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The Parables of Jesus
The Parables of Jesus are a collection of parables told by Jesus that embody
much of his teaching. Among Christians they are the best known examples of
stories referred to as parables, and so form the prototype for the term parable.
Occurrence
Parables are attributed to Jesus in the three synoptic gospels of the New
Testament and the no canonical Gospel of Thomas. According to some
interpretations, the Gospel of John also contains a parable.
According to one source (), 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 no canonical 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.
Parables also exist in the Old Testament and in many other writings, see
parable.
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, 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 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.
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)."
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