Why did Jesus teach in parables?

Response

It has been said that a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. The Lord Jesus often used parables to illustrate profound, divine truths. These stories are easily remembered, with bold characters and rich symbolism. Parables were a common teaching method in Judaism. Before a certain point in His ministry, Jesus used many vivid analogies involving everyday items that were familiar to everyone (salt, bread, sheep, etc.), and their meanings were fairly clear in His teaching context. Parables, on the other hand, required more explanation, and at a certain point in His ministry, Jesus began exclusively teaching through parables.

The question arises as to why Jesus would leave most people pondering the meanings of His parables. The first instance of this is seen in His telling of the parable of the seed and the soils. Before interpreting this parable, He took His disciples aside from the crowd. They asked Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus replied, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, more shall be given to him, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore, I speak to them in parables; because although they see, they do not see, and although they hear, they do not understand. This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah,

‘Hearing you will hear and not understand, and seeing you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

In their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (Matthew 13:10-17).

From this point on in Jesus’ ministry, when He spoke in parables, He explained them only to His disciples. But those who had continually rejected His message were left in their spiritual blindness to wonder as to His meaning. He made a clear distinction between those who had been given “ears to hear” and those who persisted in unbelief—ever hearing, but never actually perceiving and “always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth” «ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. », (2 Timothy 3:7). The disciples had been given the gift of spiritual discernment by which things of the spirit were made clear to them. Because they accepted truth from Jesus, they were given more and more truth. The same is true today of believers who have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth «Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. », (John 16:13). He has opened our eyes to the light of truth and our ears to the sweet words of eternal life.

Our Lord Jesus understood that truth is not sweet music to all ears. Simply put, there are those who have neither interest in nor regard for the deep things of God. So why, then, did He speak in parables? To those with a genuine hunger for God, the parable is both an

Effective and memorable vehicle for the conveyance of divine truths. Our Lord’s parables contain great volumes of truth in very few words—and His parables, rich in imagery, are not easily forgotten. So, then, the parable is a blessing to those with willing ears. But to those with dull hearts and ears that are slow to hear, the parable is also an instrument of both judgment and mercy.