smaller parts to make it much easier to understand:

The seed refers to the word of God (message about the kingdom of God).

The sowing of the seed by the sower refers to anyone that hears the word of God.

The soil where the seed is sown refers to the heart of anyone that hears the word of God.

The birds that came to eat up the seed that fell along the path refer to the devil who snatches away what was sown in the heart of that individual. This indicates that the birds in the parable symbolize the devil in reality.

The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. This shows that the rocky ground symbolizes trouble or persecution.

The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. This shows that the thorns symbolize the worries of life and the deceitfulness of wealth.

The seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. This indicates that the good soil symbolizes a good and understanding heart.

The Parable of the Weeds in the Field

Secondly, the Lord Jesus told the Parable of the Weeds in the Field and gave the interpretation as something different from the literal meaning (Matthew 13:24–30 and 36–43):

Jesus told them another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ (Matthew 13:24–30)

As earlier noted in the Parable of the Sower, the interpretation given by the Lord Jesus isn’t the literal meaning of the parable. We see the same thing here in this second parable of the weeds in the field, and the interpretation given by the Lord Jesus is also different from the literal meaning of the parable. The hidden message of the parable can be seen to be far deeper than the literal connotation, as can be seen in the interpretation given in verses 36–39, where the Lord explained the meaning of the parable of the weeds in the field as follows:

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field. He answered, The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear. (Matthew 13:36–43)

Based on the interpretation given by our Lord Jesus Christ, the Parable of the Weeds in the Field can be broken down into smaller parts to make it much easier to understand:

The one who sowed the good seed represents the Son of Man (our Lord Jesus Christ).

The field represents the world.

The good seed represents the people of the kingdom (children of God).

The weeds represent the people of the evil one (the ungodly).

The enemy who sows the weeds represents the devil.

The harvest represents the end of the age (the end-time).

The harvesters represent the angels.

The barn represents the kingdom of God.

The burning of the weeds represents the throwing of sinners and evildoers into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

The Parable of the Net

Thirdly, the Lord told the Parable of the Net and gave the interpretation as something different from the literal meaning (Matthew 13:47–50):

Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Based on the interpretation given by our Lord Jesus Christ, the Parable of the Net can be broken down into smaller parts to make it much easier to understand:

The fishing represents the end of the age.

The fishermen represent angels.

The good fish represent righteous people.

The bad fish represent wicked people.

The basket represents the kingdom of God.

The lake where the fishing was done represents the world.

The throwing of the bad fish away represents the throwing of the wicked into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Important points to note from these three parables

It is very interesting to see the strong relationship between the Parable of the Weeds in the Field and the Parable of the Net. It can be safely concluded that both parables are one and the same, conveying the same underlying message, based on the way both parables were explained by the Lord Jesus Christ. It is vividly clear that some of the characters and events in both parables, although having different names on the surface, represent the same thing in the underlying message. These are highlighted as follows:

The field and the lake in both parables represent the world.

The harvesters and the fishermen in both parables represent angels.

The good seed and the good fish in both parables represent righteous people.

The weeds and the bad fish in both parables represent the wicked or ungodly people.

The barn and the basket in both parables represent the kingdom of God.

The harvest and the fishing in both parables represent the end of the age.

The burning of the weeds and the throwing of the bad fish away in both parables represent the throwing of the wicked into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Finally, although the Parable of the Sower has a completely different underlying message from the other two parables, nevertheless, it is important to note that the birds in that parable and the enemy that sows the weeds in the Parable of the Weeds in the Field represent the same person: the devil.

It is very insightful to see that two of the three parables explained by the Lord have to do with the end of the age, meaning the parables were given for our generation. We are the end-time generation the Bible spoke about. These parables apply to you and me. I have heard some believers say it’s not possible for a loving Father like our God to put anyone in hellfire. But that’s not consistent with