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“WITHOUT AN ILLUSTRATION HE WOULD NOT SPEAK TO THEM” 119
Why Jesus Taught With Illustrations
4 The Bible gives two important reasons why Jesus used
illustrations. First, his doing so fulfilled prophecy. At Matthew
13:34, 35, we read: “Jesus spoke to the crowds by illustrations.
Indeed, without an illustration he would not
speak to them; that there might be fulfilled what was
spoken through the prophet who said: ‘I will open
my mouth with illustrations.’ ” The prophet mentioned
by Matthew was the writer of Psalm 78:2. That psalmist
wrote under the inspiration of God’s spirit centuries before
Jesus’ birth. Consider what this means. Hundreds of
years in advance, Jehovah determined that the Messiah
would teach with illustrations. Surely, then, Jehovah must
value this method of teaching.
5 Second, Jesus explained that he used illustrations to sift
out those whose hearts had “grown unreceptive.” (Matthew
13:10-15; Isaiah 6:9, 10) What was it about his illustrations
that exposed the motives of people? In some
cases, he wanted his listeners to ask for an explanation in
order to get the full meaning of his words. Humble individuals
were willing to ask, whereas haughty or indifferent
ones were not. (Matthew 13:36; Mark 4:34) Jesus’ illustrations,
then, revealed truth to those whose hearts
hungered for it; at the same time, his illustrations concealed
truth from those with proud hearts.
6 Jesus’ illustrations served a number of other beneficial
purposes. They aroused interest, compelling people
to listen. They painted mental images that were
easy to grasp. As noted at the outset, Jesus’ illustrations
helped his listeners to remember his words. The
Sermon on the Mount, as recorded at Matthew 5:3–7:27,
4, 5. Why did Jesus use illustrations?
6. Jesus’ illustrations served what beneficial purposes?