New Testament Blog Post #8 - Parables

My assignment was to study the following parables and accounts, along with the accompanying commentary from the Institute student manual, and to describe in writing what I feel is the major principle the Lord wants us to understand from each of the parables.

Luke 16:1-12, the Parable of the Unjust Steward

I was confused y this parable, so reading the institute manual was good for me, because it cleared up some questions I had. Evidently, one interpretation of this parable is that you should use your riches to secure a future for yourself. The idea is that even those who are obsessed with riches have this kind of foresight, and it’s the kind of foresight you should have when it comes to your eternal destination. You should prepare so that you can secure eternal life for yourself.

Luke 16:19-31, the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus

Initially, my feeling about this parable was that it had several lessons to teach: give to those who are not as fortunate as you, and listen to the words of the prophets. However, the manual points out that one of the most significant lessons in the parable concerns the gulf Abraham mentions that lies between paradise and hell in the spirit world. Before Christ atoned for our sins and died, there was no way to bridge that gap. But through Christ’s atonement, after his death and before his resurrection, he made it possible that people might be able to pass across that gulf to paradise or to hell. In other words, he opened the door for missionary work and repentance in the spirit world. People could from that point be sent from paradise to hell to preach to those who had not accepted the gospel in their former lives. Joseph Smith has explained that both destinations, which used to be separate, are now one as a result of Christ’s atonement.

Luke 17:11-19, the Ten Lepers

The manual points out that the fact that a Samaritan was the first and only one to return to the Lord to show thanks for his healing was sort of a breakage of the barrier between the Jews, who were considered God’s chosen people, and everyone else. The gospel was soon to be preached to everyone in the Earth, and the Samaritan’s returning to praise and thank the Savior was sort of a representation of that. In a way, the Savior points that out when he says, “Where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. Arise: go thy way. Thy faith hath made thee whole.”

Luke 18:1-8, the Parable of the Unjust Judge

This parable, as the manual points out, is not intended to show that the Lord will respond in exactly the same way the judge did if you weary him with your prayers, but it is meant to show that if an evil judge will yield to supplication, even if that yielding only comes after a while, so will the Lord. It’s kind of like where Jesus says, “What man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?” The parable is not so much a comparison between like and like as it is a comparison between something that is bad and something that is great, or between something that is good and something that is best.

Luke 18:9-14, the Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican

The manual points out that this parable was meant to be addressed to everyone, not to the Pharisee or the publican specifically. It may have even been intended for some or all of the members of the Twelve. The parable is for those who trust in their own righteousness, as verse 9 says. The only question I have about this parable is whether the Lord is endorsing self-deprecation through it. Because I myself have, in the past, tended toward focusing on the bad things about myself and saying and believing that I have a lot of negative traits. And that has never in itself made me feel happy at all. That just makes me depressed. So it’s hard for me to believe that the Lord would want us to focus on how inferior we are. It’s certainly not a bad thing to recognize that we have room for improvement, but I don’t like the idea that we’re supposed to look at ourselves and say, “I am a grievous sinner.” Saying things like that doesn’t really motivate me to make changes and improve. It just makes me feel sad.