The Parables Of Jesus - Introduction

The Parables of Jesus - Introduction

There are 46 teachings of Jesus that fall into the category of Parables. A Parable is a unique and effective style of teaching that was perfected by Jesus. They are stories that use everyday events and activities but with a spiritual element added to teach a truth about God and our faith.

Parables were used before Jesus but He completely mastered the art. His use of this form of teaching made Him wildly popular with the people while the leading religious teachers struggled to be relevant at all.

Why would Jesus use parables to teach? Much of it had to do with His critics and the Roman Legion. By couching His teaching in stories about farming, feasting and everyday life, His opponents were never able to pin Him down. In reality, they couldn’t understand them while the crowds easily figured them out. The crowds watched in amazement at His brilliant tactics and masterful execution of the art.

I once interacted with a guy who had a website called, “I hate Jesus . com” (Don’t worry. It’s no longer active.) His chief criticism was that Jesus taught in parables. He said, “Jesus taught in the worst style possible. Parables are too difficult to understand. A good teacher should say what he means without intentionally obscuring things. Jesus was a terrible teacher.”

So, let’s be realistic. Was Jesus a terrible teacher? I looked up the guys website and he had 208 followers. The guy with a couple hundred followers was criticizing Jesus who has somewhere around 5-7 billion followers throughout the course of history.

Do you see the irony? Let’s be honest, the parables of Jesus are literally the greatest teachings ever taught. So, let’s take a look at a few of them and see what Jesus thought was so important for us to learn.

Tomorrow: The Parable of the Talents