Home  >  Jesus  >  Parables of Jesus

The use of analogical stories, or parables, was common in rabbinical teaching in ancient Israel. Jesus Himself used parables to convey a number of important truths about the kingdom of God, as first shown in Matthew 13 with the parable of the sower.

The Lord used these illustrations to clarify His message for those who were intended to receive it, but as He explained to His disciples, He also taught in this way to obscure God's truth from those who have rejected Him. As in all other things, God exerts sovereignty in administering His truth, and He has not granted every person the ability to understand and respond favorably to it. In using parables to deliver these teachings, Jesus in effect granted mercy to those with "ears to hear" and brought judgment on those wthout.

Analyses for each parable are linked below. Commentators have often sought to categorize the parables by general underlying theme, and the same is attempted here. It is an imperfect process, as principles overlap and more than one essential truth may be conveyed in a particular illustration, but hopefully the groupings below are helpful.

Scripture Alone • Faith Alone • Grace Alone • Christ Alone • To the Glory of God Alone
Most scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB)

The Way Is Narrow  |  About  |