The Parables Jesus Told
All these things Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable ---Matt. 13:34
When Jesus wanted to get a spiritual truth across to ordinary men and women, He used the vehicle of the parable. So it logically follows that in order to fully grasp the truth, we must first grasp the parable. Any Bible student of today can greatly clarify his understanding of Jesus' teachings by examining the nature and language of the parable, as well as the reasons for which He chose to employ it.
As the original Greek word says, a parable is a comparison. It is something drawn alongside something else---or, more specifically, a homely and familiar situation drawn alongside a truth of profound importance. The familiar lights up the profound; the profound is remembered through the familiar. Another simple but sound definition of the parable is that it is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning---a story true to this house of earth, but with a window open to the sky. Certainly any one of the stories Jesus told would magnificently illustrate this definition.
A parable is not an allegory, in which words are used figuratively. Neither is it a proverb (a statement of fact with no tale at all) or a fable (fantasy in which fairies flutter and animals talk). A parable is a work of great artistry, and Jesus surpassed all other artists in the use of this medium. He told His parables in terms of things that never change, in the barest fundamentals of living. He told them briefly and was able to speak volumes in a few verses. So effectively were Jesus' word pictures painted that they not only capture attention but hold it, as would a great work of art.
Why did He use parables? Jesus must have perceived that their intrinsic quality of simplicity would keep His Good News safe and fresh through the ages. The simplicity of the parables did, indeed, ensure their being remembered, evidenced by the fact that they have endured over nearly two thousand years. And there is no debating that simplicity is a factor in their apparent "agelessness"---their relevance and appeal to men in widely varying situations and in all periods of history.
It appears that Jesus was seeking, through parables, to both project and protect His word. Although they served to illustrated His Gospel, making it popular rather than academic, they also protected it from overexposure and disinterest. Plain speech would have provoked more ridicule from His enemies and less thought from His friends. With parables, He could rouse His followers to search for more meaning, while taking His opponent by surprise. The cloak of mystery that the parables provided was also useful in discouraging that segment of His immediate audience which was seeking a politcal leader and an earthly kingdom.
Finally, the parables were used by Jesus not only because men remember stories more easily than bare facts or arguments---and not only to protect His message from overexposure, disinterest, ridicule, and misinterpretation---but because they reach men's consciences and challenge their lives. They were part of the Master's strategy for getting under men's defenses---for winning men's hearts by catching their resistant and self-satisfied minds off guard.
In the course of His ministry, Jesus told more than forty parables. Those selected for inclusion here are among the best loved for their perennial beauty and value. They are as pertinent to the people of the twenty-first century America as they once were to those who first heard them in Galilee.
THE PRODIGAL SON
And He said, "A certain man had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, `Father, give me the share of the estate that falls to me.` And he divided his wealth between them. And not many days later, the younger son gathered everything together and went on a journey into a distant country, and there he squandered his estate with loose living. Now when he had spent everything, a severe famine occurred in that country, and he began to be in need. And he went and attached himself to one of the citizens of that country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And he was longing to fill his stomach with the pods that the swine were eating, and no one was giving anything to him. But when he came to his senses, he said, `How many of my father's hired men have more than enough bread, but I am dying here with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your hired men."
And he got up and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him, and felt compassion for him, and ran and embraced him, and kissed him. And the son said to his father, `Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight; I am no longer worthy to be called your son.` But the father said to his slaves, `Quickly bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet; and bring the fattened calf, kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this son of mine was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and has been found.` And they began to be merry.
Now his older son was in the field, and when he came and approached the house, he heard music and dancing. And he summoned one of the servants and began inquiring what these things might be. And he said to him, `Your brother has come, and your father has killed the fattened calf, because he has received him back safe and sound.` But he became angry, and was not willing to go in; and his father came out and began entreating him. But he answered and said to his father, `Look! For so many years I have been serving you, and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me even one young calf for a feast with my friends, but when this son of yours came, who had devoured your wealth with harlots, you killed the fattened calf for him.` And he said to him, `My child, you have always been with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to be merry and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.`"----Luke 15:11-32Of all the parables, this comes closest to giving us a glimpse of the hallowed face of God. It illustrates that God's love is beyond justice, beyond reason---that He ever hungers for the return of a sinner. The righteous are His already; they have His love. But they are not to be self-righteous, nor jealous of their position in His eyes. They are to love with His own love---to yearn as He does for the return of their wandering brothers. "The Perfect Father" might be a more descriptive title for this gem of a parable.
Praise the Lord Almighty!! 
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