What are Parables?

Webster defines parables as “a short fictitious story that illustrates a moral attitude or a religious principle.” They are used as a way Jesus presented truth and as teaching aids, often referred to as an “earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” But why did He start that practice sometime into His ministry?

Matthew 13:10 - Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”

As Jesus became more well known and studied by those who supported Him as well as those who opposed Him, Christ’s teaching methods became more concealed. He began to reveal truth using these stories to those who were seekers and, at the same time, hide the truth from those who rejected His teachings, such as the Pharisees and teachers of the law.

Mark 4:9,34 - And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”... He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

Two Examples of Parables

Here is a link to all the parables of Jesus contained in the Synoptic Gospels.

The Parable of the Wineskins

Matthew 9:16-17 No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”

Also found in Mark 2:21-22 and Luke 5:36-39

The context of this parable begins with a question from the disciples of John, from Matthew 9:14, who were asking why Jesus’ disciples do not fast as was a tradition in the Old Testament and continued by the Pharisees.

New wine was housed in animal skins, which were able to safely expand during the fermenting process. If old wineskins were used, which were already stretched, they would explode due to the expanding gas under pressure. The point of the parable was that the old rituals (such as fasting), which were added burdens put on the people by the Pharisees, were no longer a part of the New Covenant. The point was not that fasting should be done away with. Rather, the Old Covenant, (a “works-based” theology that required strict obedience to the Mosaic Law) was being replaced by the New Covenant (Romans 6:23), to be fully revealed shortly.

The Parable of the Lamp On a Stand

Luke 8:16-17 - No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

Also found in Mark 4:21-25 and Matthew 5:14-16

The symbolism of the lamp comes from its “light” which represents Jesus and His teachings as being the “light of the world” (John 8:12). What Christ taught was recorded in the Bible, the truths of which must be shared with a lost and dying world that otherwise lives in darkness (Ephesians 6:12). So, even though Jesus did teach in parables, His instructions would not be hidden from those who truly desired to understand.

Mark 4:11 - And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables."

Conclusion

Today we have the luxury of written text of what Jesus said and did throughout His relatively short ministry. Further, we have the benefit of commentaries that offer insight into the mystery of God.

Colossians 2:2b-3 - To reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Ephesians 3:5 - which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.