Hermeneutics and Parables

As we discuss parables in class we try to answer four questions:

1. What background information would help to clarify this parable?
2. What contextual information is important?
3. What does the parable mean?
4. What applications can we get from this parable?

Number 1 is a bit tricky because I believe in the perspicuity of Scripture. However, we agreed in class that some background information can give color and depth to the teaching of a parable. For example, in the parable of the unjust steward we know that he owed his master 10,000 talents, but he choked his servant over 100 denarii. It's pretty clear from the context that he owed his master more than his servant owed him, but it does help to understand that a talent was roughly 20 years' wages, while a denarius was roughly one day's wage. In other words, he owed his master more than the gross national product of many third-world countries, while he was owed a significant, but not unpayable sum. This does add a bit of depth to the teaching.

The question of context is also interesting. We tend to look behind a story for context, but I found it interesting that this parable appears just before Jesus' teaching on divorce (Matthew 18-19). Is it significant that there are all these teachings on forgiveness just before the discussion on divorce? I believe that the gospel writers were redactors in that they arranged their gospels for a theological purpose. If that is true, then it only makes sense that there would be teaching on forgiveness just before an admonishment about divorce. How can we prevent divorce without a solid foundation on forgiveness?

The meaning of the parable should be fairly clear. If a parable does not have a clear meaning then Jesus really was not a master teacher. This is where we need to be careful about going off the allegorical deep end like many of the church fathers did. The swine in the parable of the two sons (prodigal son) don't represent demons like Origen thought. Rather, they tell the reader that this Jewish boy sunk about as low as a Jew can sink. They add color to the story, but they are not necessarily representative of something else.

Finally, the applications can be quite extensive. The parable of the unjust steward shows us that we who have been forgiven much should be willing to forgive as well. We owe an unpayable debt to God because of our sin. Therefore, how much more willing must we be to forgive those who have wronged us? All of their debts to us pale in comparison. If we aren't willing to forgive them then we need to reassess the condition of our hearts because we really don't understand forgiveness at all.

So that's what I've learned in my class so far. We're going to spend the next two days just practicing this. It should be interesting, though potentially tedious at times as well.