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16.
Parables in Relation to Similitudes. Jesus in His Own
Country.
“And it came to pass, when Jesus had finished
these parables, He departed thence. And coming into His own
country.”5253 Since we
inquired above whether the things spoken to the multitude were
parables, and those spoken to the disciples were similitudes, and set
forth observations bearing on this in my judgment not contemptible, you
must know that the sentence which is subjoined, “And it came to
pass when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed thence,”
will appear to be in opposition to all these arguments, as applying not
only to the parables, but also to the similitudes as we have
expounded. We inquire therefore whether all these things are to
be rejected, or whether we must speak of two kinds of parables, those
spoken to the multitudes, and those announced to the disciples; or
whether we are to think of the name of parable as equi-vocal; or
whether the saying, “And it came to pass when Jesus had finished
these parables,” is to be referred only to the parables above,
which come before the similitudes. For, because of the saying,
“To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of
heaven, but to the rest in parables,”5254 it
was not possible to say to the disciples, inasmuch as they were not of
those without, that the Saviour spoke to them in parables. And it
follows from this, that the saying, “And it came to pass when
Jesus had finished these parables, He departed thence,” is to be
referred to the parables spoken above, or that the name parable is
equivocal, or that there are two kinds of parables, or that these which
we have named similitudes were not parables at all. And observe
that it was outside of His own country He speaks the parables
“which, when He had finished,
He departed thence; and coming into His own country He taught them in
their synagogue.” And Mark says, “And He came into
His own country and His disciples follow Him.”5255 We must therefore inquire whether, by
the expression, “His own country,” is meant Nazareth or
Bethlehem,—Nazareth, because of the saying, “He shall be
called a Nazarene,”5256 or Bethlehem, since
in it He was born. And further I reflect whether the Evangelists
could have said, “coming to Bethlehem,” or, “coming
to Nazareth.” They have not done so, but have named it
“His country,” because of something being declared in a
mystic sense in the passage about His country,—namely, the whole
of Judæa,—in which He was dishonoured according to the
saying, “A prophet is not without honour, save in his own
country.”5257 And if anyone
thinks of Jesus Christ, “a stumbling-block to the
Jews,”5258 among whom He is
persecuted even until now, but proclaimed among the Gentiles and
believed in,—for His word has run over the whole world,—he
will see that in His own country Jesus had no honour, but that among
those who were “strangers from the covenants,”5259 the Gentiles, He is held in honour.
But what things He taught and spake in their synagogue the Evangelists
have not recorded, but only that they were so great and of such a
nature that all were astonished. And probably the things spoken
were too high to be written down. Only be it noted, He taught in
their synagogue, not separating from it, nor disregarding
it.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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