Parables of Jesus

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The Parables of Jesus embody much of Jesus' teaching. Among Christians they are the best known examples of stories referred to as parables, and so form the prototype for the term parable.

Jesus' parables are quite simple, memorable stories, often with humble imagery, each with a single message. Jesus, for example, likened the Kingdom of God to leaven (an image usually meant as corruption) or a mustard seed. His parables were often surprising and paradoxical. The parable of the good Samaritan, for example, turned expectations on their head with the despised Samaritan proving to be the wounded man's neighbor. The parables were simple and memorable enough to survive in an oral tradition before being written down years after Jesus' death.

His parables are sometimes mistaken for and interpreted as allegories, in which each element corresponds metaphorically to religious teachings.

Contents 1 Occurrence 2 Purpose 3 Framing material 4 Examples 5 See also 6 Reference 7 External links

[edit] Occurrence

Parables are attributed to Jesus in the three synoptic gospels of the New Testament and the noncanonical Gospel of Thomas. According to some interpretations, the Gospel of John also contains a parable.

According to one source^[1] the Gospel of Luke contains both the largest total number of parables (24) and the largest number of unique parables found nowhere else (10). The Gospel of Matthew contains 23 parables of which six are unique. The noncanonical Gospel of Thomas contains 15 parables of which two are unique. The Gospel of Mark contains eight parables of which only one (the Parable of the Growing Seed) is unique. The Gospel of John contains only the story of the Vine, which some consider to be a parable.

The parables are thought to have been transmitted orally for years before being written down. The hypothetical Q document is seen as a source for parables in Matthew and Luke.

Parables also exist in the Old Testament and in many other writings, see parable.

[edit] Purpose

Mark 4:10-12, Matthew 13:10-17 and Luke 8:9-10 offer an explanation as to why Jesus would teach in parables. These verses say that whenever Jesus would go off by himself (away from the crowds of followers he attracted^[2]), those close to him and the disciples would ask about the parables. He told them that they had been given the secret of the Kingdom of God (a concept commonly called the Messianic Secret^[3]) but that outsiders did not have this secret, so everything to them is given in parables, never to be fully understood, otherwise they might find forgiveness, citing variations of Isaiah 6:9-10. Matthew 13:12 adds: "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." (NIV), a saying also found in the Gospel of Thomas 41 as well as Mark 4:25, Matthew 25:29 and Luke 8:18, 19:26.

Mark 4:33-34 and Matthew 13:34-35 repeat that Jesus would only speak to the "crowds" in parables, while secretly, in private, explaining everything to his disciples.

Historians, on the other hand, surmise that Jesus used parables because they provoked thought and coaxed the listeners into participating more actively as they considered the parables' ambiguous content. The belief that Jesus taught secret meanings to his disciples, by this understanding, is a product of the early Christian tradition and does not originate with Jesus himself.

The Jewish Encyclopedia article on New Testament: The Sayings: Parables states:

"The simple meaning of these parables, however, was lost later on, and they were taken to be allegories and mysteries, especially when they alluded to the Messianic expectations, about which it was not safe to speak in public, as they assumed the end of the kingdom of Satan (Rome; comp. Mark 4:11, 4:34; Matt 13:1-52, especially 13:35 and 13:39). Thus "the parable of the fig-tree" (Mark 13:28; see Wellhausen, who is at a loss to explain it) is actually a "symbol" of the Messianic advent, according to the Midrash (Cant. R. ii. 13), but was no longer understood by the evangelists, either as an allegory or as a sign of Messianic success or failure, in the story of the blasted fig-tree (Mark 11:13-14, 11:20-23)."

[edit] Framing material

Some parables are unadorned. Other include framing material, often an explanation at the end of the parable explaining its meaning. Historians often consider the short, memorable parables authentic and the explanatory framing material as a later addition.

[edit] Examples

According to Catholic Encyclopedia: Parables: "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."

[edit] See also

• Parable
• Parables told by Jesus
• Miracles of Jesus

[edit] Reference

1. ^ Parables of Jesus in the canonical gospels and the Gospel of Thomas, edited by Robert Nguyen Cramer
2. ^ The Complete Gospels, Robert J. Miller, ed., notes for Mark 1:35-38: "...Jesus is often shown trying to avoid the presence of the crowds, sometimes seeking privacy in order to perform miracles or impart special instruction (e.g., 1:45; 5:37; 6:31; 7:17; 24, 33; 8:23; 9:28, 30; 10:10, 32b)."
3. ^ Complete Gospels, note for Mark 1:43-45: "Jesus' anger (v.41) and stern warning not to make him known, conveyed by snapping (literally "snorting") at the cured leper, is connected to a key narrative theme in Mark's gospel, the mandated "secret" of Jesus' true identity. Jesus repreatedly attempts to hide his actions, at least until he reaches Jerusalem, but usually without much apparent success (see also 1:25-28, 34; 3:12; 5:43; 7:36; 8:26)..."

[edit] External links

• List of biblical parables
• Another list, slightly different and only of the synoptic Gospels
• Analysis of biblical parables
• Jewish Encyclopedia: Parable
• Catholic Encyclopedia: Parable
• LDS Bible Dictionary: Parables

Parables of Jesus - edit

Assassin | Drawing in the Net | Empty Jar | Faithful Servant | Fig Tree | Friend at Night | Good Samaritan | Good Shepherd | Growing Seed | Hidden Treasure | Lazarus and Dives | Leaven | Lost Coin | Lost Sheep | Master and Servant | Mustard Seed | New Wine into Old Wineskins | Pearl | Pharisee and the Publican | Prodigal Son | Rich Fool | Sower | Strong Man | Talents | Tares | Ten Virgins | Two Debtors | Two Sons | Unjust Judge | Unjust Steward | Unmerciful Servant | Vine | Wedding Feast | Wicked Husbandmen | Wise and Foolish Builders | Workers in the Vineyard