📖 Mifano ya Biblia — Sehemu ya 1: Jinsi ya Kusoma Mfano📖 Parables of the Bible — Unit 1: How to Read a Parable

UtanguliziOrientation

"Mfano umeelezwa kuwa ni hadithi ya kidunia yenye maana ya kimbinguni." Hivyo ndivyo nilivyoanza mahubiri ya Jumapili ya Ubatizo juu ya mfano wa aina za udongo miaka mingi iliyopita, na bado ni mahali pazuri pa kuanzia kozi juu ya mifano ya Biblia. Ufafanuzi huu ni rahisi kiasi cha kueleweka na mtoto, na una kina cha kutosha kwa maisha yote. Mfano huchukua kitu kutoka katika maisha ya kawaida — mkulima akipanda mbegu, mwanamke akifagia ili kutafuta shilingi iliyopotea, mfinyanzi akiwa ameinama juu ya gurudumu lake, mjenzi akishusha timazi — na kukiweka kando ya kweli fulani kuhusu Mungu. Msikilizaji huona kwanza kile kitu anachokifahamu, na baadaye tu ndipo hutambua kwamba hadithi hiyo imekuwa ikimhusu yeye tangu mwanzo."A parable has been described as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning." That is how I began a Baptism Sunday sermon on the parable of the soils many years ago, and it remains a good place to begin a course on the parables of the Bible. The definition is simple enough for a child and deep enough for a lifetime. A parable takes something from ordinary life — a farmer sowing seed, a woman sweeping for a lost coin, a potter bent over his wheel, a builder dropping a plumb line — and sets it beside a truth about God. The listener sees the familiar thing first, and only then realizes that the story has been about him all along.

Wakati huo wa kutambua ndio unaoifanya mifano kuwa na nguvu nyingi, na pia kuwa ya hatari. Nabii Nathani alipomweleza Mfalme Daudi habari ya tajiri aliyemwibia maskini mwana-kondoo wake mmoja tu, Daudi alimkasirikia sana mwizi huyo kabla hajatambua kwamba yeye mwenyewe ndiye mwizi: "Wewe ndiwe mtu huyo!" (2 Samweli 12:7). Yesu alipowaeleza wakuu wa makuhani habari ya wakulima waliomuua mwana wa mwenye shamba, "walitambua ya kuwa anawanena wao" (Mathayo 21:45). Mfano hupenya kupita kinga zetu. Hutuwezesha kuhukumu jambo kwa haki kabla hatujagundua kwamba jambo hilo ni letu wenyewe.That moment of recognition is what makes parables so powerful, and so dangerous. When the prophet Nathan told King David about a rich man who stole a poor man's only lamb, David was furious at the thief before he understood that he was the thief: "You are the man!" (2 Samuel 12:7). When Jesus told the chief priests about tenants who killed the owner's son, "they perceived that He was speaking of them" (Matthew 21:45). A parable slips past our defenses. It lets us judge a situation fairly before we discover that it is our own.

Kozi hii ina sehemu kumi na tano. Sehemu hii ya kwanza inaweka msingi, sehemu tano zinajifunza mifano ya Agano la Kale, sehemu nane zinajifunza mifano ya Yesu, na sehemu ya mwisho inafundisha jinsi ya kuhubiri mifano. Sehemu kubwa ya mafundisho haya inatokana na mahubiri yaliyohubiriwa kwa miaka mingi. Hata hivyo, kabla hatujafungua mfano wowote mmoja, tunahitaji kujiuliza jinsi mifano inavyofanya kazi, kwa nini Yesu aliitumia mara nyingi hivyo, jinsi kanisa lilivyoisoma katika karne zote, na ni miongozo gani inayomzuia mhubiri asiufanye mfano useme kitu ambacho haukukusudia kamwe.This course has fifteen units. This first unit lays the foundation, five units study parables from the Old Testament, eight study the parables of Jesus, and a final unit teaches how to preach the parables. Much of the material grows out of sermons preached over many years. Before we open any single parable, though, we need to ask how parables work, why Jesus used them so often, how the church has read them through the centuries, and what guidelines keep a preacher from making a parable say what it never meant.

I. Mfano ni Nini?I. What Is a Parable?

Neno la Kiingereza "parable" (mfano) linatokana na neno la Kigiriki parabolē, ambalo kwa maana halisi ni "kitu kilichotupwa kando ya kingine." Mfano huweka kitu kimoja kando ya kingine ili cha kwanza kikiangazie cha pili. Nyuma ya neno hilo la Kigiriki kuna neno la Kiebrania mashal, ambalo lina maana pana zaidi. Mashal inaweza kuwa mithali (kitabu cha Mithali kinaanza na mishlê za Sulemani), dhihaka, kitendawili, istiari (hadithi ya mafumbo), au hadithi. Agano la Kale la Kigiriki mara kwa mara hutafsiri mashal kwa parabolē, na Injili hutumia neno hilo kwa upana ule ule. Katika Luka 4:23 Yesu anauita msemo mfupi "Tabibu, jiponye mwenyewe" kuwa mfano. Kwa hiyo tunaposema juu ya mifano ya Biblia, tunasema juu ya familia ya maumbo yanayohusiana, wala si kundi moja lisilobadilika.The English word comes from the Greek parabolē, which means literally "something thrown alongside." A parable places one thing beside another so that the first illuminates the second. Behind the Greek stands the Hebrew word mashal, which is much broader. A mashal can be a proverb (the book of Proverbs opens with the mishlê of Solomon), a taunt, a riddle, an allegory, or a story. The Greek Old Testament regularly translates mashal with parabolē, and the Gospels use the word with the same breadth. In Luke 4:23 Jesus calls the short saying "Physician, heal yourself" a parable. So when we speak of the parables of the Bible, we are speaking of a family of related forms rather than a single rigid category.

Inasaidia kuwataja wanafamilia wakuu wa familia hiyo. Kuna mithali na misemo ya picha, yaani ulinganisho mmoja wa wazi kama "Ninyi ni chumvi ya dunia." Kuna milinganisho, yaani picha fupi za jambo linalotokea kwa kawaida, kama chachu inavyoenea katika unga au punje ya haradali inavyokua na kuwa mti (Mathayo 13:31–33). Kuna mifano ya hadithi, yaani masimulizi ya tukio fulani la kubuni, kama mwana mpotevu. Kuna hadithi za kielelezo, ambazo hutoa kielelezo cha kuigwa au cha kuepukwa, kama tajiri mpumbavu (Luka 12:16–21) au Farisayo na mtoza ushuru (Luka 18:9–14). Kuna ngano, ambamo mimea au wanyama huongea na kutenda kama watu: mfano wa Yothamu wa miti (Waamuzi 9:7–15) na jibu la Mfalme Yehoashi kuhusu mbigili na mwerezi (2 Wafalme 14:9) ndio mifano ya wazi zaidi katika Biblia. Kuna istiari, ambamo vipengele kadhaa vinasimama badala ya kitu kingine nje yake, kama tai wawili wa Ezekieli (Ezekieli 17). Na kuna mifano ya matendo, yaani matendo au maono yanayohubiri mahubiri kabla neno lolote halijasemwa. Mungu alimwambia Yeremia "ushuke mpaka nyumba ya mfinyanzi" na kutazama mahubiri kabla yeye hajahubiri (Yeremia 18:1–6). Amosi alionyeshwa timazi (Amosi 7:7–9). Ndoa ya Hosea mwenyewe ikawa picha hai ya upendo wa Mungu kwa Israeli asiye mwaminifu.It helps to name the main members of that family. There are proverbs and figurative sayings, single vivid comparisons such as "You are the salt of the earth." There are similitudes, brief pictures of something that typically happens, such as leaven working through dough or a mustard seed growing into a tree (Matthew 13:31–33). There are story parables, narratives about a particular imagined event, such as the prodigal son. There are example stories, which present a model to imitate or avoid, such as the rich fool (Luke 12:16–21) or the Pharisee and the tax collector (Luke 18:9–14). There are fables, in which plants or animals speak and act like people: Jotham's parable of the trees (Judges 9:7–15) and King Jehoash's reply about the thistle and the cedar (2 Kings 14:9) are the clearest biblical examples. There are allegories, in which several details stand for something beyond themselves, such as Ezekiel's two eagles (Ezekiel 17). And there are enacted parables, actions or visions that preach a sermon before any words are spoken. God told Jeremiah to "go down to the potter's house" and watch a sermon before he preached one (Jeremiah 18:1–6). Amos was shown a plumb line (Amos 7:7–9). Hosea's own marriage became a living picture of God's love for unfaithful Israel.

Makundi haya yanaingiliana. Wimbo wa Isaya wa Shamba la Mizabibu (Isaya 5:1–7) ni wimbo, hadithi, na istiari kwa wakati mmoja, na mfano wa Yesu wa wakulima waovu (Mathayo 21:33–46) unaurejea kwa makusudi. Majina haya ni vifaa vya kutusaidia kuona jinsi mfano unavyofanya kazi, wala si masanduku ya kuulazimisha uingie ndani yake.These categories overlap. Isaiah's Song of the Vineyard (Isaiah 5:1–7) is a song, a story, and an allegory all at once, and Jesus' parable of the tenants (Matthew 21:33–46) deliberately echoes it. The labels are tools for noticing how a parable works, not boxes to force it into.

II. Kwa Nini Yesu Alifundisha kwa Mifano?II. Why Did Jesus Teach in Parables?

Mifano haikuwa pambo tu juu ya mafundisho ya Yesu; ilikuwa katikati ya mafundisho hayo. Marko anasema, "Akawafundisha mambo mengi kwa mifano" (Marko 4:2), na Mathayo anaongeza kwamba "pasipo mfano hakuwaambia neno" (Mathayo 13:34). Karibu theluthi moja ya mafundisho ya Yesu yaliyoandikwa katika Mathayo, Marko, na Luka yanakuja katika umbo la mfano. Kwa nini?Parables were not decoration on Jesus' teaching; they were at its center. Mark says, "Then He taught them many things by parables" (Mark 4:2), and Matthew adds that "without a parable He did not speak to them" (Matthew 13:34). Roughly a third of the teaching of Jesus recorded in Matthew, Mark, and Luke comes in parable form. Why?

Sehemu ya jibu iko wazi. Mifano hukumbukwa kwa urahisi. Mkulima, mwana aliyepotea, na karamu ya arusi hubaki akilini muda mrefu baada ya hoja ya kinadharia kusahaulika. Kwa wasikilizaji wasiojua kusoma, na kwa makusanyiko mengi leo, hadithi ndiyo njia ya asili ambayo kweli husafiri. Mifano pia huondoa kinga za msikilizaji. Kama hadithi ya Nathani, humvuta msikilizaji ahukumu kwa haki kabla hajatambua kwamba hukumu hiyo inamwangukia yeye mwenyewe. Na mifano hudai jibu. Mara chache huishia na fundisho nadhifu la maadili; huishia na swali linaloning'inia hewani. Je, kaka mkubwa ataingia karamuni? Ni yupi kati ya hawa watatu aliyekuwa jirani? Msikilizaji lazima aimalizie hadithi kwa maisha yake mwenyewe.Part of the answer is plain. Parables are memorable. A farmer, a lost son, and a wedding feast stay in the mind long after an abstract argument is forgotten. For audiences who could not read, and for many congregations today, a story is the natural way truth travels. Parables also disarm. Like Nathan's story, they draw the listener into judging fairly before he realizes the judgment falls on himself. And parables demand a response. They seldom end with a neat moral; they end with a question hanging in the air. Will the older brother go in to the feast? Which of these three proved to be a neighbor? The listener must finish the story with his own life.

Lakini kuna sehemu ngumu zaidi ya jibu. Wanafunzi walipouliza kwa nini anasema kwa mifano, Yesu alitumia maneno ya Isaya 6:9–10: wao walikuwa wamepewa siri ya ufalme wa Mungu, "bali wale walio nje, mambo yote huwa kwa mifano; ili wakitazama watazame, wasione; na wakisikia wasikie, wasielewe" (Marko 4:11–12). Mifano hufunua, lakini pia huficha.But there is a harder part of the answer. When the disciples asked why He spoke in parables, Jesus drew on Isaiah 6:9–10: the mystery of the kingdom had been given to them, "but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that 'Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand'" (Mark 4:11–12). Parables reveal, but they also conceal.

Wafasiri wa Kiinjili husoma usemi huu mgumu kwa njia tofauti, na mwanafunzi anapaswa kujua njia kuu. Wasomaji wa mapokeo ya Kireformed (Kikalvini) mara nyingi huona hapa uchaguzi wa enzi ya Mungu wa kufungua mioyo ya baadhi na kuwaacha wengine katika upofu wao. Wasomaji wa mapokeo ya Kiarminiani na ya Kiwesley kwa kawaida huona ugumu wa moyo wa kihukumu: wale waliokuwa tayari wamejiweka kinyume na Yesu walisikia hadithi ambazo hawakuweza kuzipenya, huku yeyote aliyekuwa tayari kuja na kuuliza akafunguliwa maana yake. Wanaonyesha kwamba simulizi la Mathayo linasema Yesu anasema kwa mifano "kwa sababu wao wakitazama hawaoni" (Mathayo 13:13), hivyo upofu unatangulia mfano, na kwamba mafundisho hayo yanaishia na mwaliko ulio wazi: "Mwenye masikio ya kusikilia, na asikie" (Marko 4:9). Wanafunzi wenyewe hawakuelewa mwanzoni. Kilichowatofautisha ni kwamba walimjia Yesu na kuuliza. Mchungaji akishika tafsiri yoyote kati ya hizi, zote mbili zinakubaliana juu ya hili: mifano huwatenganisha wadadisi na waliojitoa kwa dhati. Humzawadia msikilizaji anayesogea karibu, na huwaacha wasiojali bila kitu ila hadithi tu.Evangelical interpreters read this hard saying in different ways, and a student should know the main options. Readers in the Reformed tradition often see here God's sovereign choice to open some hearts and to leave others in their blindness. Readers in the Arminian and Wesleyan traditions usually see a judicial hardening: those who had already set themselves against Jesus heard stories they could not penetrate, while anyone willing to come and ask found the meaning opened. They point out that Matthew's account says Jesus speaks in parables "because seeing they do not see" (Matthew 13:13), placing the blindness before the parable, and that the teaching ends with an open invitation: "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" (Mark 4:9). The disciples themselves did not understand at first. What set them apart was that they came to Jesus and asked. Whichever reading a pastor holds, both agree on this: parables separate the curious from the committed. They reward the listener who leans in, and they leave the indifferent with nothing but a story.

III. Jinsi Kanisa Lilivyoisoma MifanoIII. How the Church Has Read the Parables

Kwa sehemu kubwa ya historia ya kanisa mifano ilisomwa kama istiari, karibu kila kipengele kikibeba maana ya kiroho iliyofichika. Mfano unaojulikana zaidi ni jinsi Augustino alivyousoma mfano wa Msamaria Mwema. Mtu yule aliyeshuka kutoka Yerusalemu ni Adamu; Yerusalemu ni mji wa mbinguni wa amani; Yeriko ni hali yetu ya kufa; wanyang'anyi ni Ibilisi na malaika zake; kuhani na Mlawi ni ukuhani na huduma ya Agano la Kale, ambayo haikuweza kuokoa; Msamaria ni Kristo; mafuta na divai ni faraja ya tumaini na wito wa kutumika kwa bidii; nyumba ya wageni ni kanisa; na mwenye nyumba ya wageni ni mtume Paulo. Karibu kila kitu katika usomaji huo ni mafundisho ya kweli, lakini karibu hakuna kati ya hayo ambalo Yesu alikuwa akimfundisha yule mwana-sheria aliyeuliza, "Na jirani yangu ni nani?"For most of church history the parables were read as allegories, with nearly every detail carrying a hidden spiritual meaning. The most famous example is Augustine's reading of the Good Samaritan. The man going down from Jerusalem is Adam; Jerusalem is the heavenly city of peace; Jericho is our mortality; the robbers are the devil and his angels; the priest and the Levite are the priesthood and ministry of the Old Testament, which could not save; the Samaritan is Christ; the oil and wine are the comfort of hope and the call to fervent service; the inn is the church; and the innkeeper is the apostle Paul. Nearly everything in that reading is true doctrine, but almost none of it is what Jesus was teaching the lawyer who asked, "And who is my neighbor?"

Wanamatengenezo walipinga. Lutheri na Kalvini, wakiwa wamejitoa kwa maana ya wazi ya Maandiko, wote wawili walionya dhidi ya kuifuma mifano kuwa istiari ndefu za kina, ingawa wao wenyewe hawakuweza kuepuka jambo hilo kila mara. Mvunjiko mkubwa wa kisasa ulikuja kupitia mwanazuoni wa Kijerumani Adolf Jülicher (1888–1899), aliyedai kwamba kila mfano una hoja moja tu na kwamba vipengele vya kiistiari vinapaswa kuwekwa kando. Marekebisho yake yalihitajika, lakini yalikwenda mbali kupita kiasi. Baadhi ya mifano ya Yesu mwenyewe, kama ule wa aina za udongo na ule wa ngano na magugu, inakuja pamoja na maelezo yanayotoa maana kwa vipengele kadhaa.The Reformers pushed back. Luther and Calvin, committed to the plain sense of Scripture, both warned against spinning the parables into elaborate allegories, even if they did not always avoid it themselves. The decisive modern break came with the German scholar Adolf Jülicher (1888–1899), who argued that each parable makes only one point and that allegorical details should be set aside. His correction was needed, but it went too far. Some of Jesus' own parables, like the soils and the wheat and the tares, come with explanations that assign meaning to several details.

Katika karne ya ishirini, C. H. Dodd na Joachim Jeremias walisisitiza kwamba mifano isikilizwe katika mazingira yake ya asili ndani ya huduma ya Yesu, kama matangazo kwamba ufalme wa Mungu ulikuwa ukiingia katika historia. Wanazuoni wa Kiinjili wa baadaye walijenga juu ya kazi yao huku wakikataa baadhi ya mashaka yao. Craig Blomberg alidai kwamba kwa kawaida mfano hutoa hoja moja kuu kwa kila mhusika mkuu, hivyo hadithi ya mwana mpotevu hufundisha kitu kupitia baba, mwana mdogo, na kaka mkubwa. Kenneth Bailey, aliyetumia miongo mingi akifundisha Mashariki ya Kati, alionyesha jinsi utamaduni wa kijijini unavyoangazia vipengele ambavyo msomaji wa Kimagharibi huvikosa. Kwa mfano, baba kukimbia barabarani lilikuwa tendo lisilo na heshima ambalo hakuna mtu mwenye heshima angelifanya. Klyne Snodgrass aliiita mifano "hadithi zenye kusudi," akisisitiza kwamba kila mmoja ulisimuliwa ili kuwasukuma wasikilizaji wake watende.In the twentieth century, C. H. Dodd and Joachim Jeremias insisted that the parables be heard in their original setting in the ministry of Jesus, as announcements that the kingdom of God was breaking into history. Later evangelical scholars built on their work while rejecting some of their skepticism. Craig Blomberg argued that a parable usually makes one main point for each main character, so that the story of the prodigal son teaches something through the father, the younger son, and the older brother. Kenneth Bailey, who spent decades teaching in the Middle East, showed how village culture illuminates details a Western reader misses. A father running down the road, for example, was an undignified act no respectable man would perform. Klyne Snodgrass called the parables "stories with intent," stressing that each was told to move its hearers to act.

Funzo la historia hii ni uwiano. Mfano si msimbo wa siri ambao kila kipengele chake lazima kifumbuliwe, wala si fundisho bapa la maadili linalopuuza vipengele vyake. Ni hadithi yenye kusudi, iliyosimuliwa kwa watu fulani, na maana yake ni ile ambayo Yesu au nabii alikusudia iwe kwao.The lesson of this history is balance. A parable is not a code in which every detail must be cracked, nor is it a flat moral that ignores its details. It is a story with a purpose, told to particular people, and it means what Jesus or the prophet intended it to mean for them.

IV. Miongozo ya Kusoma MfanoIV. Guidelines for Reading a Parable

Kutokana na historia hiyo inatokea miongozo ya vitendo ambayo mchungaji anaweza kuibeba hadi chumba chake cha kujifunzia.Out of that history come practical guidelines a pastor can carry into his study.

1. Soma mazingira. Uliza ni nani waliokuwa wakisikiliza na ni nini kilichochochea hadithi hiyo. Luka 15 inaanza na manung'uniko ya Mafarisayo: "Mtu huyu huwakaribisha wenye dhambi, tena hula nao" (Luka 15:2). Bila mstari huo, kondoo aliyepotea, shilingi iliyopotea, na mwana aliyepotea huwa hadithi tamu tu. Pamoja nao, huwa utetezi wa utume wa Yesu na changamoto kwa makaka wakubwa katika kila kusanyiko.1. Read the setting. Ask who was listening and what provoked the story. Luke 15 begins with the grumbling of the Pharisees: "This Man receives sinners and eats with them" (Luke 15:2). Without that verse, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son become sweet stories. With it, they become a defense of Jesus' mission and a challenge to the older brothers in every congregation.

2. Watambue wahusika wakuu. Tafuta watu walio katikati ya hadithi na uulize kila mmoja anafundisha nini. Mifano mingi ina wahusika wakuu wawili au watatu.2. Identify the main characters. Look for the central figures and ask what each one teaches. Most parables have two or three.

3. Sikiliza mshangao. Kwa kawaida mifano hugeuka juu ya jambo lisilotarajiwa: Msamaria aliyedharauliwa ndiye shujaa, wafanyakazi walioajiriwa mwisho wanalipwa kwanza, mchungaji anawaacha kondoo tisini na tisa ili amtafute mmoja. Mshtuko huo ndipo maana inapokaa.3. Listen for the surprise. Parables usually turn on something unexpected: the despised Samaritan is the hero, the workers hired last are paid first, the shepherd leaves ninety-nine sheep to find one. The shock is where the meaning lives.

4. Angalia mwisho. Uzito wa hadithi kwa kawaida huangukia mwishoni mwake, jambo ambalo wanazuoni huliita "msisitizo wa mwisho." Zingatia maneno ya mwisho na swali la mwisho.4. Watch the ending. The weight of a story usually falls at its close, what scholars call "end stress." Pay attention to the last words and the last question.

5. Acha Maandiko yafasiri Maandiko. Yesu anapoueleza mfano, maelezo yake yanatawala maelezo yetu. Mfano unaporejea Agano la Kale, kama wakulima waovu wanavyorejea shamba la mizabibu la Isaya, mrejeo huo ni sehemu ya maana.5. Let Scripture interpret Scripture. When Jesus explains a parable, His explanation governs ours. When a parable echoes the Old Testament, as the tenants echo Isaiah's vineyard, the echo is part of the meaning.

6. Usilazimishe kila kipengele. Uliza kama maandiko yenyewe yanaonyesha kwamba kipengele fulani ni muhimu. Nyumba ya wageni katika mfano wa Msamaria Mwema ni nyumba ya wageni tu.6. Do not press every detail. Ask whether the text itself signals that a detail matters. The inn in the Good Samaritan is simply an inn.

7. Weka ufalme katikati. Mifano mingi ya Yesu inahusu utawala wa Mungu: kuja kwake, neema yake ya kushangaza, madai yake, na hukumu yake ya mwisho.7. Keep the kingdom at the center. Most of Jesus' parables are about the reign of God: its coming, its surprising grace, its demands, and its final judgment.

8. Itikia. Mfano haujakamilika mpaka msikilizaji aujibu. Lengo la kujifunza si kuielewa hadithi tu bali kujiona sisi wenyewe ndani yake na kutii.8. Respond. A parable is not finished until the hearer answers it. The goal of study is not merely to understand the story but to see ourselves in it and obey.

V. Makosa ya Kawaida Katika Kuhubiri MifanoV. Common Mistakes in Preaching Parables

Makosa matatu hujitokeza tena na tena. La kwanza ni kuzidisha istiari: kufanya kila kipengele kuwa ishara, hivyo mawazo ya mhubiri yanachukua nafasi ya maandiko. La pili ni kugeuza mfano kuwa somo la maadili tu: kuupunguza mfano kuwa "kuwa mwema kwa watu" na kuipoteza Injili iliyo katikati yake. Mfano wa Msamaria Mwema kweli unafundisha upendo kwa jirani yetu, lakini ulisimuliwa kwa mtu aliyekuwa "akitaka kujidai haki" (Luka 10:29), na unafunua jinsi sisi sote tulivyopungukiwa sana na upendo ambao sheria inadai. La tatu ni kupuuza wasikilizaji wa asili: kuhubiri mwana mpotevu bila Mafarisayo wa Luka 15:2, au wakulima waovu bila wakuu wa makuhani wa Mathayo 21:45. Mfano uliong'olewa kutoka mazingira yake hupoteza makali yake. Dawa ya makosa yote matatu ni moja: kusoma maandiko polepole na kwa uangalifu katika muktadha wake, na kuwa tayari kuiacha hadithi iseme kile inachosema, hata inapochoma.Three errors appear again and again. The first is over-allegorizing: making every detail a symbol, so that the preacher's imagination replaces the text. The second is moralizing: reducing a parable to "be nice to people" and losing the gospel at its heart. The Good Samaritan does teach love for our neighbor, but it was told to a man "wanting to justify himself" (Luke 10:29), and it exposes how far all of us fall short of the love the law requires. The third is ignoring the original audience: preaching the prodigal son without the Pharisees of Luke 15:2, or the tenants without the chief priests of Matthew 21:45. A parable torn from its setting loses its edge. The cure for all three is the same: slow, careful reading of the text in its context, and a willingness to let the story say what it says, even when it cuts.

VI. Mizizi ya Agano la KaleVI. The Old Testament Roots

Yesu hakuubuni mfano. Alisimama katika mstari mrefu wa manabii waliotumia hadithi na mafunzo ya vitu halisi ili kuikabili Israeli. Mwana-kondoo jike wa Nathani ulivunja moyo wa mfalme. Hadithi yake ni ya kundi dogo ambalo wakati mwingine huitwa mifano ya kimahakama: nabii humletea mfalme kesi aihukumu, na mfalme hujitolea hukumu yeye mwenyewe. Mwanamke mwenye hekima wa Tekoa (2 Samweli 14:1–20) na nabii aliyejeruhiwa aliyemkabili Mfalme Ahabu (1 Wafalme 20:35–43) walitumia njia hiyo hiyo. Shamba la mizabibu la Isaya, lililopandwa kwa upendo lakini likazaa zabibu-mwitu tu, lilifunua udhalimu wa taifa. Yeremia alimtazama mfinyanzi akikifinyanga upya chombo kilichoharibika, akajifunza kwamba Mungu angeweza kulifanya upya taifa lililotubu, au kughairi mema aliyokuwa amepanga kwa taifa lililogeukia uovu (Yeremia 18:7–10). Amosi alimwona Bwana amesimama kando ya ukuta akiwa na timazi, akiwapima watu wake kwa kipimo chake mwenyewe kilichonyooka. Hosea aliishi mfano, akimkomboa mke asiye mwaminifu kama vile Mungu angeikomboa Israeli.Jesus did not invent the parable. He stood in a long line of prophets who used stories and object lessons to confront Israel. Nathan's ewe lamb broke a king's heart. His story belongs to a small group sometimes called juridical parables: a prophet brings the king a case to judge, and the king pronounces sentence on himself. The wise woman of Tekoa (2 Samuel 14:1–20) and the wounded prophet who confronted King Ahab (1 Kings 20:35–43) used the same method. Isaiah's vineyard, lovingly planted but yielding only wild grapes, exposed a nation's injustice. Jeremiah watched a potter reshape a marred vessel and learned that God could remake a nation that repented, or reconsider the good He had planned for a nation that turned to evil (Jeremiah 18:7–10). Amos saw the Lord standing beside a wall with a plumb line, measuring His people against His own straight standard. Hosea lived a parable, buying back an unfaithful wife as God would buy back Israel.

Mifano hii ya kinabii ina mtindo mmoja. Huanza na kitu ambacho msikilizaji tayari anakielewa — kilimo, ufinyanzi, ujenzi, ndoa — na huishia kwa kumsimamisha msikilizaji mbele za Mungu. Pia huonyesha kwamba Agano la Kale na Agano Jipya husema kwa sauti moja. Yesu aliposimulia habari ya mwenye shamba la mizabibu aliyetuma mtumwa baada ya mtumwa na mwishowe mwana wake mwenyewe, wasikilizaji wake waliujua wimbo wa Isaya. Mfano wa wakulima waovu ni Isaya 5 ukifikishwa kileleni mwake katika kukataliwa kwa Mwana.These prophetic parables share a pattern. They begin with something the listener already understands — farming, pottery, building, marriage — and they end by placing the listener before God. They also show that the Old and New Testaments speak with one voice. When Jesus told of a vineyard owner who sent servant after servant and finally his own son, His hearers knew Isaiah's song. The parable of the tenants is Isaiah 5 brought to its climax in the rejection of the Son.

VII. Mpango wa Kozi HiiVII. The Plan of This Course

Sehemu tano zinazofuata zinajifunza mifano ya Agano la Kale: Shamba la Mizabibu (Isaya 5), Nyumba ya Mfinyanzi (Yeremia 18), Timazi (Amosi 7), Mwana-Kondoo Jike (2 Samweli 12), na Mke Asiye Mwaminifu (Hosea 1–3). Sehemu nane zinazofuata zinajifunza mifano ya Yesu: mpanzi na aina za udongo; mifano ya ufalme ya ngano na magugu, punje ya haradali, chachu, hazina iliyositirika, na lulu; kondoo aliyepotea, shilingi iliyopotea, na mwana mpotevu; mtumwa asiyesamehe; Farisayo na mtoza ushuru na wafanyakazi katika shamba la mizabibu; Msamaria Mwema; wakulima waovu; na talanta pamoja na wajenzi wenye busara na wapumbavu. Sehemu ya mwisho inaunganisha kila kitu na kufundisha jinsi ya kuhubiri mifano.The next five units study the Old Testament parables: the Vineyard (Isaiah 5), the Potter's House (Jeremiah 18), the Plumb Line (Amos 7), the Ewe Lamb (2 Samuel 12), and the Unfaithful Wife (Hosea 1–3). The next eight units study the parables of Jesus: the sower and the soils; the kingdom parables of the wheat and tares, the mustard seed, the leaven, the hidden treasure, and the pearl; the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son; the unforgiving servant; the Pharisee and the tax collector and the laborers in the vineyard; the Good Samaritan; the wicked tenants; and the talents and the wise and foolish builders. The final unit brings everything together and teaches how to preach the parables.

Katika kozi nzima utakutana na vielelezo vilivyotokana na miaka ya huduma ya kichungaji, kwa sababu mifano iliundwa ili ihubiriwe. Yesu hakusimulia hadithi ili kuwafurahisha wanazuoni. Aliwasimulia wakulima, wavuvi, watoza ushuru, na viongozi wa dini, naye alitarajia warudi nyumbani wakiwa wamebadilika. Unapojifunza kila mfano, uliza maswali matatu. Ulikuwa na maana gani kwa wale walioisikia kwanza? Unafunua nini kuhusu Mungu? Na mimi nimesimama wapi katika hadithi hii?Throughout the course you will meet illustrations drawn from years of pastoral ministry, because parables were made to be preached. Jesus did not tell stories to entertain scholars. He told them to farmers, fishermen, tax collectors, and religious leaders, and He expected them to go home changed. As you study each parable, ask three questions. What did it mean to those who first heard it? What does it reveal about God? And where do I stand in the story?

HitimishoClosing

Mfano ni hadithi ya kidunia yenye maana ya kimbinguni, lakini pia ni kioo. Mwana-kondoo wa Nathani, shamba la mizabibu la Isaya, udongo wa mfinyanzi, timazi, aina za udongo, na mwana mpotevu vyote hushika kioo ambamo tunajiona sisi wenyewe. Mchungaji anayejifunza kuisoma mifano vizuri atagundua kwamba hiyo ndiyo iliyomsoma yeye kwanza. "Mwenye masikio ya kusikilia, na asikie!"A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning, but it is also a mirror. Nathan's lamb, Isaiah's vineyard, the potter's clay, the plumb line, the soils, and the prodigal son all hold up a glass in which we see ourselves. The pastor who learns to read the parables well will find that they read him first. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

— Dkt. Wayne Cook
Seminari ya Teolojia ya Chapala— Dr. Wayne Cook
Chapala Theological Seminary

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