Jesus Discusses the Benefits of Using Parables 

Jesus introduced the parable method of teaching during his third preaching tour. This was new and exciting to the apostles, and they wanted to discuss it more with the Master. When they were together, he counseled them about the best way to use parables and the importance of knowing their audience before selecting a parable. He then outlined specific advice for all those who choose to employ the parable method of teaching truth.

For Jesus, the parable method was the best way to avoid the disdain of the religious leaders, who told the people that Jesus’ teachings were blasphemous and aligned with demons. Everyone believed that nature was controlled by spiritual forces, so using simple nature parables assured his listeners that these teachings were benign and not evil. In this way, he could impart important truths to his hopeful listeners while giving his enemies fewer chances to accuse him of evil doings.

When Jesus first began using the parable method of teaching during his third preaching tour, it greatly impressed his apostles, and they wanted to discuss it further. The first thing that Jesus did was to counsel them about the wise use of parables. The most important thing, he said, is to tailor the parables that you use to your audience. One size does not fit all. Find a story that will resonate with those you wish to reach. When we want to impart wisdom, we are to let our spiritual light shine. But be careful in the way you share that light, and always listen as much as you speak. Take care to remain teachable yourselves, and avoid becoming prideful in your approach.

He also told his apostles to steer clear of fables and allegories when teaching the gospel. Fables are stories that use animals who act human, like the story of the frog who turned into a prince or the novel “Animal Farm,” about the nature of power and control in human society. Allegories are more like parables, but they are stories in which elements of the story represent something else (i.e., a hidden meaning). For example, the contemporary movie titled “The Matrix” is a story that is an allegorical representation of the struggle to separate reality from illusion.

In contrast, Jesus advised finding similarities between the natural and the spiritual worlds to teach the truth. The Parable of the SowerEvent uses this method: the growing of the seed in the fields in relation to the growing of the kingdom of heaven. Other parables that Jesus used to illuminate the kingdom of heaven are excellent nature parables that show this relationship.

Jesus narrated three or four parables from the Hebrew scriptures, highlighting that this teaching method was not wholly new. However, it became almost a new teaching method as he employed it from this time onward.

Jesus cited the many reasons underlying his practice of increasingly using parables in his public teaching; he taught the value of parables by emphasizing the following points:

1. The parable appeals to different levels of mind and spirit. A good parable stimulates imagination, tests a person’s level of bias, and invites critical thinking. It can inspire sympathy without promoting hostility.
2. The parable starts with something that is known to the listener and leads to a discovery of the unknown. It starts with the material and natural as a way of introducing the supermaterial and the spiritual.
3. A good parable will help the listener make moral decisions that are not colored by bias or prejudice. It introduces truth into the mind with grace, without arousing defensiveness or resentment.
4. Parables are powerful tools for conveying truth because when we hear them, they resonate with our inner sense of honesty and compel us to think, making it difficult to dismiss their lessons without going against our own better judgment.
5. Using parables as a teaching method allows the teacher to introduce new and potentially surprising truths while minimizing conflict and avoiding direct confrontation with tradition and established authority.
6. Another advantage of the parable is that it may reside in the listener’s memory so that later on, seeing the same scenes will stimulate the memory of the truth that was taught.

Jesus chose to use parables as the most effective way to counter the religious leaders in Jerusalem, who falsely claimed that his works were carried out with the help of demons and devils. By appealing to nature, he directly countered such teachings, as people at that time believed that all natural phenomena were the result of actions by spiritual beings and supernatural forces. Employing simple nature comparisons such as sowing seed, catching fish, and adding leaven to flour let them see that his teachings were benign. As such, this method allowed him to convey important truths to those eager to learn while giving his enemies fewer chances to take offense or accuse him.

Before he dismissed the group for the night, Jesus said: “Now will I tell you the last of the parable of the sower. I would test you to know how you will receive this: The kingdom of heaven is also like a man who cast good seed upon the earth; and while he slept by night and went about his business by day, the seed sprang up and grew, and although he knew not how it came about, the plant came to fruit. First there was the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. And then when the grain was ripe, he put forth the sickle, and the harvest was finished. He who has an ear to hear, let him hear.”