“Parables of Jesus”

Thursday, June 01, 2017

Parables were stories that Jesus told to help people who had good hearts to understand His teaching. Some have referred to parables as “earthly stories with a heavenly meaning.” When you study the parables, you should learn more about how to live so that God will be pleased with your life.

How to interpret the parables   

Here are four ideas for how to understand the parables better. These are not inflexible rules, simply suggestions for looking deeper into the meaning of these inspired stories.

1)  Find the central truth.

Overall, what was Jesus trying to teach? Parables always teach one main truth. There may be other lessons as well, but do not get too far away from the major thought of each parable.

2)  Read the verses before and after the parable.

As a matter of fact, that’s a good idea for any passage of scripture. The context sometimes explains the reason Jesus told that parable on that occasion. As an example, read Luke 15:1-2. Jesus answered the attitude of the scribes and Pharisees with three parables about God’s love for the lost

3)  Do not worry about the details.

Not every detail in a parable is important. Not everything represents something else that has a deep spiritual meaning. It is easy to get caught up in trying to define these specifics and sometimes this keeps us from knowing the major lesson Jesus was teaching.

4)  Two are interpreted by Jesus.

The parables of the sower and the tares are explained by Jesus. This leaves no room for misunderstanding. If we can examine how He explained those two parables, it should help us to understand and interpret correctly some of the others.

Purpose of the Parables

Why did Jesus use parables in His teaching? There are three reasons.

1)  To conceal the truth

Read Matthew 13:10-15. Some people were unworthy to receive God’s truth because of their attitude. They had closed their eyes, ears and hearts to God’s will. To them, the parables were just silly little stories with no meaning.

2)  To reveal the truth

Read Matthew 13:16-17; 34-35. Jesus told parables to draw a comparison between earthly things they could understand and spiritual lessons they would have difficulty with. To people with good hearts, parables would illustrate the truth.

3)  To preserve the truth

Everyone loves a good story. The parables would be easily remembered, along with the spiritual truths they teach.

 --Roger Hillis

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