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PARABLES: A PARABLE IS A PICTURESQUE FIGURE OF LANGUAGE IN WHICH AN ANALOGY REFERS TO A SIMILAR BUT DIFFERENT REALITY. IN THE HEBREW BIBLE, THE WORD “PARABLE” CAN REFER TO A PROVERB (EZEKIEL 18: 2-3), TAUNT (ISAIAH 14:3-4), RIDDLE (EZEKIEL 17: 2-10), OR, ALLEGORY (EZEKIEL 24: 2-5). ALTHOUGH STORY PARABLES (2 SAMUEL 12:1-4; ISAIAH 5:1-7) ARE NOT SPECIFICALLY CALLED PARABLES, WE SHOULD INCLUDE THEM IN ANY DEFINITION. ALTHOUGH PARAKBOLE IS USED EXPLICITLY TO DESIGNATE THIRTY DIFFERENT SAYINGS OF JESUS, WHEN ONE ADDS OTHER CLEAR EXAMPLES IN WHICH THE TERM IS NOT USED (E.G.,LUKE 10:29-35) AND OTHER POSSIBILITIES, THE TOTAL NUMBER IS ABOUT EIGHTY. IF THE INSTANCES OF THE PAROMIA OR “FIGURE” OF JOHN ARE ADDED, THE NUMBER BECOMES STILL GREATER. MOREOVER, IF ONE INCLUDES EVERY SIMILE, PROVERB, AND APHORISM THAT JESUS TAUGHT, THEN ALMOST EVERYTHING JESUS SAID FALLS INTO THE CATEGORY OF PARABLE (SEE MARK 4:34).

NUMEROUS ATTEMPTS HAVE BEEN MADE TO CLASSIFY THE PARABLES.THESE INVOLVE THE USE OF SPECIFIC CHRONOLOGICAL PERIODS IN JESUS’ MINISTRY, DISTINCTIVE SUBECT MATTER, AS WELL AS LITERARY, THEOLOGICAL AND EXISTENTIAL CATEGORIES. NONE OF THESE ATTEMPTS HOWEVER HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL.

IN HIS PARABLES JESUS REPEATEDLY USED ILLUSTRATIONS FROM DAILY LIFE. THESE OFTEN CONTAIN A DISTINCTLY PALESTINIAN AND EVEN GALILEAN FLAVOR. THIS WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO MAKE THE PARABLES MORE UNDERSTANDABLE FOR JESUS’ AUDIENCE, BUT TODAY IT SERVES ALSO TO AUTHENTICATE THEM…., MOST SCHOLARS AGREE THAT IN THE PARABLES ONE STANDS ON THE BEDROCK OF AUTHENTIC JESUS TRADITION…, ALTHOUGH THE PARABLES ARE DRAWN FROM DAILY LIFE, THEY DO NOT NECESSARILY PORTRAY NORMAL, EVERYDAY ACTIONS. ON THE CONTRARY, AT TIMES ONE ENCOUNTERS BOTH EXAGGERATION AND UNEXPECTED BEHAVIOR….,THE PRIMARY REASON THAT JESUS TAUGHT IN PARABLES APPEARS TO BE SELF-EVIDENT: HE USED THEM TO ILLUSTRATE…., SOME OF JESUS’ PARABLES ARE CLEARLY “EXAMPLE” PARABLES AND REQUIRE NO EXPLANATION. YET MARK 4:10-12 GIVES A DIFFERENT REASON WHY JESUS TAUGHT IN PARABLES-IN ORDER TO CONCEAL HIS MESSAGE. THE REASON FOR CONCEALING HIS MESSAGE IS MORE DIFFICULT STILL: JESUS DID SO IN ORDER THAT HIS HEARERS WOULD NOT BELIEVE LEST THEY REPENT AND BE FORGIVEN…., PARABLES SERVED A USEFUL PURPOSE ON CONCEALING JESUS’ MESSAGE FROM THOSE HOSTILE TO HIM: BY HIS PARABLES HE COULD PUBLICLY TEACH ABOUT THE KINGDOM OF GOD, BUT THE REPRESENTATIVES OF THE *ROMAN EMPIRE COULD FIND NOTHING IN THEM THAT WAS SEDITIOUS. A THIRD REASON JESUS TAUGHT IN PARABLES WAS TO DISARM HIS LISTENERS AND ALLOW THE TRUTH IF THE DIVINE MESSAGE TO PENETRATE THEIR RESISTANCE. OFTEN HEARERS COULD BE CHALLENGED TO PASS JUDGMENT ON A STORY BEFORE DISCOVERING THAT IN SO DOING THEY HAD IN FACT CONDEMNED THEMSELVES (CF. 2 SAM. 12:1-4; MATT. 21:28-31; LUKE 7:36-50). A FOURTH REASON FOR THE USE OF PARABLES WAS TO AID MEMORY: SINCE JESUS’ LISTENERS PRESERVED HIS TEACHINGS BY MEMORIZING THEM, THE MEMORABLE QUALITY OF THE PARABLES PROVED USEFUL.

THE EARLY CHURCH SAW IN THE PARABLES (AND IN ALL SCRIPTURE) THREE DISTINCT LEVELS OF MEANING: THE LITERAL, THE MORAL, AND THE SPIRITUAL. IN THE MIDDLE AGES AN ADDITIONAL LEVEL WAS ADDED, THE HEAVENLY.

IN IDENTIFYING THE MAIN POINT OF A PARABLE, SEVERAL QUESTIONS PROVE HELPFUL: (1) WHAT COMES AT THE END? THIS RULE OF END STRESS RECOGNIZES THAT THE MAIN EMPHASIS OF A PARABLE, AS IN MOST STORIES, COMES AT THE END. (2) WHAT IS SPOKEN IN DIRECT DISCOURSE? IN A PARABLE WHAT IS FOUND WITHIN QUOTATION MARKS IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT. (3) TO WHAT OR WHOM IS THE MOST SPACE DEVOTED? USUALLY THE MOST SPACE IS GIVEN TO THE MAIN POINT OF THE PARABLE. A SECOND RULE FOR INTERPRETING THE PARABLES IS TO TRY TO UNDERSTAND ITS MEANING IN ITS ORIGINAL SETTING. JESUS DID NOT ADDRESS HIS PARABLES TO MODERN READERS BUT TO A FIRST-CENTURY JEWISH AUDIENCE. THE PARABLES TAKE ON A NEW LIFE AND VITALITY WHEN ONE TRIES TO UNDERSTAND THEM AS JESUS’ ORIGINAL AUDIENCE WOULD HAVE. IN THIS REGARD, THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS PROVE HELPFUL: (1) WHAT IS THE GENERAL THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK OF JESUS’ TEACHINGS? EACH PARABLE OF JESUS SHOULD BE INTERPRETED IN LIGHT OF THE TOTALITY OF HIS TEACHINGS. (2) TO WHAT POSSIBLE AUDIENCE DID JESUS ADDRESS HIS PARABLE? IF ADDRESSED TO PHARISEES AND *SCRIBES, ITS EMPHASIS MIGHT BE QUITE DIFFERENT THAN IF ADDRESSED TO PUBLICANS AND SINNERS.

(“PARABLE” DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION FROM, “THE OXFORD COMPANION TO THE BIBLE” WRITTEN BY: BRUCE M. METZGER AND MICHAEL D. COOGAN