GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 4:13
Variables and Parables
I’ve had the opportunity to sit under some outstanding teachers, one of whom was my high school algebra teacher, William Noeth. I will admit that I was not highly motivated to study algebra, but Mr. Noeth took time outside of the classroom to tutor me. I was having trouble understanding the concept of a “variable.” So, sitting in the faculty lounge during his break, we talked about variables. He explained that if I were going to master algebra, I was going to have to master the concept of a variable. The teacher had a cup of coffee from which he drank as we talked. Setting his cup on the table, he said, “What is that?” This, I thought, was a silly question, but playing along, I said, “A coffee cup.” So, he walked to the sink, poured out the coffee, gathered some pencils lying on the counter, placed them in the cup, sat back at the table, and asked again, “What is that?” Another silly question, I thought, but I answered, “A coffee cup.” “No,” he said, “now it’s a pencil holder.” Hmm, a little light began to shine in the back of my brain. “This is a variable,” he said, holding up the cup now filled with pencils. “It will hold whatever we put in it. Call it whatever you want—x, y, money, coffee cup—because it’s a variable.” His earlier statement began to make sense: if I were going to master algebra, I was going to have to master the concept of a variable.
When he was alone—analogous to sitting in the lounge with the math teacher—Jesus’ disciples asked him to explain the parable of the sower. “And he said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?’” (Mark 4:13) Only Mark recorded this statement, and he probably got his information from Peter. Jesus’ statement could be read as a rebuke, but more likely it was encouragement—“If you’re going to understand my lessons, you must be able to understand the meaning of the parables.” Loyal to Jesus but slow to understand, Peter struggled to grasp the meaning of Jesus’ parables. Before the crucifixion, Jesus began washing the disciples’ feet, but Peter protested that Jesus would not wash his feet, to which Jesus said, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” (John 13:8) Peter was still having trouble understanding Jesus’ parables—even a dramatized one.
Hopefully not stretching this analogy too far, as Mr. Noeth’s coffee cup was a variable defined by what it held, so Jesus’ parables held a message. Therefore, they are to be read, studied, examined, and, of course, applied.
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