Sunday, May 26, 2024

Psalm 78:2 - Teacher of Parables

 Matthew 13:34 (KJV) says: 

"All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them;"

Now nowhere does it say in Matthew does it say that Jesus fulfilled something a prophet said, or anything resembling that. This is another case of an overzealous Evangelical seeing "spake in parables" and looking for that same expression in the Tanach.

Without the "spake", of course!

It doesn't matter that the "match" had nothing to do with anything messianic, never mind that it would be said by a messiah.  

In fact, this seems to be that case for more of these "fulfilled prophecies" than one should expect.

So here is the verse cited as being fulfilled by Jesus in Matthew 13:34:

"I will open my mouth with a proverb, I will speak riddles from days of old."

The word mashal is typically referred to as a "proverb" (the Book of Proverbs is called "mishli"), and in this context, it is referring to a riddle, and allegory, and, in a way, a "parable". They are usually common sense traditional sayings that are easy to understand. And, funny thing, Jesus surrounded himself with followers who kept telling him that they didn't understand.

Psalm 78 has a number of straightforward traditional tales about the history of the Jewish people, and despite all of his miracles, they still weren't loyal. and it repeats the stories from Noah, to Jacob, to the Exodus from Egypt, to establishing the kingdom, and it ends with mentioning king David.

So not only was this not a difficult parable, it never says that the messiah will speak in parables.

It was a connection made up perhaps centuries ago. Perhaps less.

Style: "Non-messianic, no-connection to the "fulfillment", so obviously Jesus didn't "fulfill" anything."

Here's the meme used:



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