Parables of Jesus
A parable is a short story drawn from ordinary life — seed and soil, bread and yeast, fathers and sons, masters and servants — laid beside a truth about God and his kingdom so that the one illuminates the other. The Greek word is parabolē, a ‘placing beside’; it answers to the Hebrew mashal, a comparison or riddle. Jesus taught in parables constantly: they reward the listener who leans in and ponders, and pass over the one who will not. When the disciples asked why, he answered that the parables both reveal and conceal — ‘seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear’ (Matthew 13:10–17).
The count depends on how strictly you draw the line between a full story, a brief simile, and an extended image. Counted generously there are around forty; nearly all are in the three Synoptic Gospels — Matthew, Mark and Luke — with Luke preserving the most. John has no parables of this kind, though his great figures of the Good Shepherd and the True Vine do similar work. What follows gathers them by theme and explains each in turn: the picture it paints, where it is found, and the point it makes.
Parables of the kingdom
Many of these cluster in Matthew 13 and the parallel chapters, where Jesus asks again and again, ‘what is the kingdom of God like?’ The answer is rarely what his hearers expected: a kingdom that starts small, grows hidden, mixes good and bad until the end, and is worth everything.
The Sower — Matthew 13:3–23; Mark 4:3–20; Luke 8:5–15
A farmer scatters seed; it falls on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns, and on good soil, and only the last bears a crop. Jesus explains it himself: the seed is the word of the kingdom, and the soils are the ways people receive it — snatched away, withered for lack of root, choked by cares and riches, or held fast and fruitful. The parable turns the spotlight from the preacher onto the listening heart.
The Weeds among the Wheat — Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43
An enemy sows weeds in a field of wheat, and the owner lets both grow together until the harvest rather than uproot the wheat by mistake. Good and evil, Jesus says, are left intermingled in the world until the end of the age, when the angels will do the separating. It is a warning against premature judgement and a promise that judgement will, in the end, come.
The Mustard Seed — Matthew 13:31–32; Mark 4:30–32; Luke 13:18–19
The smallest of seeds grows into a shrub large enough for birds to nest in. The kingdom begins almost invisibly — a wandering teacher and a handful of followers — and becomes a shelter for the nations. Do not despise its small beginnings.
The Leaven — Matthew 13:33; Luke 13:20–21
A woman works a little yeast into a large batch of dough until the whole is leavened. The kingdom is hidden and quiet, but it permeates and transforms everything it touches from the inside out.
The Hidden Treasure — Matthew 13:44
A man finds treasure buried in a field and, in his joy, sells all he has to buy that field. The kingdom is worth more than everything else put together, and the one who grasps its value gives up the rest gladly, not grudgingly.
The Pearl of Great Price — Matthew 13:45–46
A merchant searching for fine pearls finds one of supreme value and sells all he owns to buy it. The companion of the hidden treasure: the same total, joyful exchange, here by one who was seeking all along.
The Dragnet — Matthew 13:47–50
A net let down into the sea brings up fish of every kind, and only on shore are the good sorted from the bad. Like the weeds and wheat, it pictures a final separation at the close of the age, gathering now and dividing later.
The Growing Seed — Mark 4:26–29
A man scatters seed and goes about his life; the seed sprouts and grows ‘he knows not how’, until the grain is ripe for harvest. The kingdom grows by a power that is not ours; our part is to sow and to wait in trust.
New Treasures and Old — Matthew 13:52
Every scribe trained for the kingdom is like a householder who brings out of his storeroom treasures new and old. The teacher of the kingdom honours the old Scriptures and the new thing God is doing in Christ, holding both.
Grace, the lost, and forgiveness
Told largely to answer the grumbling that Jesus ‘receives sinners and eats with them’, these parables open up the heart of God toward the lost and press his mercy onto those who have received it.
The Lost Sheep — Matthew 18:12–14; Luke 15:3–7
A shepherd leaves ninety-nine sheep to search for the one that strayed, and carries it home rejoicing. Heaven rejoices more over one sinner who repents than over those who never wandered; no one is written off as not worth the search.
The Lost Coin — Luke 15:8–10
A woman with ten silver coins loses one, lights a lamp, sweeps the house, and on finding it calls her friends to celebrate. The same joy over the recovered, told from a woman’s side of the house: God searches diligently and rejoices openly.
The Prodigal Son — Luke 15:11–32
A younger son demands his inheritance, squanders it, and comes home in disgrace — only to be met by a father who runs to him, robes him, and throws a feast. The elder son, dutiful and resentful, will not come in. The crown of the ‘lost’ parables: it holds up the lavish welcome of the Father against the cold heart that cannot bear to see mercy given to someone undeserving.
The Two Debtors — Luke 7:41–43
Two men owe a moneylender different sums, and both are forgiven. Which will love him more? The one forgiven the larger debt. Spoken over a weeping woman anointing his feet: the depth of love answers to the depth of grace received.
The Unforgiving Servant — Matthew 18:23–35
A servant is forgiven an unpayable debt by his king, then seizes a fellow-servant over a trifling one and has him jailed. The king, hearing of it, reverses the pardon. Those who have been forgiven much must forgive — refusing to do so betrays that the mercy was never truly grasped.
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector — Luke 18:9–14
Two men pray in the temple: one thanks God that he is not like other men; the other, unable to lift his eyes, begs, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ It is the second who goes home justified. The one who exalts himself will be humbled; the one who humbles himself will be exalted.
The cost and surprise of grace
The Workers in the Vineyard — Matthew 20:1–16
A landowner hires labourers through the day and pays them all the same wage, whether they worked twelve hours or one. Those hired first complain; he answers that he has done them no wrong and may be generous with his own. God’s grace is not wages owed but a gift freely given, and it offends those who think they have earned more.
The Two Sons — Matthew 21:28–32
A father tells two sons to work in the vineyard; one refuses but goes, the other agrees but does not. Which did the father’s will? The one who actually went. Tax collectors and prostitutes who repent enter the kingdom ahead of those who say the right words and do nothing.
The Great Banquet — Luke 14:15–24; cf. Matthew 22:1–14
A host prepares a feast, but the invited guests all make excuses, so he sends his servants into the streets to bring in the poor, the crippled and the stranger until the house is full. Matthew’s royal version adds a guest thrown out for refusing the wedding garment. The invitation goes out widely; those first invited exclude themselves, and the table fills with the unlikely.
Discipleship and the way to live
The Two Builders — Matthew 7:24–27; Luke 6:47–49
A wise man builds his house on rock, a foolish man on sand; when the storm comes, only the first stands. Hearing Jesus’ words is not enough — it is doing them that gives a life a foundation that holds.
The Good Samaritan — Luke 10:25–37
A traveller is beaten and left for dead; a priest and a Levite pass by, but a despised Samaritan stops, binds his wounds, and pays for his care. Asked ‘who is my neighbour?’, Jesus redraws the question: be a neighbour — show mercy — to whoever is in front of you, across every boundary.
The Lamp under a Basket — Matthew 5:14–16; Mark 4:21–22; Luke 8:16
No one lights a lamp to hide it under a bowl; it is set on a stand to give light. The disciple’s faith and good works are meant to be seen, that others may give glory to God.
New Cloth and New Wineskins — Matthew 9:16–17; Mark 2:21–22; Luke 5:36–39
No one sews new cloth onto an old garment or pours new wine into brittle old skins; the new bursts the old. The fresh reality Jesus brings cannot simply be patched onto the old religious forms — it needs new vessels.
Counting the Cost: the Tower and the King — Luke 14:28–33
A builder reckons whether he can finish a tower; a king weighs whether he can win a war before he marches. So too anyone who would follow Jesus should count the cost first, for discipleship asks everything.
The Master and Servant — Luke 17:7–10
A servant who has done his day’s work does not expect to be waited on for it. When we have done all we were told, we are to say, ‘we are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ Obedience earns no claim on God.
Prayer and persistence
The Friend at Midnight — Luke 11:5–8
A man rouses his sleeping neighbour at midnight for bread, and gets it through sheer persistence. So pray boldly and keep asking — ask, seek, knock — trusting the goodness of the One you ask.
The Persistent Widow — Luke 18:1–8
A widow wears down an unjust judge by refusing to stop pleading for justice, and he relents. If even a corrupt judge yields to persistence, how much more will a just God answer his people who cry to him? ‘Always to pray and not lose heart.’
Wealth and the use of what we have
The Rich Fool — Luke 12:16–21
A wealthy farmer with a bumper harvest pulls down his barns to build bigger ones and tells himself to take his ease — and that very night his life is required of him. He who lays up treasure for himself but is not rich toward God is a fool; you cannot take it with you.
The Shrewd Manager — Luke 16:1–13
A steward about to be sacked makes friends for his future by discounting his master’s debtors’ bills, and is commended for his shrewdness. The point is not his dishonesty but his foresight: use worldly wealth wisely now in light of eternity, for you cannot serve both God and money.
The Rich Man and Lazarus — Luke 16:19–31
A rich man feasts daily while a beggar, Lazarus, starves at his gate; after death their fortunes are reversed beyond all crossing. The rich man pleads for a warning to be sent to his brothers, but is told they have Moses and the prophets — if they will not hear them, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead. Wealth indifferent to need, and a warning that this life sets the next.
The Talents — Matthew 25:14–30
A master entrusts three servants with different sums; two trade and double theirs, the third buries his out of fear and is condemned. We are accountable for what we have been given, however much or little, and called to put it to work rather than bury it. Luke’s parallel, the Ten Minas (Luke 19:11–27), sets the same lesson inside a story of a king going away to receive his kingdom.
Watchfulness and the coming judgement
A run of parables, many spoken in Jesus’ last week on the Mount of Olives, presses one charge: the master is away but will return, and his servants must be found ready.
The Barren Fig Tree — Luke 13:6–9
A fig tree has borne nothing for three years; the owner would cut it down, but the gardener pleads for one more year of care. God’s patience grants space to repent and bear fruit — but it is not unlimited.
The Watchful Servants — Luke 12:35–40; cf. Mark 13:34–37
Servants keep their lamps burning, waiting for their master’s return from a wedding so as to open the door the moment he knocks. Because the hour is unknown, stay dressed for service and awake; blessed are those the master finds watching.
The Faithful and Wise Steward — Matthew 24:45–51; Luke 12:42–48
A steward left in charge either feeds the household faithfully or beats the servants and gets drunk, presuming his master is delayed. Each is judged by what the returning master finds him doing. To whom much is given, much is required.
The Budding Fig Tree — Matthew 24:32–35; Mark 13:28–31; Luke 21:29–33
When the fig tree’s branch grows tender and puts out leaves, summer is near. So too, when these signs appear, know that the day is at the doors. A call to read the times and be alert.
The Ten Virgins — Matthew 25:1–13
Ten bridesmaids await the bridegroom; five bring extra oil for their lamps, five do not, and when he is delayed and arrives at midnight only the prepared go in to the feast while the rest are shut out. Readiness cannot be borrowed or improvised at the last moment — ‘watch, for you know neither the day nor the hour.’
The Wicked Tenants — Matthew 21:33–46; Mark 12:1–12; Luke 20:9–19
A landowner lets out his vineyard; the tenants beat and kill the servants he sends for the fruit, and finally murder his son to seize the inheritance. The owner will destroy them and give the vineyard to others. Told against the religious leaders, it is the sharpest of the parables — a charge that they have rejected the prophets and are about to kill the Son.
The Wedding Feast and the Garment — Matthew 22:1–14
A king’s wedding invitation is spurned and even met with violence, so he fills the hall with whoever can be found — yet one guest is cast out for lacking a wedding garment. The call goes out to all, but coming on one’s own terms, unclothed in the righteousness the king provides, is no true coming. ‘Many are called, but few are chosen.’
The Sheep and the Goats — Matthew 25:31–46
At the last judgement the Son of Man separates the nations as a shepherd parts sheep from goats, and the dividing line is mercy shown to the hungry, the stranger, the sick and the prisoner — ‘as you did it to one of the least of these… you did it to me.’ More a vision of judgement than a story, it closes Jesus’ teaching by binding love of God to love of the neighbour in need.
The figures of John’s Gospel
John records no parables in the Synoptic mould, but two extended images do the same work and are often read alongside them. In the Good Shepherd (John 10:1–18) Jesus is the shepherd who knows his sheep by name and lays down his life for them, set against the hireling who runs from the wolf. In the True Vine (John 15:1–8) he is the vine and his followers the branches, which bear fruit only as they abide in him — ‘apart from me you can do nothing.’
Read together, the parables refuse to let the kingdom be tamed into a tidy lesson. They unsettle the secure, lift up the lowly, stretch out mercy to the undeserving, and leave the hearer with a question rather than a formula: which figure in the story am I?