Jesus’ Parables Put His Life Next To Everyone Else’s: RRE 10
Religion Ruins Everything Daily 10 9.20.16
[34] All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. [35] This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:
“I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”
[36] Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” [37] He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. [38] The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, [39] and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. [40] Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. [41] The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, [42] and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [43] Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. Matthew 13:34–43 ESV
Jesus told a lot of parables. Parable means “To set one thing beside another,” so He would take a concept that they knew (like a weed) and put it next to something He was teaching them about (the end of the world).
Jesus told parables that fit with people’s lives. He talked about fishing to fishermen and farming to farmers. He built His teachings on things that everyone already knew and then used the parables to provoke them to ask more questions. By keeping His language clear, and not using weird insider language, Jesus was able to help lead people into questions about the Kingdom of Heaven, instead of tripping up on words.
BWTM: Huge list of Jesus Parables from the Blue Letter Bible.