The Parables of Jesus of NazarethHeir to a rich prophetic and wisdom tradition, Jesus not only preached. He also emerged as a master of parables, telling stories that connected with people and conveyed his messages in a profound and unforgettable way.
The exclamation of his contemporaries: "Never has any man spoken like this man!" (John 7:46), sums up perfectly the uniqueness and impact of Jesus' teachings, imbued with profound wisdom and expressed through incomparable parables such as that of the lost sheep, the Good Samaritan or the prodigal son. Examples of his masterful ability to use everyday stories to convey profound moral and spiritual messages.
Why did Jesus use parables?
The reasons given by exegetes for Jesus' use of parables are varied, but we can point to two main reasons:
To reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of God to the disciples. Since the disciples have a receptive and open disposition to Jesus' message (Mark 4:11; Matthew 13:11; Luke 8:10), the parables help them to understand deep spiritual truths that would otherwise be too complex or difficult to grasp (Matthew 13:11-12). In this sense the use of parables was a gift from God and a sign of grace to them: "But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous men have desired to see what you see, and have not seen it, and to hear what you hear, and have not heard it" (Matthew 13:16-17); cf. Mark 4:11).
2. To hide the mysteries of the kingdom of God from those who do not believe. Those who do not believe have hardened hearts and are unwilling to receive Jesus' message, especially in a figurative language they do not understand (Mark 4:12; Matthew 13:13-15; Luke 8:10). In a way, the parables are also a means of revealing the unbelief and hardness of heart of those who rejected his message.
However, we will try to show that there were other reasons why Jesus used parables, such as: (1) the fulfillment of the messianic prophecies and (2) the manifestation of his divine nature as the Son of God.
Jesus fulfills the prophecies
We intend to highlight how Jesus fulfills the messianic prophecies by using parables.
The clearest example is found in the Gospel of Matthew, which says: "Jesus said all this to the people in parables, and without parables he spoke nothing to them, so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: 'I will open my mouth speaking in parables; I will proclaim the secret things from the foundation of the world'" (Matthew 13:34-35).
In this passage, Matthew says that Jesus' use of parables fulfills the prophecy of Asaph and demonstrates his role as the prophet who reveals God's will. The prophecy of Asaph, an Old Testament poet and musician, is found in Psalm 78:2: . Thus, according to Matthew, it is "that I will open my mouth to judgments, that the riddles of the past may spring forth." This prophecy foretold that the Messiah would teach using parables, and Jesus fulfills it, since "without parables he spoke to them nothing".
Then there is Isaiah's prophecy: "He said to me, 'Go and tell this people, "No matter how much you hear, you will not understand; no matter how much you look, you will not comprehend. Dull the heart of this people, harden their hearing, blind their eyes: lest their eyes see, lest their ears hear, lest their heart understand, lest they turn and be healed'" (Isaiah 6:9-10). It is Jesus himself who quotes this passage in several places (Matthew 13:13-15; Mark 4:11-12; Luke 8:10) precisely to explain why he spoke in parables.
We see that Jesus not only follows a tradition (prophetic and sapiential) with his way of preaching with parables, but he is also conscious of fulfilling the prophecies about him.
God Speaks in Parables
The Bible teaches us that the language God uses is often mysterious, highlighting the parabolic character of his speech as the natural form of his expression.. The idea that God speaks in parables is well grounded in the Scriptures. Here are some examples.
We read in the following passage from Hosea that God says of himself: "I have spoken to the prophets, and multiplied visions; and through the prophets I have used parables" (Hosea 12:10). Clearly God says that he has spoken using parables and visions. While this verse underscores God's use of parables, it also suggests that Jesus, in using parables, does so in connaturality with his status as the Son of God. This was, in part, what caught the attention of his contemporaries: "for he taught them with authority and not as their scribes" (Matthew 7:29); they perceived the parabolic character of his discourse as his natural (divine) form of expression.
We see it also in Proverbs 25:2: "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; the glory of kings to search it out," where it is suggested that it is part of God's nature to conceal certain things, leaving it to humans to discover and understand them through search and discernment. This relates directly to the use of parables by requiring the listener to actively participate in the search for truth. They are not simply stories. They are vehicles of deep spiritual and moral meanings that must be discovered and understood through reflection and discernment.
Parables to reveal the mysteries
The same is true in Ezekiel 17:2: "Son of man, propound a riddle and tell a parable to the house of Israel." In this passage, Ezekiel, as a prophet, receives this instruction in a difficult context where Israel needs to be called to repentance and reflection on their actions. The parable becomes the best tool for God's message to be seriously considered and deeply understood. Jesus employs this same divine method; and that being prophesied, he is also giving fulfillment with his parables.
Finally, Psalm 49:4: "I will give ear to the proverb, and I will put my problem to the sound of the zither". This verse again reinforces the idea that proverbs and riddles are a form of communication with God. Jesus, as the Son of God, used parables in a similar way, revealing spiritual truths through simple stories that invited reflection and understanding.
These passages illustrate that the use of parables is a frequent form of divine expression and communication, which leads listeners to search for truth, discern and reflect deeply. In this sense, Jesus' use of parables is the best way to reveal the mysteries of the Kingdom of God and to manifest his condition as the Son of God.
Other Messianic prophecies fulfilled
In a more indirect way, we find other prophecies that suggest to us the way in which the Messiah would preach and to which Jesus also gives fulfillment in some way. Let us look at some of them.
Isaiah 42:1-4: "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen one, in whom I am well pleased. I have put my spirit upon him; he will manifest righteousness to the nations. He shall not cry out, he shall not cry, he shall not shout in the streets. The bruised reed he shall not break, the flickering wick he shall not quench. He will manifest justice with truth. It will not waver or break, until it establishes justice in the country. In its law the islands await".
Although the text does not mention parables explicitly, this prophetic passage describes the character of the servant of the Lord, the Messiah. Thus we see that Jesus' parables are presented as everyday stories with simple and accessible language: "He will not cry out, he will not cry, he will not shout in the streets", and he addresses those of humble condition: "The bruised reed he will not break, the wavering wick he will not quench".
Proverbs 1, 6: "to understand proverbs and sayings, sayings of wise men and riddles". The proverb suggests that the understanding of wisdom is not immediate, but requires a gradual process of learning and reflection.
Similarly, Jesus' parables can also be seen as a form of gradual revelation. Not all people grasp the full meaning of the parables from the beginning. Those who are willing to listen carefully and seek wisdom can come to understand the profound truths Jesus conveys through them. While Proverbs 1:6 does not refer specifically to parables, it does establish principles that illuminate Jesus' way of preaching.
Conclusion
We can conclude that Jesus used parables in his teaching to fulfill a double function. In the first place, to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of God to his disciples and to hide them from those with hardened hearts. But also, by doing so, he fulfilled the messianic prophecies, and furthermore, he made manifest his divine condition as the Son of God.
Doctor of Canon Law
