Why Jesus Spoke in Parables, Final Part

The solution to our understanding the parables is first to hear them and secondly to understand them in the context which they were originally meant. When the parables “were originally spoken, they seldom needed interpretation” (Fee and Stuart, page 160), thus the first part of the solution is to hear them. They were written by the authors to transmit the message found in the parables. The reader of the time would have immediately understood the meaning. The second part of the solution is to place them in context either by understanding the context of the day or to place them in the context of today. For example, the parable of the Good Samaritan could be understood in the historical perspective of the day or it could be paraphrased to bring understanding in today’s culture. To understand the historical perspective of the day requires an intimate understanding that Samaritans and Jews had a hate for each other much like many might find between extreme Islamists and legalizing Christians. The reason for this began when the Jewish nation was taken into captivity to Babylon. The Jews left behind inter-mingled with non-Jews, and those left behind by Babylon. Later when Nehemiah and Ezra returned to re-build the temple these same Samaritans harassed the Jews in their building process.

The Samaritans were despised by the Jews for establishing a rival offshoot of Judaism – a heretical sect. The Samaritans despised their despisers. A centuries-long running feud resulted, with provocative acts on both sides. The Samaritans protested the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls after the Babylonian exile, making a precarious political situation much worse. In turn, John Hyrcanius, a Jewish governor and priest, marched on the Samaritan sanctuary at Shechem in 128 B.C. and destroyed it. (Fickett 1999, page 107)

Approximately two years before Jesus told this parable, a group of Samaritans had defiled the Jewish celebration of Passover by throwing human remains into the temple courtyard during the celebration. And again, in our understanding of Jewish orthodoxy, we need an awareness of the significance of this act to truly understand the interpretation. Once this is understood it is easy to understand why the Jews despised the Samaritans. The point is this: the parables need to be placed in context to allow us to be truly moved by them. Another solution would be to bring the parable into today’s cultural understanding. For example, one could substitute the characters in the parable of the Good Samaritan with modern day characters. The expert in the Law could easily be characterized as a lawyer. The Priest could be replaced with a Cardinal or Bishop; the Levite could be replaced with a conservative Christian, and the Samaritan could be replaced by a Muslim extremist. In fact, read Luke 10:30-36 and replace the names to understand context. The point of the parables is to evoke a change in the person hearing the story. As Frederick Buechner has said, “A parable is a small story with a large point.” As Jesus told parables, their meaning was unlocked in the mind of the recipient. In our endeavor to understand parables this should be our primary objective - to get to the meaning of the parable as we understand it in our particular culture. Without this unlocking of the mind the parable is just a useless story.

Creed Branson, Executive Minister

And That's the Truth

What is?

That was my answer. And it was my answer every time.

I don't know where the kids' fascination with the concept originated. A story read to them? Sunday School? Discussions about lying? Who knows. I just know that at some point they asked the question, "Daddy, what is truth?" My response was "Truth is what is." They thought this was so amusing that it became a ritual. Any time they had friends over, they'd drag 'em to me and say "Daddy, tell Billy what truth is." And they wouldn't stop until I'd say "The truth is what is." Then they'd run off howling. Yeah, I've got weird kids.

At first glance, you'd think that everyone was as interested in truth as my kids were. I mean, juries want you to testify and tell the truth. It's important enough that you have to swear to do so. More than 15 countries have instituted truth commissions of one kind or another to get to the bottom of some issue haunting their past. One of Malcolm X's exhibits is title "A Search for Truth."

I've found, however, that sometimes, we're not that interested in the straight up truth, because it can be hard to swallow. My sister-in-law is wanting truth to go far away right now. It's not because she's a bad person. She just wants to suppress the truth because she's in pain. My brother-in-law's been battling cancer, and the doctors are now saying that even though it's in remission right now, it's still there and will take him within 5 years. She doesn't want "what is." She wants something else.

Sometimes, even when you want to deal with the truth, it seems beyond your grasp. Ask someone addicted to drugs or alcohol or sex or whatever. They know it's killing them, destroying them. But suppressing the truth persuades you to do it again, expecting somehow that it'll turn out alright this time.

And then there's me. The Bible tells me straight up in the early part of the book of Romans that when I decide to do my own thing or believe something that God doesn't believe, that I am suppressing truth. Oh, sure, I'm not gonna call it that, but I want what I want even though God tells me it's bad for me. But I suppress that, choosing to believe a lie--that somehow my good will result from it--to justify my own selfishness. The Bible even goes so far as to say that I can be so blinded by my selfishness that I can't even think straight. I know this is true. I've done it more times than I care to remember. I can con myself so well that I forget I'm conning myself and believe this thing I know is bad for me is actually good for me.

The Bible makes a pretty bold claim. Not only does Jesus have the skinny on some truth. It goes beyond that to say that Jesus actually is truth. Jesus Himself says that. And if that's true, then if I really want to know the truth about what will bring me happiness, or the truth on how to find meaning for my life, or the truth about what I'm doing that's working for my good or ill, or the truth about how to understand my own heart and my own desires, or the truth about how to make sense of the stuff that just seems to happen all around me, then I'd better get to know Jesus. Not know about Him. Not memorize facts about what He did, where He went, what He said. Really know Him.

Realizing this has made me zero in more on walking and talking to Him like the real person He is, rather that studying about Him like He's some great work of art or something. And it's made all the difference.

Reflecting back, truth really is "what is." But what really is, is Jesus.

No lie.

Dwaine Darrah, McLean Campus Pastor

Do You See What I See?

Last Sunday we announced staff transitions.

Lucy Martinez, our Passion 4 Community director, is moving her ministry to California, where she will be closer to her beau, Charles (great guy!). She will be leaving at the end of July, leaving big leadership shoes to fill.

Mike Fewster, who’s been a key leader & part of the core of Spring from its inception, is leaving the marketplace to take the P4C lead. Mike’s passion & calling will inspire you!

Josh Burnett came to New Life to learn how to church plant. Next year, he and Sarah will plant around Annapolis. Are we glad to see this? (Are you glad to see your child go to war?) Yes. No. Yes.

Pat Furgerson has been part of New Life since 9 months before we launched. He’s been on staff in several capacities. Recently, he has led our church planting ministry, Passion 4 Planting. Creed Branson, our Executive Minister, is excited about overseeing the Centreville campus as Campus Pastor, Pat will be the “go-to” guy.

Do you see what I see?

Four next steps for New Life. Four gains for God’s Kingdom. Listen to each of them, and you will hear four people who are clearly hearing God’s calling. These are four people who have prayed, thought deeply, agonized with God over a good period of time to discern His next steps for them.

Praise God that He still calls each of us to a life that matters! Praise Lucy, Mike, Josh, & Pat that they are willing to step out of their comfort zones to discover God’s dangerous dreams!

Brett Andrews, Lead Minister

Why Jesus Spoke in Parables, Part 2

Our sympathies can easily be with the grumbling workers in Matthew 20, but can they be with the landowner? In this parable a landowner asks men to work in his vineyard early in the morning; he hires men again at about 9:00 a.m., at noon, and finally at 3:00 p.m. He calls all the workers together at 5:00 p.m. and being a generous man pays the workers hired last the amount the landowner agreed to pay those hired early in the morning. Those that had worked all day were paid last and received the same pay as those hired at 3:00 p.m. Not only did they work all day, but they had to wait in line the longest to receive the same pay as those hired last. It is easy for the interpreter to relate to the workers who labored all day because of their own definition of fairness. It is harder if the interpreter is one who is not a fair person. The lens with which they see the world is quite different. Jesus closes this parable with, “So the last will be first, and the first will be last” (Matthew 20:16, TNIV).

To place the last verse in context one must go back to the first verse in Matthew 20 when Jesus prefaces the parable with, “For the kingdom of heaven is like…” (Matthew 20:1a, TNIV). Jesus is describing how God, in His wonderful mercy, has extended His invitation to be with Him in heaven to everyone. Once there we recognize no pecking order; everyone is equal in God’s eyes. Frankly, this is one of the easier parables to understand.

When Jesus is telling the parable of the lost sheep he is targeting the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who would have immediately snickered at the thought of owning sheep when Jesus said, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep” (Luke 15:4a TNIV). Unless it is understood who Jesus is addressing we will never get this point. It would be like Jesus addressing all the CEOs of the Fortune 500 firms and saying, “Suppose when you went to work tomorrow and you were flipping hamburgers at McDonald’s,” and then continuing with his story. Only those CEOs wanting to understand the point Jesus was making would have even continued to listen. Jesus knew long before modern day marketers that emotions are required to learn anything. “Emotions are the keys to learning, the keys to imprinting. The stronger the emotion, the more clearly the experience is learned” (Rapaille, Clotaire, The Culture Code, page 17). Final part next week…

Creed Branson, Executive Minister and Centreville Campus Pastor

Great Expectations

Last week at lifegroup, we challenged ourselves to be more bold. This week, we all wanted, of course, to forget that we had prayed about that and to just keep on plowing through Acts. I mean, it's all about getting more Bible facts in our brains, right?

Sadly reminded that the Bible tells us not to be like people who look in mirror and then forget our appearance when we turn away, we went for it. We went around the room to tell what happened. All I gotta say was that it was AWESOME!!!! I'll mention no names to protect the innocent, but here are the stories:

One guy teamed up with another Christian at work to start having lunch with this particularly troubled person no one wants anything to do with. When they raised the idea of getting together with this person to a couple of other non-Christian colleagues, it's caused all kinds of discussions to break out.

One gal told of a young couple who are sort of distant relatives by marriage with whom she's had some recent conversations. The young woman just told her that her boyfriend is moving and has asked her to move in with him in the new location. The way she mentioned this, it was almost like the young girl is inviting a conversation on the topic. So, doors are opening.

One guy had a conversation with a neighbor. As soon as anything about church was mentioned, the neighbor clammed up. So, we kicked around ideas for helping jump start the conversation again.

One gal is moving toward getting into a crafting club to meet people to start conversations.

One guy noted that his neighbors, who have been separated on and off for years are back together. He is determined to strike up a conversation with them this week.

One gal, who was an avowed atheist before accepting Jesus, has singled out a close friend who is still an atheist, to reach out to boldly.

Some points worth noting. Doing this together was incredibly encouraging. The people in the room are just like me--just people living life, working, eating, sleeping. . . got the same pressures I do. There was this "we're all in this thing together" feel to the room. I left feeling like I could do this, I could persevere, these guys have my back.

I also found the accountability rewarding. To have people who know you and love you anyway holding you accountable feels a whole lot different than having it done by some impersonal "boss type." It was a lot of fun.

Finally, it was incredibly helpful. As we shared, others threw out ideas that might work, things that might be said to break through the barriers. And the real benefit was that these comments came often from people with backgrounds similar to those some of us were trying to reach. They had insights into how those people think and how they would respond that I did not.

In the end, I left more equipped for the task this week, feeling like I was part of something much bigger than me, and encouraged that I was not in this alone.

If you're not in a lifegroup, all I can tell you is that you are missing out big time. Now, I know it's possible that you are just growing and growing, and starting conversations with the unchurched, and leading people to Jesus all the time. But I know it's more likely that you aren't.

We're gonna be talking about what it means to be on Jesus' team on Sunday at McLean. Team certainly implies connecting. Why not check out the lifegroups, make the time, and be there.

Oh, and you can study up on Jesus' team in Matthew 10 if you want a leg up for Sunday.

Dwaine Darrah, McLean Campus Pastor

Summer Reading

Recently, Caleb, Logan and I have been [slowly] reading through the New Testament book of James together. It’s always a rich experience. Whenever we’re done, I always feel like it was great time well spent.

So, why don’t I make it happen more regularly? If you’re looking for an excuse not to read the Bible with your kids, I have a good list.

• It’s too early to get them out of bed
• It’s too late because… (Multiple choice: Baseball practice went late; American Idol was on; I got too tired; They got too tired; The phone rang….)
• The regular schedule is too full
• We’re on vacation…
• My dog ate my Bible

What’s it mean that my kids know more about Wii Sports and Disney Channel actors than they do about the Bible?

I’m feeling convicted. One of my goals this summer is to get back to the good old habit of reading through books of the Bible with my kids. If you are, the following hints may help:

• Pick a regular time.
• Pick a book. (I find James, Proverbs, Mark are good places to start. Then, try Genesis.)
• Pick a regular place. (When Zachary &Emily were young, we always read in a bedroom just before going to bed.)
• Set a goal. (Four times a week? Five? Three?)
• End with prayer

Why Jesus Spoke in Parables, Part 1

People learn best through stories. At least stories are easier to remember than a series of facts. I think this is why we remember the Old Testament stories or specifics of movies so easily. Jesus used narrative teaching, hyperbole and other methods but one of his favorites was the use of parables.

Parable is a form of communication that does not give information but breaches the defense of the listener. It allows the listener (more difficult with a reader!) to experience something so new and different that it would otherwise be rejected out of hand. Parable permits entry into a new and different world, a world called the "kingdom" or "reign" of God and, sometimes, the "aha" of the Spirit. Though parable calls for a "yes" decision, it permits rejection of that new world.” (Siverns, Ted, Parabolas, Parables, Prodigals and Pouty People. Presbyterian Record, March 1, 2001)

As in biblical narrative, interpreters of parables sometimes seek to attach some significant meaning to a text that was never meant. The lack of historical context and literary understanding seem to be at least two of the primary reasons for this problem. The problems associated with the misinterpretation of the parables of the Bible are secondary only to those problems interpreters have with Revelation. In Revelation, “Instead of narratives and letters containing plain statements of fact and imperatives, one comes to a book full of angels, trumpets, and earthquakes; of beasts, dragons, and bottomless pits.” (Fee, Gordon D. and Stuart, Douglas How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, page 249) In the parables, Jesus uses stories to evoke a response, which to the casual reader makes no sense at all except the story applies to the point the orator is attempting to make. This is partially because the parables were meant to be heard, and not read, by Jesus’ contemporaries. The parables are meant to prompt the hearers to a different understanding of their true nature. Once the hearer understands the parable in light of the response Jesus was intending, a person is stuck with a decision; to continue to live in the dark selfish nature or to change to conformity in Jesus’ likeness. They are meant for us to take a deep look inside ourselves! “Considered as a self-help-manual, Jesus’ parables suggest there’s no helping the self – the self cannot help itself because it’s blind to its own good, the slave appetites and the stooge of a perverse ego.” (Fickett, Harold, Conversations with Jesus, page 87) Part 2 next week…

Creed Branson, Executive Guy

Generating a Little Fear

It's the day after the white supremacist, the Jew and Black hater, opened fire at the Holocaust Museum in DC. I'm in DC today helping my daughter with the twins. As Jackie and Amy head to the grocery store, I decide to walk to McDonald's, two blocks away. Amy's not happy. That location is notorious as a center for drugs and gangs. I'll have to walk by the place where, in broad daylight a few weeks ago, a young kid was shot dead. I'm a man, after all, and thus too stupid to know anything. So, I walk. But, I gotta say that I was on high alert and the eyes behind my Oakley's didn't miss a thing. I soldiered through because I was hungry, pressed ahead despite the risk. Got my burger, walked back the two blocks, and downed it safely.

Reminds me a smidge of lifegroup this week. It's the early chapters of Acts. Peter and John heal a lame guy, and the crowd goes wild. But the authorities don't and haul them off to jail for the night. All the brass gather the next morning, which, for all Peter and John knew, could be their last. They give an impressive testimony that Jesus Christ was behind the miracle. Unable to crack these guys, worried about the crowd reaction, and reconciled to the fact that an actual miracle had occurred, the brass let Peter and John go, ordering them to not mention Jesus' name again. Implicit in the order is "Or else." Peter and John say "No way, dudes" and head off to meet with the church.

What happens next is interesting to me, because in the face of the threat, the whole church unifies behind this prayer, and I'm paraphrasing: "Help us overcome our fear and testify boldy of You, Jesus." And to the 1,000s already saved since Pentecost, multitudes continued to be saved.

So I'm thinking, maybe we're not afraid enough yet to pray for boldness. Maybe that's why we've not filled our auditoria yet to the brim. The church in China, under attack and underground, is and has been experiencing exponential growth for years.

So, I'm thinking, can we get a proper fear going without having to rely on the government to persecute us? Can we be fearful of our family members spending an eternity in misery? Can we be fearful of our friends spending an eternity in misery? Can we be fearful of our neighbors spending an eternity in misery? Can we be fearful of Americans spending an eternity in misery? Can we be fearful of the nations spending an eternity in misery?

Can we be fearful of people living lives of misery and purposeless right here on this planet? I mean, fearful enough to get on our knees and pray for boldness to testify of Jesus Christ?

Our lifegroup took on the challenge this week, with a commitment to hold ourselves accountable. I've got to go into that room next Tuesday night, and as the pastor, I'd better have a story. And the pressure just got worse. One guy in the group told me the very next day of a "boldness" story. Geez, who'd have thought they were all serious???

So, ok, I'm not afraid for my life, but I'm hoping the fear of being embarrassed at not living the life I say I believe in will propel me to my knees and that the Holy Spirit will lead me into action. Cause it'd be cool if this turns out not to be just a fad, but a lifestyle.

Dwaine Darrah, McLean Campus Pastor

Need to Get Away?

Laura and I didn’t feel we needed any time away by ourselves. Our marriage is in a great place. Our energy is high. We’re in a good place.

Laura and I didn’t feel we needed any time away by ourselves until the second day of our Marriage Couple’s retreat sponsored by Bob Russell ministries. Everything was great: the speakers, the free golf, the spa (for the ladies)—all at no cost!

Midway through the second day of the retreat, I felt more deeply in love with Laura than I ever have. (Remember: I didn’t feel the need for a couple’s retreat).

Here was the big take-away for me: It’s better to refill the gas tank when it is still half full than to wait until the empty light has been on for 30 miles.

Don’t wait until you feel the need for a marriage get-away before you get away.

Summer’s here. Plan a couple days for marriage time—before you feel you need it.

Need an idea? http://www.familylife.com/site/c.dnJHKLNnFoG/b.3082787/k.BF6A/Home.htm

Brett Andrews, Lead Pastor

We Need the Bible! Final Part

We also need theology to explain concepts not clearly defined in the Bible, e.g., the Trinity. The Jehovah Witness would argue that nowhere in the Bible is the word “trinity” used. When a leader was about to make a statement in the Old Testament for God he would say, “Hear oh Israel, God is one.” We have to reason then that God is one. If Jesus and the Father are one and the Holy Spirit is also part of this union then we have to apply a term that represents this concept. Abortion is not mentioned in the New Testament even though the act was prevalent at the time of its writing. One could argue that the mention of murder is enough to cover the abortion question. Perhaps, but the point is we need to be able to explain difficult concepts. We have to be able to be consistent with God’s attributes.

In closing, I believe we need the Bible as the ultimate source of our knowledge of God. We also need reason, logic, and tradition and experience that salute to the Bible. We need to be open to hearing from others about their own understanding of God but ultimately we represent God as leaders in his church. So we must take a stand on our beliefs; certainly not on all things because we need to exercise tolerance. Our millennial view is an example of an area where we can have differences of opinion. However: what and who God is; while open to interpretation, must be defined and properly represented. And finally, the essentials of doctrine have to be sound in understanding and easily communicated.

Creed Branson, Executive Minister