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You're listening to join the Journey podcast with your host, Emma, daughter.

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Do you ever struggle to understand a passage in the Bible?

When Jesus is teaching, it's not uncommon for his disciples to feel the same way.

In today's chapter, Matthew 13, the disciples ask Jesus a question

I think we all wonder about. Why did Jesus use parables when he taught? A parable is a story used

to illustrate a spiritual truth. These are stories with memorable characters, rich imagery,

and deep symbolism. The concepts behind the word parable

is this idea of one truth being thrown alongside another. As one commentator says, it's a story

thrown alongside the truth intended to teach. Parables, they've often been called earthly stories

with a heavenly meaning. And they seem to have often necessitated

more explanation. Because when you think about it, Jesus initially taught with metaphors that would

have been easily understood by everyone, you know, like light, salt, sheep, and so on. But now,

we're starting to enter a point in Jesus' ministry where he almost exclusively teaches

in parables. And oftentimes, they can be more challenging to understand. And in Matthew 13,

we read the parable of the sower, the weeds, the mustard seed, and leaven, the hidden treasure,

and more. But why? Why did Jesus speak in parables?

The disciples asked him that question, and Jesus said, to you it has been given to know the

secrets of the kingdom of heaven. But to them, it has not been given. In today's devotional,

Amber explained to this so well. She said, because the disciples accepted truth from Jesus, they were given more and more truth.

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