Parables of Jesus— Why did Jesus speak in parables?
Of all the parables in the Bible, Jesus Christ Himself made the greatest use of this literary device. One can only imagine the wonder of the occasions: Jesus — drawing from real life issues of agriculture, justice, greed, and love — would capture the attention of whole crowds. Yet despite the simplicity, His stories were filled with eternal, spiritual truths.
Jesus used parables to hide these truths from temporary listeners who cared more about entertainment than salvation. Only the spiritually awakened understood the truth behind the story. As a result, most listeners did not comprehend Jesus’ message.
The disciples came to Him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” (Matthew 13:10). Jesus answered, “…The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them’” (Matthew 13:11, 15). For those who resisted Him, such as many of the religious leaders of that day, Jesus hid the truth in parables from their unreceptive hearts, “… because those who heard did not combine it with faith” (Hebrew 4:2a).
Individuals who reject the Word of God risk the danger of being rejected themselves. Jesus cloaked the spiritual truths in secret parabolic symbols, not counting the unreceptive listeners worthy of the “pearls” (Matthew 7:6).
