The Parables of Jesus:
The parables of Jesus, can be found in all the Canonical gospels as well as in some of the
non canonical gospels but are located mainly within the three synoptic gospels. They
represent a key part of the teachings of Jesus, forming approximately one third of his
recorded teachings. Christians place high emphasis on these parables, since being the
words of Jesus they are believed as what the Father has taught, indicated by John 8:28
and 14:10.
Jesus' parables are seemingly simple and memorable stories, often with imagery, and
each conveys a message. Scholars have commented that although these parables seem
simple, the messages they convey are deep, and central to the teachings of Jesus.
Christian authors view them not as mere similitudes which serve the purpose of
illustration, but as internal analogies where nature becomes a witness for the spiritual
world.
Many of Jesus' parables refer to simple everyday things, such as a woman baking bread
(Link) -->> (parable of the Leaven), a man knocking on his neighbor's door at night
(Link) -->>(parable of the Friend at Night), or the aftermath of a roadside mugging
(Link) -->>(parable of the Good Samaritan); yet they deal with major religious themes,
such as the growth of the Kingdom of God, the importance of prayer, and the meaning of love.
In Western civilization, these parables formed the prototype for the term parable and in
the modern age, even among those who know little of the Bible, the parables of Jesus
remain some of the best known stories in the world.
Roots and sources
As a translation of the Hebrew word mashal the word parable can also refer to a riddle. In
all times in their history the Jews were familiar with teaching by means of parables and a
number of parables also exist in the Old Testament method that fit into the tradition of
his time. The parables of Jesus have been quoted, taught and discussed since the very
beginnings of Christianity.
Canonical gospels
The three synoptic gospels contain the parables of Jesus. The Gospel of John contains
only the stories of (Link) -->> the Vine and (Link) -->> Good Shepherd, which some
consider to be parables, else it includes allegories but no parables. Several authors such
as Barbara Reid, Arland Hultgren or Donald Griggs comment that "parables are noticeably
absent from the Gospel of John". The Catholic Encyclopedia states: "There are no
parables in St. John's Gospel. In the Synoptics ... we reckon thirty-three in all; but some
have raised the number even to sixty, by including proverbial expressions."
The Gospel of Luke contains both the largest total number of parables (24) and eighteen
unique parables; the Gospel of Matthew contains 23 parables of which eleven are unique;
and the Gospel of Mark contains eight parables of which two are unique.
In Harmony of the Gospels, Cox and Easley provide a Gospel Harmony for the parables
based on the following counts:
Parables attributed to Jesus are also found in other documents apart from the Bible.
Some of these overlap those in the canonical gospels and some are not part of the Bible.
The non-canonical Gospel of Thomas contains up to fifteen parables, eleven of which have
parallels in the four canonical Gospels. The unknown author of the Gospel of Thomas did
not have a special word for "parable," making it difficult to know what he considered a
parable. Those unique to Thomas include the Parable of the Assassin and the Parable of
the Empty Jar.
The noncanonical Apocryphon of James also contains three unique parables attributed to
Jesus. They are known as "The Parable of the Ear of Grain", "The Parable of the Grain of
Wheat", and "The Parable of the Date-Palm Shoot".
The hypothetical Q Document is seen as a source for some of the parables in Matthew,
Luke, and Thomas.
Purpose and motive
In the Gospel of Matthew (13:10-17) Jesus provides an answer when asked about his use
of parables:
the "crowds" in parables, while in private explaining everything to his disciples, modern
scholars do not support the private explanations argument and surmise that Jesus used
parables as a teaching method. Dwight Pentecost suggests that given that Jesus often
preached to a mixed audience of believers and non-believers, he used parables to reveal
the truth to some, but hide it from others.
Christian author Ashton Axenden suggests that Jesus constructed his parables based on
his divine knowledge of how man can be taught:
borrowed from the visible world is accompanied by a truth from the invisible (spiritual)
world" and that the parables of Jesus are not "mere similitudes which serve the purpose
of illustration, but are internal analogies where nature becomes a witness for the spiritual
world".
Similarly, in the 20th century, calling a parable "an earthly story with a heavenly
meaning",William Barclay states that the parables of Jesus use familiar examples to lead
men's minds towards heavenly concepts. He suggests that Jesus did not form his
parables merely as analogies but based on an "inward affinity between the natural and
the spiritual order."
TO BE CONTINUED ...
The parables of Jesus, can be found in all the Canonical gospels as well as in some of the
non canonical gospels but are located mainly within the three synoptic gospels. They
represent a key part of the teachings of Jesus, forming approximately one third of his
recorded teachings. Christians place high emphasis on these parables, since being the
words of Jesus they are believed as what the Father has taught, indicated by John 8:28
and 14:10.
Jesus' parables are seemingly simple and memorable stories, often with imagery, and
each conveys a message. Scholars have commented that although these parables seem
simple, the messages they convey are deep, and central to the teachings of Jesus.
Christian authors view them not as mere similitudes which serve the purpose of
illustration, but as internal analogies where nature becomes a witness for the spiritual
world.
Many of Jesus' parables refer to simple everyday things, such as a woman baking bread
(Link) -->> (parable of the Leaven), a man knocking on his neighbor's door at night
(Link) -->>(parable of the Friend at Night), or the aftermath of a roadside mugging
(Link) -->>(parable of the Good Samaritan); yet they deal with major religious themes,
such as the growth of the Kingdom of God, the importance of prayer, and the meaning of love.
In Western civilization, these parables formed the prototype for the term parable and in
the modern age, even among those who know little of the Bible, the parables of Jesus
remain some of the best known stories in the world.
Roots and sources
As a translation of the Hebrew word mashal the word parable can also refer to a riddle. In
all times in their history the Jews were familiar with teaching by means of parables and a
number of parables also exist in the Old Testament method that fit into the tradition of
his time. The parables of Jesus have been quoted, taught and discussed since the very
beginnings of Christianity.
Canonical gospels
The three synoptic gospels contain the parables of Jesus. The Gospel of John contains
only the stories of (Link) -->> the Vine and (Link) -->> Good Shepherd, which some
consider to be parables, else it includes allegories but no parables. Several authors such
as Barbara Reid, Arland Hultgren or Donald Griggs comment that "parables are noticeably
absent from the Gospel of John". The Catholic Encyclopedia states: "There are no
parables in St. John's Gospel. In the Synoptics ... we reckon thirty-three in all; but some
have raised the number even to sixty, by including proverbial expressions."
The Gospel of Luke contains both the largest total number of parables (24) and eighteen
unique parables; the Gospel of Matthew contains 23 parables of which eleven are unique;
and the Gospel of Mark contains eight parables of which two are unique.
In Harmony of the Gospels, Cox and Easley provide a Gospel Harmony for the parables
based on the following counts:
- Only in Matthew: 11
- Only in Mark: 2
- Only in Luke: 18
- Matthew and Luke: 4
- Matthew, Mark and Luke: 6
- They list no parables for the Gospel of John.
Parables attributed to Jesus are also found in other documents apart from the Bible.
Some of these overlap those in the canonical gospels and some are not part of the Bible.
The non-canonical Gospel of Thomas contains up to fifteen parables, eleven of which have
parallels in the four canonical Gospels. The unknown author of the Gospel of Thomas did
not have a special word for "parable," making it difficult to know what he considered a
parable. Those unique to Thomas include the Parable of the Assassin and the Parable of
the Empty Jar.
The noncanonical Apocryphon of James also contains three unique parables attributed to
Jesus. They are known as "The Parable of the Ear of Grain", "The Parable of the Grain of
Wheat", and "The Parable of the Date-Palm Shoot".
The hypothetical Q Document is seen as a source for some of the parables in Matthew,
Luke, and Thomas.
Purpose and motive
In the Gospel of Matthew (13:10-17) Jesus provides an answer when asked about his use
of parables:
The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in
parables?" He replied,
"The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to
you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an
abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from
him. This is why I speak to them in parables:
Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or
understand."
While Mark 4:33-34 and Matthew 13:34-35 may suggest that Jesus would only speak toparables?" He replied,
"The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to
you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an
abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from
him. This is why I speak to them in parables:
Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or
understand."
the "crowds" in parables, while in private explaining everything to his disciples, modern
scholars do not support the private explanations argument and surmise that Jesus used
parables as a teaching method. Dwight Pentecost suggests that given that Jesus often
preached to a mixed audience of believers and non-believers, he used parables to reveal
the truth to some, but hide it from others.
Christian author Ashton Axenden suggests that Jesus constructed his parables based on
his divine knowledge of how man can be taught:
This was a mode of teaching, which our blessed Lord seemed to take special
delight in employing. And we may be quite sure, that as "He knew what was
in man" better than we know, He would not have taught by Parables, if He
had not felt that this was the kind of teaching best suited to our wants.
In the 19th century, Lisco and Fairbairn stated that in the parables of Jesus, "the imagedelight in employing. And we may be quite sure, that as "He knew what was
in man" better than we know, He would not have taught by Parables, if He
had not felt that this was the kind of teaching best suited to our wants.
borrowed from the visible world is accompanied by a truth from the invisible (spiritual)
world" and that the parables of Jesus are not "mere similitudes which serve the purpose
of illustration, but are internal analogies where nature becomes a witness for the spiritual
world".
Similarly, in the 20th century, calling a parable "an earthly story with a heavenly
meaning",William Barclay states that the parables of Jesus use familiar examples to lead
men's minds towards heavenly concepts. He suggests that Jesus did not form his
parables merely as analogies but based on an "inward affinity between the natural and
the spiritual order."
TO BE CONTINUED ...
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