Who doesn’t like a good metaphor?
Or a simile for that matter. They serve the same purpose, essentially, in describing or comparing something based on their similarities. More specifically, similes use “like” or “as” to connect things and metaphors just say something “is” something else when it literally isn’t. (Grammar police, please don’t come for me. I know that’s pretty simplistic and there’s more to it. That’s kind of where I’m going. You’ll see.)
It’s such a handy way of describing things and helping people understand. “I’m busy as a bee” or “just covering the bases,” for example, “they’re the star of the team” or “the kingdom of God is like a tiny seed.”
Yes, it’s one of Jesus’ most important teaching tools. He used a lot of metaphors and similes, often in the form of parables which are really just metaphors extended into a narrative.
The thing is, metaphors are inherently flawed, aren’t they? Or, at least, incomplete. Without a lot of thought, we get the impression that two things are the same and they’re very much not. They’re like each other or similar, but they’re not the same. It’s important to note the differences as well as the similarities and to remember that metaphors only represent a particular perspective. There’s always more to it.
This is sometimes more obvious than others. When Jesus tells a parable about farming, for example, it’s pretty clear that, while he’s trying to connect with a predominantly agrarian audience, he’s definitely not a farmer. In the parable of the sower, he says the sower throws the seed willy-nilly wherever and some of it lands in the worst places. No farmer would waste seed like that. Of course, that’s part of the point of the story, but you need to dig a little deeper than the face of the story in order to find out. (There’s a metaphor right there.)
Or when he talks about how the kingdom of heaven is like the seed that’s planted and, day and night, it grows but the farmer doesn’t know how. The earth does all the work. Try telling a farmer that. Or the mustard seed, which Jesus says is the smallest of all the seeds and grows into a big shrub with branches big enough for birds to nest in. It isn’t and they don’t.
In that same passage from Mark - and elsewhere - the author says that Jesus “spoke the word” to the people in parables “as they were able to hear it,” but he explained everything to the disciples. Well of course he did. I don’t think this is about secret knowledge or not trusting the people to understand or ensuring the future of the priesthood set apart from the people. I wonder if it’s more like preaching and bible study. The people heard the word proclaimed and those who wanted or needed to know more, learned more. And I wonder if, when the gospel writers refer to “the disciples” in these moments, they may have meant any followers of Jesus, not just the twelve.
Because that’s what good metaphors should do. It’s certainly what the parables do. They’re an invitation to dig deeper. When people heard Jesus, I doubt they went away thinking they’d been told how it is. I think they went away thinking about it. Some might have stayed, or come back, to learn more. The parable just opened the door. There’s another metaphor.
