The Parables of Jesus Explained: A Detailed Discussion and Analysis of 52 of Jesus’ Parables

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)

"I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world." (Matthew 13:35)

The word parable is derived from a Greek verb signifying “to compare” and therefore it means a comparison made between things in their own nature quite different, but which yet in some points resemble each other. A parable is a word-picture which uses an earthly image or story to try to illustrate a spiritual truth or lesson. It creates a mini-drama in verbal picture language that describes the reality being illustrated. It helps define the unknown and unseen by using both the visible and the known. It helps the listener to discover the deeper meaning and underlying truth of the spiritual reality being portrayed. Jesus used these simple word-pictures to help people understand who G-d is and what His Kingdom or reign is like. Jesus used images and characters taken from everyday life to create a miniature play or drama to illustrate and help clarify His messages. Over a third of the Gospels by Matthew, Mark, and Luke contain Jesus’ parables. These word-pictures challenged the listener’s minds to try to understand what our G-d is like and moved upon their hearts to make a positive response to G-d's forgiveness, love and truth. Like a skillful artist, Jesus painted these lively pictures with short and simple words. Jesus’ parables, were only to be understood by those who had spiritual “eyes to see” and “ears to hear”.

Jesus communicated with His parables more powerfully than any power point or abstract presentation ever could. While Jesus' parables are rooted in His specific time and place, they nonetheless speak of timeless realities to people of every age and place. Jesus used simple stories or images to convey important truths about G-d and His Kingdom, and scriptural lessons pertaining to the way of life and happiness which G-d has for us. They commonly feature activities, examples or illustrations from His daily life, such as mustard seeds and fig trees, wineskins and oil lamps, money and treasure, stewards, workers, judges, and homemakers, wedding parties and children's games. Jesus' Jewish audience would have be very familiar with all of these various illustrations from their everyday lives. Today we have to do some homework and research to understand the meaning of the objects and/or people that Jesus used in His parables. Jerome, an early Biblical scholar remarked: “The marrow of a parable is different from the promise of its surface, and like as gold is sought for in the earth, the kernel in a nut and the hidden fruit in the prickly covering of chestnuts, so in parables we must search more deeply after their divine meaning.”